Chapter 4: Managing chaparral in Yavapai County

Yavapai County in central Arizona supports extensive stands of chaparral in the Bradshaw Mountains, Mingus Mountain, and the Santa Maria Range. Chaparral occupies about 400,300 acres of the Prescott National Forest (Anderson 1986). These chaparral communities provide a wide range of benefits including watershed protection, grazing for wildlife and domestic animals, recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitat. As in other chaparral areas in Arizona and California, these shrublands are subject to regular wildfires that can destroy the protective shrub canopy and leave the burned areas susceptible to runoff and erosion, normally for 3 to 4 following fire.