North-central Arizona's dilemma is the same confronting many other areas of the state: a growing population and limited water supplies. A recently released Bureau of Reclamation report both documents the extent of the water shortage and identifies possible solutions.

As if Arizona did not have enough water-supply worries due to population growth and drought, the state is now contending with an application to transfer groundwater from Arizona to Nevada. Of the varied and perplexing issues the requested out-of-state transfer raises, one the most significant and far-reaching is whether Arizona law can protect state water resources from such transfers. This is the first time the state water export law has been put to the test; it very likely won’t be the last. The controversy is being played out in a remote, rugged and sparsely populated corner of Arizona, in the far northwest part of the state, an area where Arizona, Nevada and Utah lie in close proximity.

A situation in Arizona is garnering national attention with the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing to hear a pair of consolidated appeals EPA v. Defenders of Wildlife and the National Association of Homebuilders v. Defenders of Wildlife. The appeals raise the issue whether federal agencies must comply with the Endangered Species Act when implementing other laws.

This special supplement provides news and information about El Niño. In a sense, the publication will serve as an El Niño Times, informing Arizona water professionals and others interested in water affairs of plans, projects and activities relating to weather affected by El Niño. The publication will concentrate on events occurring in Arizona but also will provide more general information about El Niño and its expected effects.

This year's El Niño already has fully earned its claim to fame; this is the first such event predicted so far in advance. Also, the extent to which this year's event is being studied and observed is unprecedented.

Because of El Niño's seemingly late start and uncertain progress, a pattern that did not conform to some early predictions, some people in the western United States question what effect El Niño finally will have on the area; some even believe the event might be diminishing. El Niño, however, should not be lightly dismissed, as recent rains demonstrate. A January report from the U.S. Weather Service's Tucson office confirms El Niño's continued presence: 'We are currently in a strong El Niño episode, which is forecast to continue through April 1998. This episode is similar in magnitude and aerial extent to that of 1982-83, which is considered the strongest of the century."

Increased precipitation from El Niño ensures more abundant vegetative growth, which in turn raises concern about increased fire hazards, especially during Arizona's summer fire season. Whatever fire hazards are due this year to El Niño are not being experienced evenly throughout the state, however, with some areas actually having less fires. And, in some cases, El Niño's legacy may not be apparent this season, but instead be evident by fires in future years.

In January 2014, Arizona will begin its first farmland fallowing and forbearance project. Unlike similar fallowing programs in the West, this project does not transfer the water conserved in the agricultural sector to the municipal sector. For the time being, this program seeks to conserve water in the Colorado River system. The saved water will be maintained in Lake Mead, increasing its dwindling levels and helping forestall shortages to water users in the Lower Colorado River Basin. Since 2000, water levels in Lake Mead have fallen by an alarming 100 feet. If the lake’s elevation falls by another 30 feet, users in the lower basin would face reductions in water allocations.

In the City of Prescott, the Watson Woods Riparian Preserve, along Granite Creek, is an oasis for wildlife and humans surrounded by development. The city’s wastewater treatment plant and transfer station are located a block to the east, a lumber company and a concrete block manufacturer are located to the south, Highway 89 and some dense subdivisions are to the west. Over the last century, this riparian area has been a sand and gravel mine, a dumpsite, a 4-wheel playground, and a shooting range. In 1995, the City of Prescott established the Watson Woods Riparian Preserve and transferred its management to Prescott Creeks, a grassroots organization working to improve the health of the local Granite Creek Watershed. With the labor of community volunteers, Prescott Creeks realigned four sections of the degraded creek channel giving them a more natural course and revegetated the floodplain to restore riparian habitat and improve water quality. In an area where non-point source pollution is a serious water quality issue, these changes help slow stormwater runoff and filter E-coli bacteria and other contaminants.

Yet another conservation easement has been worked out along the Babocomari River, making the fourth such agreement in the area since January. The total area now protected stands at 1,410.2 acres and 4.61 miles of river. What is occurring along the Babocamari River reflects a national trend: the increased use of conservation easements as a strategy to protect natural resources. According to the Land Trust Alliance the amount of land protected by local and state land trusts using easements doubled to 6.2 million acres between 2000 and 2005.