Water Resources Education Assessment - Master Watershed Steward Program for
Yavapai County, Arizona, 2003
This year, Master Watershed Stewards contributed 525 hours of volunteer
service to their communities. Some of their service projects included:
Surveying fish populations on the Upper Verde River
Noxious weed control and mapping
Organized and delivered two public water forums
Water Advisory Committee activities
Rangeland monitoring projects
The Master Watershed Steward (MWS) Program was offered for the third
time in October/November, 2003. Natural Resources Program Coordinator,
Russ Radden, and Extension Agent, Jeff Schalau, coordinated the 10 session
MWS course which trains citizens to become active water resource volunteers
in their communities. The course had many guest speakers from local experts
to state and federal agency personnel. MWS volunteers attend a 50 hour
course covering a range of natural resource topics. After completing the
course, they become Cooperative Extension volunteers to extend their knowledge
within their local communities. In addition, MWS has become a statewide
program and received funding from the Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality.
The support of the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, Yavapai County
Water Advisory Committee, and the International Arid Lands Consortium
have been invaluable in helping Cooperative Extension develop and implement
this innovative program.
The MWS program has now been expanded across Arizona. The Arizona Department
of Environmental Quality has funded the statewide program and curriculum
development for three years. Statewide expansion was largely due to the
success of the Yavapai County MWS program.
Russ Radden also conducted 22 water education programs for students and
teachers, collaborated with the Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee
and regional watershed partnerships, and coordinated the county-wide well
water testing program. Mr. Radden also assisted Yavapai County Government
with plan reviews, septic system education, and non-point source compliance.