Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona
The Well at Montezuma Castle National Monument
Conservation Work at Montezuma Castle
Projects Goals
Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, and Tuzigoot are managed as a single National Monument unit.
In April of 2004, VOAz held its first event in response to a request from Monument Superintendent
Kathy Davis. At this event, VOAz volunteers cleared weeds and removed calcium desposits from an ancient and historic
irrigation ditch. This ditch was built to capture flow emerging from the well to irrigate crops of the
earliest occupants of the site--people of the Sinagua culture.
Subsequent occupants of the Beaver Creek valley have relied and continue to rely on this water source.
Water law allocates use between the Monument and land near the monument that lies along the canal.
The ancient and historic irrigation canal supplied by Montezuma Well needs regular cleaning.
The Monument is required to maintain a certain flow rate, which is monitored through a flow gage. This is where VOAz comes in.
The calcium rich waters of the Well (it also has arsenic, so please don't drink it),
leave deposits on the bottom and sides. This plus weedy plants gradually reduce the flow. This must be
regulary removed to maintain the required flow.The amount and quality of work done by VOAz volunteers at our first event led to requests for assistance with a variety of other tasks. We are allowed to camp in what is really a day use area. Grass, shade trees, running water and modern toilets. A very pleasant place to camp after a the day's work.
Project Leader: Donna Alexander
Project TA: Lou Armino
Completed Events
April 3-4, 2004October 9-10,2004
April 2-3, 2005
April 3-4, 2006
April 19-20, 2008
Hard working rock quarry, social trail obliteration, ditch cleaning, chicken wire removing
crew. Missing: Issac, Ken Gousman, Mike Snodgrass, Deb Stevens (and furry friend)
from October 2004.
Irrigation Canal & General Maintenance Photo AlbumNineteen volunteers (Judy Breen, Kenneth Gousman, Conrad Griese, Laura Horochowski, Judy Hulden, Els Janus, Jack Janus, Daniel Knollmueller, Gail Landry, Marie Liddle, Peter Michels, Eric, Brianna, & Issac Orrill, Fred Padgett, Mike Snodgrass, Marge Sparks, Deb Stevens and Michael Baker) were able to make it to the re-scheduled event. Everyone worked hard (156 hours) and we were able to complete the priority tasks of social trail closure, cleaning the irrigation ditch, and removal of chicken wire from trees (beaver barriers). Thanks to Kathy Davis and Rex for helping to make this such an enjoyable and productive project.
Conrad and Nancy examine erosion at water gauge Irrigation Canal & General Maintenance - Photo Album
Sunrise at Montezuma Well.
Land recovery & Fence Removal - Photo Album
Nineteen VOAz volunteers (Kris Cummings, Mike Galwey, Conrad Griese, Judy Hulden, Randy Johnson, Sally Kirch, Randy Klingman, Dan Knollmueller, Gail Landry, Aminda Moore, Brian and Cindy Romanchuck, Ken and Wendy Satoyoshi, Mike Snodgrass, Marge Sparks, Deb Stevens, Jess Wikle, and Lou Arminio) worked on several projects to make improvements to both Montezuma Well and Montezuma Castle National Monuments. Projects at the well included reworking a slope adjacent to a walkway to control erosion, elimination of a social trail, removal of over 630 yards of barbed wire fence, and removal of Malta Starthistle. At Montezuma Castle, a crew covered several exposed patches of dinosaur tracks with dirt to protect them from looters.
Irrigation ditch cleaners working to make canal passable for mother duck and those in her
care
Irrigation Canal Maintenance - Photo Album
Twenty-four volunteers tackled various maintenance tasks at the Well. By end of day Saturday, the entire section of the historic irrigation canal from the picnic area to the end of the monument was cleared of obstructive travertine deposits and vegetation. Also, several folks painted the ranger's contact station and the bathroom facilities located near the Well. Sunday was used to address problem areas in the canal upstream and fill in erosion spots in the picnic area.
Everyone enjoyed a Mexican dinner complements of the National Parks Service. In appreciation, all volunteers were presented with a Montezuma Castle gift certificate and a special edition NPS/VOAz bandana. Special recognition went to Susan Jones who received a 10-pin for attending her 10th event and to the first timers highlighted below. They say good help is hard to find, but VOAz seems to have had no trouble doing so this weekend!
Leadership Team: Event Manager - Lou Arminio; Crew Leaders - Dan Knollmueller, Fred Kraps, Ted Osmond, Anna Ryan, Ken Ryan, Charlie Scully; Chief Chef - Judy Hulden Work Crew Members: Carey Avery, Judy Breen, Cherie Burton, Ben Collins, Phoebe Hendrix, Susan Jones, Sally Kirch, Jerome Kroll, Gail Landry, Mark Minisce, Linda Schilling, Bill Sowle, Jim Splett, Deb Stevens, "Ace" Tout, John Wiechman (bold = first VOAz event).Total volunteer hours: 162
If you prefer, you may view a fullscreen slide show: Link to full-screen slide show
Those with slow web connections might wait a bit for the show to download.
Most of our group of thirty-four VOAz volunteers arrived Friday night and pitched our tents under a full moon. Kathy and Larry Lopez started the workday off on Saturday with cowboy coffee strong enough to get us ready to work, and a campfire to thaw the ice out of our veins. Five crews completed three projects, the Front Entrance Project, the Flood Debris Clearing Project and the Irrigation Canal Maintenance. The Front Entrance crew moved rock; big, heavy rock UPHILL - 6 men needing pry bars, rock. The end result was a natural appearing traffic barricade and a more attractive landscape design. The National Park Service provided a new front entrance sign to make the transformation complete. The Debris Removal Team cleared flood deposited driftwood and small dead trees from 100 feet of riverbank.
The majority of our effort for both days was devoted to performing maintenance on the historic irrigation canal, lovingly referred to as "the ditch". As Paul Ollig, Lead Interpretive Ranger for Montezuma Castle & Tuzigoot National Monuments told us in his presentation Saturday night, people have been clearing the ditch for over 1000 years in the same way, by hand, starting its the indigenuous builders.
We were treated to another fabulous Mexican dinner catered by Beto's Mexican Restaurant in Camp Verde thanks to our hosts: Montezuma Castle National Monument, who also gave out T-shirts and caps.Volunteers: Donna Alexander (Event Manager), Lou Arminio (Technical Advisor), Carey Avery, *Blayne Brown, Carolyn Chaney, *Emily Dahl, Lisa Dubas, Mike Fimea, Inge Harper, Robert Harper, Ryan Hort, *Donelle Huffer, Judy Hulden, Sally Kirch (Crew Leader), Daniel Knollmueller (Crew Leader), *Jatin Kumar, Lynn Larremore (Crew Leader), Kathy Lopez (Food Service), Larry Lopez (Food Service), *Mary McKelllar, John Metzger, *Betsy Metzger, Laura Prato, Shawn Redfield (Crew Leader), Marilyn Schrab, *Nima Shahidi, Sue Thiebes (Photographer), *George Vadasz, *Tammy Vadasz, *Geoffrey Waldrom, *Morgan Waldrom, Joseph Zveglich (Crew Leader)- * Indicates first VOAz Event
Total Volunteer Hours: 440
Thanks to our event partners & their staff:Kathy M. Davis, Superintendent, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
Paul Ollig, Lead Interpretive Ranger, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
Rex Vanderford, Park Ranger, Montezuma Well Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
Karen Hughes, Supervisory Ranger, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
Richard Formier, Park Guide, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
Scott Frisch, Maintenance Worker, Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
John Lewis, Park Guide, Montezuma Castle Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments
Todd Nelson, Volunteer Coordinator, Grand Canyon National Park
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Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona, 2140 East Fifth Street, #8, Tempe, AZ 85281
www.voaz.org phone: 480.966.2689 fax: 480.894.4081 voaz "at" voaz.org