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Topographical Maps
Pine Area - Includes: Milk Ranch Point, Dripping Springs, Strawberry Mountain, Pine Canyon, Strawberry Canyon and Baker Butte (pdf 1.24 mb)
Strawberry Area - Includes: Strawberry Valley, Fossil Springs Wilderness, Calf Pen Canyon, Deadman Mesa and Hardscrabble Mesa (pdf 1.25 MB)
News Updates
December 24, 2008 - Fossil Creek Will Re-open New Year’s Day -- Two Months Ahead of Schedule
Fossil Creek temporary closure orders are being lifted on Jan. 1, 2009 by the Tonto and Coconino National Forests, two months ahead of Arizona Public Service (APS) schedules. The closure orders were requested by APS in connection with the ongoing decommissioning of the power plant and facilities at Fossil Creek and went into effect on August 18, 2008. On New Year’s Day the Fossil Springs Trail Head parking area and Fossil Springs Trail will re-open for visitor use; however, the Lower Trail and Lower Trail Parking area remain under a closure order. According to Kimberly Ashcraft, APS Project Manager, APS is currently removing their equipment and restoring the site, “After months of work, APS has removed the top 14 feet of Fossil Springs Dam.” Ashcraft described the next step in the decommissioning of the the old Childs-Irving Hydroelectric facilites, “Our next major activity will be removing the Hot Water Siphon. As we pull back from Fossil Springs Dam, we will be re-grading the access road to form a walking trail.”
For further information, please contact the Payson Ranger District office, Tonto National Forest, at 928-474-7900, or the Red Rock Ranger District office, Coconino National Forest, 928-203-7500.
March 11, 2009 - NAU protects Fossil Creek from being ‘loved to death’
When Northern Arizona University scientists helped restore Fossil Creek to its original flow, they expected native fish to return in abundance, but they didn’t expect a surge of visitors. “We have this fear that we are going to love it to death,” says Jane Marks, an associate professor in NAU’s biological sciences, who worked with scientists, environmentalists and businesses to return the creek in Arizona’s rim country to its full and natural force.
March 25, 2009 - Fossil Creek Protected as Wild and Scenic River: Omnibus Public Lands Bill Heads to President's Desk
PHOENIX, Ariz.— The House of Representatives today voted 285-140 to approve the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which grants a federal “wild and scenic river” designation for Arizona’s restored Fossil Creek. The Senate approved the bill last week, and it now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. The bipartisan H.R. 146 safeguards more than 1,100 miles of rivers in Arizona, Utah, California, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Massachusetts, and includes important protections for 350,000 acres of land along 86 new wild and scenic rivers.
July 2,2009 - Tonto National Forest Lifts Fire Restrictions
All campfire and smoking restrictions affecting the Tonto National Forest will be lifted effective Wednesday, July 1, at 8 a.m. The fire restrictions, which covered the entire forest, are no longer needed because fire danger has been reduced by increased moisture and humidity from the annual monsoon season. These wetter conditions prompted officials to lift forest fire restrictions.
July 17, 2009 - Good fishing at secondary Rim Country streams
The summer trout fishing season has been going on for three months and all the local waters within an hour’s drive of Payson have had significant angling pressure. The recent heat wave has brought thousands of campers who have hopes of cooling off, and of course, wetting a line in one of the popular lakes and streams in the area.