RIVER OF THE MONTH
30 YEARS
Verde River
Arizona’s Verde River is one of the great rivers of the American Southwest. In 1984, its roadless middle stretch was declared the first Wild and Scenic River in the state. It’s an exquisite reach of water, flowing through rare cottonwood stands and a forest of saguaro cactus unlike any you’ll ever view from a river. Like the Salt and the Gila, the Verde is a freshwater lifeline for the diverse fish and wildlife of the arid Sonoran Desert.
Why It Matters
The Verde is an oasis in the desert, with upper reaches that harbor rare fish, rugged canyons with spectacular scenery, and a lush riparian belt where diverse birds and wildlife thrive. Superb habitat and reliable flows make the Verde among a handful of streams in Arizona that shoulder the region’s fragile biodiversity.
JIM RORABAUGH/USFWS
VERDE RIVER INSTITUTE
Fish
Biodiversity
The Verde once supported 16 native warmwater fish species. Ten survive today, anchored by outstanding habitat on tributaries like the East Verde and Fossil Creek. These include Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker and Gila topminnow (all federally endangered), as well as spikedace, loach minnow, Sonora sucker and roundtail chub.
In addition to native fish, the Verde hosts more than 200 bird species, 90 mammal species and 70 species of native amphibians and reptiles, many of them threatened or endangered. Among its wide-ranging desert flora, the Verde nourishes one of the last Fremont cottonwood and Goodding willow gallery forests in Arizona—one of just 20 such stands on Earth.