Wild & Scenic Rivers Eligibility Process

As part of the Plan Revision Process, Forest officials evaluated 2,500 miles of named streams on the Tonto National Forest and have identified 19 segments that are eligible for the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System. These segments are ones in which the segment was free flowing and an outstandingly remarkable value was identified. Each possibly eligible segment was assigned a classification of wild, scenic, or recreational. Eligible segments are listed below and can be viewed on the map.

Eligible Segments

Stream Name Ranger District Segment Length Classification Remarkable Values
Arnett Creek /
Telegraph Canyon		 Globe 3.5 miles Recreational Scenery
Ecological
Canyon Creek Pleasant Valley 7.2 miles Recreational Wildlife
Christopher Creek Payson 2.3 miles Recreational Recreation
Cold Spring Canyon Pleasant Valley 1.7 miles Wild Natural
Devil's Chasm Pleasant Valley 2.5 miles Wild Historic
East Verde River Payson 32.7 miles Scenic,
recreational		 Scenery
Fish Creek Mesa 5.7 miles Wild,
scenic		 Natural
Greenback Creek Pleasant Valley,
Tonto Basin		 5.1 miles Scenic Historic
Lower Tonto Creek Tonto Basin 3.2 miles Scenic Recreation
Pine Creek Payson 2.0 miles Recreational Geologic
Pueblo Canyon Pleasant Valley 1.7 miles Wild Scenic
Historic
Reno Creek Tonto Basin 3.6 miles Scenic Historic
Salome Creek Tonto Basin 8.5 miles Wild Recreation
Scenery
Ledni Li Creek Cave Creek 5.2 miles Scenic Historic
Tangle Creek Cave Creek 9.5 miles Scenic,
recreational		 Natural
Scenery
Upper Salt River Tonto Basin,
Globe		 59.4 miles Wild,
scenic		 Geologic
Recreation
Historic
Scenery
Upper Tonto Creek Payson 21.7 miles Scenic Recreation
Scenery
Wildlife
Historic
Verde River Cave Creek 10 miles Wild,
scenic		 Fisheries,
Wildlife
Recreation
Historic
Workman Creek Pleasant Valley 2.3 miles Recreational Natural
Scenery

The National Wild & Scenic Rivers (WSR) System was created by Congress in 1968 to preserve rivers that contain outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing system, and are for the enjoyment of present and future generations.

For a river to be eligible for WSR designation, it must be free flowing, and possess one or more outstandingly remarkable values. Outstanding remarkable values include: scenery, recreation, fish, historic and cultural, geography, and other values. Further information on the process of selecting National Wild & Scenic Rivers can be found in Chapter 80 of the Land Management Handbook.

Wild & Scenic Rivers Documentation

The Forest Supervisor Neil Bosworth signed the Record of Decision for the revised Tonto National Forest Land Management Plan (land management plan) on December 1, 2023.  The Record of Decision documents the rationale for approving the land management plan. This revised plan will replace the existing 1985 land management plan (1985 forest plan) effective 30 days from December 1, 2023. The Record of Decision includes the final Eligible Wild and Scenic River segments. For maps and descriptions of these see the plan project page. Final Wild & Scenic River's documentation is included as Appendix E in Volume 4 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement. 

This documentation outlines the process that Forest Service officials took to determine the eligible segments, as well as provides the basis for making the eligibility and classification determinations. Details on studied segments and determinations can be found in the 2017 Wild and Scenic River Eligibility Study. 

Archived Information

A note about the potentially eligible segments from the 1993 Wild & Scenic Rivers Study:

When starting this process the Tonto NF thought the potentially eligible segments from 1993 had been evaluated within a region of comparison, but after digging into the study further we realized this was not the case and the study could not be utilized. Therefore, the potentially eligible segments from the 1993 study were evaluated along with all other named streams during this process. In this evaluation some of the potentially eligible segments in the 1993 study were not found to have outstandingly remarkable values in the region of comparison, or they had changed circumstances.

Information on the 1993 Potential Wild and Scenic Rivers

If you would like a copy of the following documents, please contact us.

  • 1993 Potential Wild and Scenic Recreational River Designation Report.
  • Preliminary Analysis of Eligibility and Classification for Wild/Scenic/Recreational River Designation 1993.
  • Public Meeting Report Summary: Potential Wild, Scenic, Recreational River Designation 1993.