The Prescott team is comprised of individuals with diverse backgrounds, education, memberships and fields of interest including: wildlife biology,
natural resources management, range management, forestry, farming, bird watching, camping & hiking, kayaking, and scuba diving. All team members are certified herbicide applicators, possessing structural pest control applicator licenses, and are members of the Southwest Vegetation Management Association (SWVA). We also have certified instructors for highway equipment training and chainsaw safety.
Highway corridors in Region 3 pass through distinct biotic communities (Biomes):
- Petran Mountain Conifer Forests from Payson to Prescott
- Great Basin Conifer woodlands at levels below the Mogollon Rim west
- Interior Chaparral at areas South and West of Prescott
- Plains and Great Basin grasslands such as Ashfork and Seligman
- Semidesert grassland in the Verde Valley and Cordes Junction areas
- Mohave Desert in Bullhead City
- Arizona Uplands such as US93 from Wickenburg to Interstate 40
- Lower Colorado along Interstate 10 to the California border
Prescott Region 3 is responsible for managing land, wildlife, and vegetation inventory of 1,354 miles (Map) of the following roadways:
All of the State Routes (SR) 97, 96, 71, 69, 169, 179, 72, 68, 66 and United States route (US) 93.
And portions of the following roadways:
- I-10 from California state line to the junction of SR 85
- I-17 from New River to junction with SR 179
- I-40 Ashfork to California state line
- US 60 Jct I-10 to junction with US 93
- SR 87 Jct 260 in Payson to junction with Lake Mary Rd
- SR 89 from Wickenburg to Ashfork
- SR 89A from Sedona to Prescott
- SR95 from Bullhead City to Quartzite
- SR 260 Cottonwood to junction with SR 87
The diversity of biotic communities and explosive population growth present on-going issues in Region 3:
- Timing of pre-emergent herbicide applications to coinicide with rain events
- Extensive areas of sandy soils which are unsuitable for pre-emergent herbicide applications
- Tree and brush encroachment limiting visibility
- Tall herbaceous weeds limiting visibility
- Bark beetle infestations
- Wildland fires
The year-round resource management projects in the Region are:
- Maintaining the recovery zone along our highways to improve motorist safety
- Sight distance visibility of road signs and hazard markers within our region
- Prescribed burning to reduce fire fuels on the right-of-way and to add nutrients back into the soil
- Herbicide treatments to manage noxious and invasive weeds
- Collection of Global Positioning System (GPS) data of our projects, roadkills, salvaged native
plants, and noxious weed locations.
Region 3 is involved in cooperative projects with various agencies:
- U.S. Forest Service
- State Land Department
- Arizona Game and Fish Department
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Park Service
- All Native American Tribes within our region
- Southwest Vegetation Management Association (SWVMA)
Current Projects in Prescott Region.
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