Happy New Year, and welcome to our new Oak Creek Watershed Council website!

2011 was very technical and team-oriented for the OCWC, and also we celebrated it as the "Year of the Volunteer."  Our first Master Watershed Steward class graduated in June and we welcomed 12 new members to our Council.  Many Steward Associates worked on the Oak Creek Watershed Improvement Plan (OCWIP) grant project along with other watershed resident volunteers.

We're happy to report that the text draft of the OCWIP has been submitted to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) for review, and the balance is being forwarded the week of January 15th.

2012 will see our transition from the technical aspects of the grant project to the "outreach" phase as the OCWIP becomes public and comments solicited.  After public input, the OCWIP will be finalized and submitted again to ADEQ before May 31, 2012.

In the meantime, our team will also be developing the Oak Creek Community Outreach Program (OCCOP) which is intended to educate residents and visitors to Oak Creek to consistently use practices that will protect the health of the creek.

On behalf of Kurt Harris, Chairman, and all members of the OCWC Board of Directors, you are invited to surf our website and take your time reading about the Oak Creek Watershed Improvement Plan, as well as the Outreach Program, and other information you may be interested in. The newest edition of our newsletter, Oak Creek Chronicles, is also available.

If you would like to offer support to our group, whether as a volunteer, financial or to let us know you care about Oak Creek, please drop a note to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will get in touch with you right away.

If there was ever a cause that could bind together people of all walks of life throughout Sedona, Yavapai County, and Coconino County, and resurrect a spirit of community, it is to protect Oak Creek and help to nurse it back to good health!  Join with us in this quest, and together, let us make 2012 a year to be remembered -- the "Year of Unity."

Thank you for your continuing support,

Barry Allan, Executive Director

Many thanks go to our webmaster, Theresa Stacy-Ryan, who worked diligently in December to change our format and make it more public-friendly and easier for us to edit, etc.