Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PRPGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Nutrioso Creek: A Nonpoint Source Success Story
Watprhnrlv Imnrnvpd Arizona Placed a segment of Nutrioso Creek on the state's
Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(d) list of impaired
waters in 1998 because of high turbidity. The impairment negatively impacted several
native fish, including one federally listed species. Arizona identified streambank erosion
as the cause for the turbidity. Shortly before the creek was listed as impaired, private
landowner Jim Crosswhite purchased property—the EC Bar Ranch—on Nutrioso Creek.
He quickly began to address water quality and habitat concerns. Crosswhite implemented
best management practices (BMPs) that controlled activities of grazing animals such as
livestock and elk, restored the stream channel, and reduced turbidity. In 2007, because
the impaired segment of Nutrioso Creek once again met water quality standards, Arizona
recommended that it be removed from the list of impaired waters.
Problem
Eastern Arizona's Nutrioso Creek, a 27-mile
perennial stream in the White Mountains of
Apache County, is a tributary to the Little
Colorado River. Several native fish live in these
waters, including the federally endangered
Little Colorado spinedace (Lepidomeda vittata).
In 1998 Arizona placed a 7-mile segment of
Nutrioso Creek on the list of impaired waters
because it exceeded the 10 Nephelometric
Turbidity Units (NTU) standard for coldwater
stream aquatic and wildlife habitat. The state
identified impairments on 4 miles of creek in
the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and
along 3 miles of creek on the privately owned
EC Bar Ranch. The state identified historic
grazing practices as the primary cause of high
turbidity levels. As grazing animals had tram-
pled and consumed Nutrioso Creek's riparian
vegetation, streambank stability decreased and
streambank erosion increased overtime.
Project Highlights
In 1996 Jim Crosswhite purchased the EC Bar
Ranch and began to address water quality
and aquatic/wildlife habitat concerns in the
creek. Crosswhite followed a three-step
approach to improving the riparian area. First,
Newly restored Nutrioso Creek now has a higher
water table, less erosion, and more wildlife
species.
he implemented BMPs: (1) he fenced out elk
entirely and limited livestock grazing to the
dormant winter months; (2) he planted willow
poles and installed practices such as weirs to
reduce streambank erosion; and (3) he estab-
lished native narrow-leaf cottonwoods and
Western Wheatgrass. Crosswhite's second
step was to adopt livestock (cattle), nutrient,
irrigation water, and pest management plans
recommended by the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS). As his final step,
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Crosswhite used fences to eliminate or control
wildlife and livestock activities in the riparian areas.
he is considering long-term planning options
that can protect the restored area, such as
a conservation easement, deed restrictions,
and/or sale of riparian areas to the U.S. Forest
Service (USFS). To date no final protective
action has been completed, although some
agreements have been drafted, initial surveys
and appraisals completed and aerial photos
taken.
Crosswhite has provided public outreach
through written publicity, personal pre-
sentations, and field trips. Crosswhite
maintains a project Web site (www.ecbar-
ranch.com) where information about BMPs,
agency reports, and monitoring is available.
Crosswhite's extensive outreach initiatives
help to educate other landowners on many
of the BMPs that they can implement in the
Nutrioso Creek area and beyond.
Results
Crosswhite worked closely with the Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ)
to implement BMPs that controlled activi-
ties of large grazing animals, restored the
proper functioning condition in the stream
channel, and reduced turbidity levels. The
condition of soils, vegetation, and hydrology
was improved from non-functional in 1996 to
proper functioning condition in 2005 using the
Bureau of Land Management rating sys-
tem. In addition, monitoring results showed
that turbidity levels plummeted from more
than 50 NTU in 2000 to less than 10 NTU
by 2004. Nutrioso Creek once again meets
water quality standards. Therefore, in 2007, the
ADEQ recommended removal of Nutrioso Creek
from the 303(d) list, making it the first impaired
waterbody in Arizona to be delisted as a result of
mitigation.
Additionally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) was so impressed with the aquatic
habitat recovery on the EC Bar Ranch's portion
of Nutrioso Creek that it captured and moved
767 Little Colorado spinedace from degraded
pools downstream on National Forest land to the
restored habitat on the EC Bar Ranch. In a letter
to Crosswhite, the USFWS emphasized that,
"the practice of salvaging a listed species from
public land and repatriating the species to pri-
vate land is rarely warranted and demonstrates
[Crosswhite's] commitment to threatened and
endangered species."
Partners and Funding
Crosswhite partnered with state and federal
agencies, such as the ADEQ, Arizona Game and
Fish Department (AGFD), Arizona State Land
Department, Arizona Department of Agriculture,
Arizona Water Protection Fund, NRCS, and
USFWS. He worked with many organizations
to address a broad spectrum of environmental
concerns, including those outlined in Nutrioso
Creek TMDL for Turbidity Report (ADEQ 2000),
Little Colorado River Spinedace Recovery
Plan (USFWS 1998), Nutrioso Creek Fish
Management Report (AGFD 2001), and the
Upper Little Colorado River Watershed Based
Plan (2000-2006). He was the first private
landowner in Arizona to complete a Safe Harbor
Agreement with the USFWS (2003)—this agree-
ment promotes voluntary management for listed
species on nonfederal property while assuring
participating landowners that no additional
regulatory restrictions will be imposed.
Crosswhite's Nutrioso Creek restoration project
cost exceeded $2 million, a portion of which
was funded by $575,000 from CWA Section
319 grants, $100,000 from NRCS, and $163,000
from wildlife agencies and others. Crosswhite
matched more than 60 percent of public funding
with his own resources.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-07-001I
June 2007
For additional information contact:
Jim Crosswhite, Project Manager
jcrosswhite@frontiernet.net
Krista Osterberg, Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality
602-771-4551 • osterberg.krista@azdeq.gov
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