Del Rio Springs Ranch Advisory Group

Sullivan Lake is considered as mile zero of the Verde River, and is important for both ecological and symbolic reasons. The lake property will connect to the Upper Verde Wildlife Management Area, owned by Arizona Game and Fish. This will result in the entire first 25 miles of the Verde River being entirely in public ownership (from Sullivan Lake to AZGFD Wildlife Area to the Prescott NF), maximizing wildlife management opportunities for migratory birds, federally listed fish and other species of greatest conservation need. The partners anticipate restoring the cottonwood gallery that historically was at Sullivan Lake and creating a small nature preserve and community gathering place, in addition to trailhead and parking for the north end of the Peavine Trail.

Del Rio Springs is important for both ecological and historical reasons – it once provided all of the water supply for City of Prescott and the northern Arizona communities of Ash Fork, Williams and Seligman. The project will put the entire springs area – including associated cottonwood galleries with blue heron rookeries and bald eagle nests – into public ownership and allow for restoration and integrated management for wildlife and nature preserve.

Arizona State Parks & Trails would create a new state park with day use, trails, and overnight camping in an area of the state with a shortage of state parks offering such amenities. This will benefit the economic development of Town of Chino Valley, and will build on existing and future recreational opportunities associated with the nearby Upper Verde River, Peavine National Recreation Trail, Upper Verde Wildlife Area and Prescott National Forest, including hiking, horse riding, mountain biking and hunting.

The project will reduce the amount of housing built right over the Verde River aquifer and the sensitive Del Rio springs area, with an estimated 350 acre-ft of water savings per year in the Prescott AMA by reducing 1,400 homes planned for the property. (Development for the Town is planned, however, on land retained by the seller on the west side of highway.) 

As evidenced by the state historic marker on the property next to State Highway 89, the ranch was the site of the first Arizona territorial capital as established by the U.S. Army in 1863 before it was moved to Prescott the following year.

In 1913, the parcels compromising the ranch were acquired by the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad, which operated a spur line down to Prescott. In partnership with the Railroad, the Fred Harvey Company raised poultry & beef and produced dairy products, eggs and other foods here to supply their premier chain of hotels along Route 66 and the rail line connecting St Louis to Los Angeles (including the well-known El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon and La Posada Hotel in Winslow). One of the early farm-to-table models to increase railroad tourism to Arizona, three of the historic Fred Harvey buildings from 1924 are still standing and in relatively good condition. The partners propose preserving and interpreting these buildings and the territorial capital to commemorate this important history of Arizona and the Southwest.