Red Rock Ranger District Information

September, 2004

Fossil Creek Restoration,
Childs-Irving Hydropower Decommissioning

We get closer and closer. The restoration of full natural flows to Fossil Creek on the far-east side of the Red Rock Ranger District is soon to begin. Fossil Creek and the Childs-Irving hydropower facilities are located southeast of Camp Verde and west of Strawberry on the Coconino National Forest. For nearly a century, 95% of the stream flow has been diverted from Fossil Creek within a 1/4 mile of its spring-based origin by a dam to supply two hydroelectric power plants at Irving and Childs. In 1999, Arizona Public Service (APS) took a bold step with a coalition of environmental groups to choose to “decommission” the Childs-Irving hydroelectric facilities. The first phase is the restoring of full flows to Fossil Creek by January 1, 2005.

The decommissioning has served as a catalyst for substantial research and the initiation of a native fish habitat restoration project. Northern Arizona University researchers are currently gathering information concerning natural travertine development, spring characterization, stream flow rates, aquatic ecosystem affects, wildlife habitat, water quality, sediment deposition and overall recreation use impacts. The Forest Service, Arizona Game and Fish and US Fish and Wildlife Service and APS are working together in to restore native fish habitat in the upper reaches of Fossil Creek. The Forest Service is also engaged in landscape-scale planning for the greater Fossil Creek area to determine how best to manage during and following the decommission and deconstruction process.

Since decommissioning is not very common, the Childs-Irving process, the research, monitoring, the restoration of natural flow, and the native fish habitat project all serve as examples for other such proposals in years to come – both nationally and internationally.

The project has many partners: APS, Forest Service, Northern Arizona University, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and conservation groups such as American Rivers, Northern Arizona Audubon Society, and The Nature Conservancy.

Please click here for FLYER (a 189kb .pdf file)

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