U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arizona Game and Fish Department Gila River and Wilcox Playa Watershed Chapter 7 GILA RIVER AND WILCOX PLAYA WATERSHED CHAPTER 7 GILA RIVER AND WILCOX PLAYA WATERSHED .... 7-1 GILA RIVER WATERSHED ......................................................... 7-6 San Francisco River Sub-Watershed ....................................................................................... 7-6 Luna Lake ........................................................................................................................ 7-6 Upper Gila River Sub-Watershed .......................................................................................... 7-26 Upper Gila Complex .......................................................................................................... 7-26 Graham County Fairgrounds.......................................................................................... 7-27 Roper Lake ..................................................................................................................... 7-30 Dankworth Pond ............................................................................................................ 7-36 Frye Mesa Lake.............................................................................................................. 7-38 Cluff Ranch Pond #3 ...................................................................................................... 7-42 Upper Gila River Complex Analysis ................................................................................. 7-48 Middle Gila Sub-Watershed .................................................................................................. 7-48 Kearny Lake ................................................................................................................... 7-50 Agua Fria River Sub-Watershed ............................................................................................ 7-55 Lynx Creek Complex ......................................................................................................... 7-57 Lynx Lake ...................................................................................................................... 7-58 Fain Lake ....................................................................................................................... 7-69 Black Canyon Creek Complex........................................................................................... 7-77 Horsethief Basin Lake .................................................................................................... 7-77 Agua Fria River Sub-Watershed Analysis ............................................................................. 7-82 Lower Gila River Sub-Watershed .......................................................................................... 7-91 Biological Assessment of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s January 2011 Statewide and Urban Fisheries Stocking Program 7-1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arizona Game and Fish Department Gila River and Wilcox Playa Watershed Lower Gila-Yuma Complex .............................................................................................. 7-92 Wellton Golf Course Pond ............................................................................................. 7-92 Fortuna Pond .................................................................................................................. 7-95 Redondo Pond (Yuma Lakes) ...................................................................................... 7-105 Lower Gila–Yuma Lakes Complex Analysis .................................................................. 7-108 WILLCOX PLAYA WATERSHED ............................................. 7-109 Riggs Flat Lake ............................................................................................................ 7-110 List of Figures Figure 1. Luna Lake Dam ............................................................................................................ 7-7 Figure 2. Overview of Luna Lake and downstream areas of San Francisco and Tularosa rivers. ............................................................................................................................... 7-9 Figure 3. Aerial picture of Luna Lake area. ................................................................................. 7-9 Figure 4. Luna Lake Spillway .................................................................................................... 7-11 Figure 5. Minimum and maximum discharge in the San Francisco River during the months of July-October, 1959-2009 recorded from the USGS gage near Reserve, New Mexico. .................................................................................................................. 7-12 Figure 6. Luna Lake irrigation release during summer irrigation season .................................. 7-12 Figure 7.Luna Lake irrigation release water seeping through cobble bed between the spillway and culverts on Forest Road 570 on upper San Francisco River. .................... 7-14 Figure 8. Map of Luna Lake buffered stocking site: ................................................................. 7-21 Figure 9. Upper Gila stocking sites overview map. ................................................................... 7-27 Figure 10. Aerial photo of Graham County Fairgrounds Ponds ................................................ 7-28 Figure 11. Roper Lake and Dankworth Pond Watershed .......................................................... 7-31 Figure 12. Aerial photo of flood control dike preventing flow from Roper and Dankworth to the Gila River drainage. ............................................................................................. 7-34 Figure 13. Aerial photo of flood retention dike in Frye Creek .................................................. 7-40 Figure 14. Upstream barrier to fish movement at Frye Mesa Reservoir ................................... 7-41 Figure 15. Cluff Ranch Drainage ............................................................................................... 7-43 Figure 16. Termination point of Ash Creek below Cluff #3 ...................................................... 7-46 Figure 17. Middle Gila Sub-Watershed ..................................................................................... 7-50 Biological Assessment of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s January 2011 Statewide and Urban Fisheries Stocking Program 7-2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arizona Game and Fish Department Gila River and Wilcox Playa Watershed Figure 18. Kearny Lake. ............................................................................................................ 7-51 Figure 19. Kearny Lake ............................................................................................................. 7-52 Figure 20. Screened pipe ............................................................................................................ 7-54 Figure 21. Close up of screened pipe ......................................................................................... 7-54 Figure 22. Overview map of the Agua Fria River Watershed and stocking sites. ..................... 7-57 Figure 23. Angler at Lynx Lake, July 2008. .............................................................................. 7-58 Figure 24. Lower most sediment dam on Lynx Creek just upstream of Lynx Lake, March 2009................................................................................................................................ 7-63 Figure 25. Diversion dam on Lynx Creek between Lynx Lake and Fain Lake, July 2009. ...... 7-65 Figure 26. Drop from the spillway at Lynx Lake to Lynx Creek, March 2009. ........................ 7-66 Figure 27. Lynx Creek downstream of the APS lower pond, March 2009. .............................. 7-67 Figure 28. Fain Park, July 2002. ................................................................................................ 7-70 Figure 29. Dam at Fain Lake. .................................................................................................... 7-74 Figure 30. Middle Pond on APS property. ................................................................................ 7-75 Figure 31. Confluence of Clipper Wash, Lynx Creek and Agua Fria river looking west from road crossing to the sub-division of Quail Run, Prescott Valley, March 2009. .... 7-75 Figure 32. Horsethief Basin Lake .............................................................................................. 7-78 Figure 33. Mean monthly discharge for the USGS site at Humbolt, AZ for the period Jan 1, 2000 to September 30, 2009. ..................................................................................... 7-83 Figure 34. Mean monthly discharge for the USGS site at Mayer, AZ for the period Jan 1, 1940 to September 30, 2008. ......................................................................................... 7-84 Figure 35. Mean monthly discharge for the USGS site at Rock Springs, AZ for the period February 1, 1970 to September 30, 2008. ...................................................................... 7-84 Figure 36. Lower Gila River sub-watershed. Wellton Golf Course, Fortuna Pond, and Redondo (Yuma Lakes) are located at lower reaches of the Gila River. ....................... 7-93 Figure 37. Map of Lower Gila Complex with stocking sites (sub-watershed shaded yellow), Laguna Dam and Morelos Dam identified. ....................................................