Government and business leaders have agreed to work on a plan to protect a key reservoir north of Payson from wildfires.
Officials from the United States Interior and Agriculture Departments, Salt River Project, the City of Payson, and others gathered Wednesday to celebrate their partnership. The idea is to restore the watershed for the C.C. Cragin Reservoir in Central Arizona.
Officials will come up with a five-year plan that will identify specific areas to target for restoration and figure out who will pay for what. This agreement is just one part of the Western Watershed Enhancement Partnership, which the feds announced last year. Since 2002, the Cragin Reservoir has been threatened by three large wildfires.