Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias As Friends’ resident bird nerd, I’m thrilled to begin this new series: Bird of the Month! Here in the Verde Valley, we are blessed with beautiful habitats, a rich diversity of species, and an abundance of life. My hope is to celebrate some of the species that make the […]
It’s that time of year again! Friends of the Verde River is giving away up to $10,000 for riverrelatedprojects to be completed by community organizations. This year will mark the 20th project funded by local businesses that participate in Friends of the Verde River programs. Last year, Friends was proud to work with both the […]
Friends of the Verde River is pleased to welcome Jeni O’Callaghan as the new President of the Board of Directors. O’Callaghan stepped into the prestigious role on July 1, formally occupied by Chip Norton since December 2011. O’Callaghan has a keen eye for agriculture and river friendly business practices, as she and her husband own a beef farm […]
Community Conversation #2: Stories from the Pandemic Thursday, Sept. 3, 10-11:30 am via ZOOM. Hosted by the Sustainability Alliance and OLLI While many of us are stuck at home, it can be hard to see how COVID-19 has impacted our community. How has the pandemic affected our region, and what’s being done to create a […]
Are you tired of seeing garbage clutter up your favorite outdoor spots? We are too! Trash dims the beauty of our great outdoors, and it poses serious threats to wildlife. We can all pitch in to make a difference by picking up trash. We can help keep nature beautiful while protecting the animals!
By Elaine Nichols, Habitat Restoration Coordinator. Thursday afternoon Tracy and I hit the road headed to Patagonia in southeast Arizona for another survey training. Having only been south of Phoenix once, I was excited to see this part of the state and to learn about the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Throughout the training, we learned about […]
ESRI, the leading GIS software provider in the world, provides users with desktop software, online platforms, customizable applications and more. Last week ESRI put on the 39th Annual User Conference (UC) at the San Diego Convention Center from July 8-12. The UC brought together GIS users from across the globe to learn more about how to […]
The southwestern willow flycatcher is a small perching bird that was federally listed as an endangered species in 1995. These birds breed in densely vegetated riparian areas mostly in Arizona, New Mexico and southern California. They migrate for the winter to the rainforests of Mexico, Central America and Northern South America. Parts of the Verde […]
Each year hundreds of birders descend on Dead Horse Ranch State Park for the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival. They come from all over the country to spend time along the Verde River, Mingus Mountain and the peaks of Flagstaff to see the magnificent birds that come through our area during the Spring migration. […]
“Fountain Grass!” Ben yells the name of the plant species we are hunting, and swiftly darts to the side of the river in his blue ducky. The rest of the crew, not far behind, scrambles to find a spot along the tiny bank, grasping onto willows overhanging the river. After some reorganizing, the cluster of […]
