For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/.Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.Suggested citation: Paretti, N.V., Brasher, A.M.D., Pearlstein, S.L., Skow, D.M., Gungle, Bruce, and Garner, B.D., 2018, Preliminary synthesis and assessment of environmental flows in the middle Verde River watershed, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5100, 104 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175100. ISSN 2328-0328 (online) iii
AcknowledgmentsThis project was developed and funded in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Dan Campbell (retired), Jeanmarie Haney, and Kimberly Schoneck at TNC provided crucial support and expertise regarding the Verde River watershed. Additional funding from the Salt River Project and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) WaterSMART program made possible the extension of the project to the development of study sites, sampling, and sample analysis.Twice during the project, we invited a work group to meet and provide comments and suggestions concerning the direction and focus of our work to keep it relevant to the goals of developing information useful for resource policy and management. Jeanmarie Haney (TNC), Shaula Hedwall (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Charles Paradzick (Salt River Project), John Rasmussen (Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee Coordinator), Patti Spindler (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, ADEQ), Abe Springer (Northern Arizona University), and David Ward (USGS Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center) contributed many insights that strengthened the project.Data and analyses directly incorporated into the report or used as background information were generously shared by agencies and individuals. Charlie Cave (Yavapai County Flood Control District) provided aerial photographs and detailed topographic maps commissioned by Yavapai County; the hydrological consulting firm HDR, with the permission of Yavapai County, provided a detailed report documenting their hydraulic modeling for the county. Patti Spindler (ADEQ) and Andy Clark (Arizona Game and Fish Department) generously shared valuable macroinvertebrate and fish datasets that were crucial to the report's primary analyses. Jocelyn Gretz provided valuable support for field work and planning. Steve Wiele provided much valuable assistance and support in the development of the project generally and to the section on surface water and groundwater in particular. Horizontal coordinate infor...