The PennZone

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - PennZone -- A landmark conservation easement covering 1,889 acres of vital ranchland in Big Chino Valley completes, marking a significant step in the region's land and water conservation efforts. This agreement, made in partnership between Yavapai Ranch, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is the first easement of its kind for the area.

Unregulated groundwater pumping, development and climate change have negatively impacted the Big Chino Aquifer, a groundwater basin located primarily within Yavapai County. This critical resource provides a future water supply for the communities of Prescott, Prescott Valley and Chino Valley. It also supports the Verde River, which irrigates farms and recreational opportunities.

The Yavapai Ranch conservation easement is a voluntary agreement that limits development and associated groundwater withdrawals from the Big Chino Aquifer, while preserving agricultural use. The conservation easement incentivizes managing water use at existing levels and continuing agricultural best management practices. By collaborating with the landowner, this protection will help maintain the region's delicate water balance and ensure that the grasslands remain a home for birds and wildlife.

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Land Advisors Organization (LAO) and Hermitage Land Co. represented the landowner. LAO's Conservation Group partnered with TNC to secure Farm Bill funding for the project. A broader conservation easement program that focuses on preserving agriculture and a flowing Upper Verde River was also designated to ensure water being in the right place for people and nature amidst warmer and drier climate conditions.

This easement is part of a broader conservation strategy in northern Arizona and is supported by the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The RCPP–which provided a $23 million dollar grant for this work–is designed to protect water resources, preserve local agricultural land and resilient grasslands, and promote sustainable land management practices in Big Chino Valley.

"Land Advisors Organization worked with The Nature Conservancy and conservation partners to design the RCPP and a conservation easement program as a framework that provides a locally led solution to rural groundwater management. This partnership has provided a much-needed alternative to state-mandated regulation," said Heather Reading, Conservation Division Leader for Land Advisors Organization.

The historic Yavapai Ranch is one of the oldest continually operating cattle ranches in Arizona, having been homesteaded in 1868. The conservation easement is over 1,889 acres on the eastern edge of the ranch that skirts the Big Chino Valley grasslands, one of the largest intact native grasslands in Arizona. These high-quality grasslands support one of the state's largest remaining herds of pronghorn antelope—an Arizona wildlife species of concern due to impacts of grassland conversion and habitat fragmentation. The ranch is within the Grand Canyon to Prescott Corridor Complex, identified by AZ Game and Fish as critical for wildlife given this area has the highest future potential for fragmentation and development in the state.

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Additionally, the conservation easement lies atop the western edge of Big Chino Aquifer. The aquifer is located outside of an Active Management Area, meaning that groundwater withdrawals are not regulated and at risk of depletion from development, municipal pumping, and large-scale commercial crop farms.

The headwaters of the Verde River emerge from perennial springs fed by the Big Chino Aquifer and the upper river is almost entirely dependent on the aquifer for baseflow. Flows from the 195-mile Verde River are a lifeblood for Arizona. The Verde River supports abundant native fish and wildlife. It supports the tri-cities of Prescott, Prescott Valley, and Chino Valley that depend on groundwater from its aquifers. Downstream communities of the Verde Valley depend on the river for irrigated agriculture and river recreation that drives tourism and economic prosperity. Further downstream, the Verde River provides a critical source of drinking water for 5 million people in metropolitan Phoenix.