Springerville Habitat Improvement Projects

• Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area – Rudd Creek Habitat Improvement Project
• Becker Lake Wildlife Area – Little Colorado River Habitat Improvement Project
• Wenima Wildlife Area – Habitat Improvement Demonstration Project

Springerville, a small town sitting at 7,000’ elevation in the White Mountains region of northeast Arizona, enjoys close proximity to three wildlife parks: Becker Lake Wildlife Area, Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area, and Wenima Wildlife Area. All three parks host riparian corridors—Little Colorado River in Becker and Wenima, Rudd Creek in Sipe— that are experiencing erosion, sediment pollution, and exotic plant invasion.

Under lead consultant Oxbow Ecological Engineering’s (OEE) direction, Fred Phillips Consulting undertook efforts to restore and rehabilitate these riparian corridors. With OEE, the firm conducted jurisdictional wetland delineations for waters of the United States and biological evaluations per Endangered Species Act, as all three parks have close proximity or actual presence of threatened and endangered species. Among these species are the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, the Chiricahua leopard frog, Mexican spotted owl, and Little Colorado River spinedace. Fred Phillips Consulting also developed plan detail drawings, a full planting schedule using all native plants, and assisted with the assembly of a comprehensive Nationwide 27 permit application package for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval.

The planting designs and palettes were developed to specifically create foraging, hunting, and breeding habitat. Our goal is to not only re-establish healthy riparian areas and improve park accessibility, but also to assist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department in improving the local populations of those listed species.

Project Slide Show