Watson Woods Riparian Preserve Several miles northeast of
downtown Prescott, Arizona there is a rare and threatened forest
type and it is being protected and restored by Prescott Creeks
members and community volunteers! The 126-acre Watson Woods
Riparian Preserve is the remaining portion of what was once a
1,000-acre riparian (streamside) forest of cottonwood and willow
trees. Following trends around the southwestern United States,
the riparian habitat at Watson Woods had been lost or severely
degraded as a result of decades of livestock grazing, illegal
dumping, firewood cutting, and most notably, sand and gravel
extraction during the mid-20th century. In spite of long term
abuses to this area, it has been healing itself. Over the past
40 years most of the vegetation and wildlife now found at Watson
Woods has returned on its own. Cottonwoods and willows that
create a cathedral-like atmosphere over Granite Creek and the
edge of a perennial pond provide habitat for a wide variety of
birds, mammals, fish, repti