An Interview with Christina Votja About Kachina Wetlands

Located a few miles south of Flagstaff, Kachina Wetlands Preserve is one of four sanctuaries supported by the Northern Arizona Audubon Society.  It teems with activity, drawing in walkers (many with dogs), bicyclists, and birders.  In this episode, I chat with Christina Votja, the steward for the preserve, about its history, biodiversity, beauty, important role in bird migration, and more. 

Links:

Northern Arizona Audubon Society Calendar 

   https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org/page-18090

NAAS Webpage: Kachina Wetlands:

https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org/Kachina-Wetlands-Preserve

Thank you for listening.  Please visit our website and subscribe to our Instagram feed.

• Website: https://www.northernarizonaaudubon.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nazaudubon/

The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972. Join us. Add your voice.

Transcript

…Welcome. This podcast is brought to you by the Northern Arizona Audubon Society, the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since nineteen seventy two. We envision a future in which birds are thriving in Northern Arizona and throughout the world. Visit our website to learn more about this dynamic organization and the work it does for the love of birds and nature, especially in our part of the world…Hi, and welcome to another Northern Wings podcast. My name is Matt Anderson. And today, I have the pleasure of talking about a birding area near and dear to my heart, Kachina Wetlands, with Christina Vojta, who serves as the Northern Arizona Audubon Society steward for that bird sanctuary. So before you you're gonna ask me some questions. Right, Matt? I am gonna ask you some questions. Well, I wanna ask you a question. Alright. What do you think is so special about Kachina? Why is it so near and dear to your heart? Such a good question. Well, here's the thing. Uh, we try to keep these episodes under forty minutes, so I'm gonna have to use a very abbreviated list. Let's start with the spectacular view of the San Francisco Peaks when you just enter the wetlands. Oh, you bet. Multimillion dollar. Yeah. And the wildlife there, you've really you don't really often know what you're gonna see around that next corner. It's a place of great surprises and great consistency too. I always see osprey. I, um
, and this year, I'm always seeing yellow headed blackbirds and hearing them. There are a lot of other things that I've come to really love about that place. First of all, it's a place of great community. Right? You've got walkers there who are there every day, and they forge friendships. There are runners. There are cyclists. There are just friends out for a stroll. There are a number of eBirders there as well. And so listeners can go to the thousands of eBird lists there, dozens of which are very recent, and see what's there this week, today. Uh-huh. And then it's also a spot where Northern Arizona Audubon Society hosts bird walks. Right. And they have some really talented, uh, leaders of those walks, yourself included, that help open the place up to people like me who are not as good at bird identification or sighting them and like double the species that at least I'd see in a day. So just there are many, many things that I love about that place. Yeah. So let's start a little bit with where is it located? It's actually not too far outside of Flagstaff, but it's a well kept secret. What you do is you drive south on I-seventeen about…
five or six miles, and you take the Kachina Village exit, but then immediately you zip around, follow the frontage road about a mile, and you're there. It's right tucked back there, right off of I-seventeen south of Flag. Now, is this a natural wetland? No, it isn't. It's actually the whole thing is, uh, well, they're evaporation ponds…for Class B treated wastewater…that's coming out of the community of Kachina Village. K. So a great place for birding, not such a great place for fishing. Oh, no. Yeah. There well, I'll tell you about some fish there in a little bit. Okay. Yeah. Uh, but can I tell you a little about the history? I'd love that. Okay. When Kachina Village began, whenever that was, everyone was on their own septic system. And it was unfortunately creating subsurface pollution of Oak Creek, which is such a beloved creek…
for not only us, but wildlife and tourists. So Arizona Department of Environmental Quality demanded that Kachina Village begin a utility company where they could have a common system for treating the wastewater rather than individual septic systems. And Coconino County funded that and incubated that until they were on their feet enough that they were self sustaining and could pay for that with money coming in from the water users. So they give them fresh water and then they treat their wastewater. So in order to treat the wastewater, there's a facility at the base of what we would know as PumpHouse WASH, where they treat the water to class b and then it's pumped up the hill. And so they took a…sort of an open ponderosa pine area with…grassland understory and scooped out a number of ponds, I think eight or nine of these basins, not ponds, but just…basins that they then lined with bentonite clay to hold this treated Class B water so it could then be evaporated and not get into the groundwater supply. The original purpose was just treatment of class b wastewater. So those ponds, I think, were created in about nineteen eighty six to eighty eight. And shortly thereafter, Bill Gowd, who was a professor of biology at NAU at the time, put together a bunch of students, and he got a little grant from Arizona Heritage Fund to gather native plants from other wetland areas in northern Arizona and bring them to these ponds, these evaporation ponds, to make them look more natural and to hopefully attract wildlife. And it worked. I mean, it was It was fascinating. I had to wait. Yeah. Yeah, it was great. Yeah. And so they brought in bulrushes and sedges and a number of plants…
from, like, Marshall Lake and other little wetland areas around, and they just took hold. They just took hold. It was great. But along with that came weeds. Of course. Yeah. So there were a number of weeds that sprung up at that time. But we'll talk about the weeds later. That just does give you an overview of the history. And so we're at a place where we've got these newly scooped out ponds. We've got some new native vegetation. And then what? Well, as you might imagine, if you add water, you get birds. And Kachina Weddeline suddenly…had boku birds. In fact, at this point, two sixty one different species of birds have been seen at one time or another in Kachina wetlands. Yeah. In fact, it's the number one birding hotspot in Coconino County. Well, I noticed that when I looked at eBird this morning, there have been over seventeen hundred eBirders contributing over six thousand three hundred checklists. Wow. Yeah. It's just really impressive. I'm not surprised. Yeah. And it gives you an idea of how beloved that place is for people who love seeing and listening and photographing birds. Yes. And you mentioned, you know, the people who come out there with baby strollers and their bicycles. Well, if you see someone walking around with binoculars and you stop and ask them, chances are they're from Connecticut…
or who knows? I mean, Norway. People come from everywhere. They know about this if they're…at all tuned in to eBird hotspots, and they come to see Kachina wetlands. And it's a wonderful place to escape the heat at lower elevations. Absolutely. Just come up for a morning and enjoy the birds that are there. Yes. Yeah. I'm always amazed when I stop and talk to a random person, though, where they're from. It's just it really is amazing. Yeah. So you obviously love this place, Christina. Oh, yeah. How how was it that you got involved in all the things that you're doing there? Oh, well, I mentioned a couple of minutes ago about, you know, not only did Bill Gow bring these beautiful plants, but the weeds came on their own. Uh-huh. Um, and it especially knapweed. Knapweed is a really bad invasive weed. And also Scotch thistle…bull thistle. It got to the point…in the early two well, mid two thousands that you couldn't really walk there on a summer day and enjoy it. The weeds overgrew the walking paths. And I was working at Northern Arizona University at the time. And I just thought, well, you know, I'm getting close to retirement. Maybe I could just sort of adopt this place and do something about the weed problem. Well, coincidentally…
I learned through a couple birding friends of mine that Northern Arizona Audubon had been thinking for a number of years…to…make Kachina wetlands an actual bird sanctuary. They asked if I would be interested because one reason they hadn't gone with Ford is they just couldn't find anybody who had the time to commit. And I said, well, you know, I'm retiring here, so sure, I'll take it on. So I assumed the role of steward of Kachina wetlands. It doesn't mean that we own the land. It just means that we manage it in, you know, a superficial way for the benefit of birds and to educate the public about birds. And so under the auspices of us Audubon, then I was able to look for grants…to get funds…to take care of the weeds. I was able to get a two year grant from Arizona Fire and Forestry. And then, I mean, I partnered with the utility company, Kachina Village Utility Company, And then they were awarded funds and hired Natural Channel Design, which is the engineering firm in town that does so much more in terms of weed abatement and flood control and post fire rehab. They are a very skilled…
private company. And with their expertise, within two years, we were starting to turn around Mhmm. The appearance of Kachina wetlands through a very rigorous…weed abatement program. Yeah. And now it's just a matter of maintaining it. The original plan, the three pronged approach, was to spray with the correct chemical for getting rid of the knapweed, then follow it up after the weeds died and before they came back the next year, follow it up with robust grasses like western reek grass that has a rhizomatous root that really prevents seeds of invasive species from recolonizing an area. So that was a really important second step. And the third step is to have…volunteers hand weed any remaining ones. It would be impossible to hand weed the whole thing, so you have to do the spraying. But now…the maintenance routine is one spraying in May and two…weedings by volunteers in July and August, and we're able to keep it down to a really manageable level and keep knapweed and thistle from taking over again. The whole the knapweed is part of my connection with Kachina wetlands as well. And I think you I think I met you for the first time in two thousand nine or two thousand ten at one of those lead holes. And I remember I remember vividly the size and number of those knapweed bundles. They were impressive. And Yeah. And you're right. It has changed dramatically because of everybody's hard work over the years. And I think people would be surprised to see the change over time. And I'm I know I'm very, very grateful to be able to walk all the trails now. Me too. It's really changed. I and I just can't thank Natural Channel Design enough for the expertise they brought to…
you know, I I came up the idea. I was the complainer who wanted to see it done. Uh-huh. And then, yeah, Arizona Fire and Forestry was the funding to make it happen. And then Yeah. Natural Channel design with their expertise. So it was great. And then also, I must say, it's just been great to have Sam Mossman, who's the manager for KVID, the utility company. He's great. He has been so supportive of everything out there and making sure that it's maintained in a beautiful state. So to him, the wetlands are far more than…just evaporation ponds. He wants to have it be a place for of multiple use where we can support wildlife and give people a place to recreate. Mhmm. And that's one of the things that I so appreciate about the wetlands is just the proximity of people with different needs for the area and the wildlife. Everybody seems to really enjoy it. The birds are thriving, and it's a place that I always enjoy coming to, rain or shine, and have visited in the dead of winter as well and still have seen some great things. Right. Well, you mentioned the dead of winter. Uh
, I'd like to point out that…Kachina wetlands really has seasonality when it comes to birding. And…if you go there now, mostly you're gonna see mallards and…Canada geese and all their little goslings and ducklings…But if you go in the spring or in the fall, it is a hopping place Mhmm. With all kinds of migrating waterfowl. I couldn't call it a major stopover by any stretch of the imagination, but it has become important…to migrating waterfowl as a place to sit down and rest and retank…before they continue north or south. Mhmm. One of the many things that I think Northern Arizona Audubon has done really well up here is coordinate bird walks that allow people from around the community. And even we had some people from out of state and out of the country at the last bird walk and just opened their eyes to the beauty and the diversity that exists at the wetlands. Yeah. It's it's wonderful. So my role as a steward has really changed since that because initially it was all about the weeds. And now we like I say, that's out of that's pretty much under in under control. And in fact, this year, there's a woman named Jan Busco who lives in Flagstaff, and she is a professional botanist and has led a number of weed efforts. She's taken over the weeding part beginning this summer, which is great, you know, moved on. So what is it that I do now as a steward? Well, probably the main thing is making sure that…
the public is aware of the value of Kachina Wetlands for birds. Mhmm. And I do that through an information kiosk that's in the front. That's right. Every month or so, and you help me with this, Matt. We've got a team effort going here…where we co design a bird of the month poster, and then you take it out for me if it's more convenient for you to do that and hang it up. So if anyone goes out there, take a look at see what the bird is of the month. Yeah. And right now, it's your favorite little little chickie, which is the coot, the cute coots. The American coot has the most adorable little They are wonderful to see. Yes. And you've taken many, many pictures of them. Yeah. Several hard drives worth, I think. Yeah. Yeah. And so right now, the bird of the month poster features the American cooch with one of its cute little babies that has a scruffy spaghetti like noodles around its neck, bright gold, little bald spot on top of its head. There's some red there, so I think the beak might be red. Anyway, they're they're a trip to look at. They look psychedelic. So that's being featured this month. There's also a list of all the birds that have ever been seen, a little checklist, hard copy on the side of the kiosk that anyone is free to grab one of those. We offer monthly bird walks…
not so much in the winter. Mostly we did give one in February this year because it got warm or March, I believe. But generally speaking, we offer them from April through October and sometimes into November. Right. So, Christina, how do people find out about when these bird walks and other activities are scheduled? Well, there's primarily three ways. The first is through Northern Arizona Audubon. If you go to their website, which is simply all one word run together, northern arizona audubon dot org. And on their home page, at the top, there's a tab that if you pull it down, it shows their calendar with all of their activities…not just Kachina Wellness, but bird walks, general meetings…
Second one is meetup dot com. That's…just a commercial social website…of which Northern Arizona Audubon has a subscription so they can advertise their walks. And anyone can join for free as a member of that and then be notified of any walks coming up. And then the third way is through the Audubon Facebook page. So it's clear that Northern Arizona Audubon Society is doing just an amazing job out there. What What are some of the other community activities that are taking place at Kachina wetlands…
That is a really cool question because…one of the things I like best about Kachina wetlands is for some mysterious magical reason…it seems to make people want to do cool things out there. And I can't say that there's I don't know too much about organized activities, but there are so many impromptu things that have happened out there just because people have a love for the wetlands. And an example is Doug Lavassier, local guy, came from the East Coast, interested in bluebirds. And one day he approached me and he said, who do I talk to if I want to put some bluebird nest boxes on here? And I said, well, you're talking to the right person. I can help you make this happen…by talking to the utility company. And before long, he had…put together, hammered together twelve nest boxes, and they were out there in places where, you know, they wouldn't bother people's photographic experience or whatever. And then lo and behold, within a year, I got a phone call from someone named Lori Cruz who had also moved from the East Coast. And she said, I noticed you had nest boxes out there. Is anyone monitoring their activity? I said, not officially. And she started an entire…
nest box monitoring program with, I don't know how many. Matt, you've been involved with it. How many volunteers are there with that? Six probably six or eight who are really active right now. And Yeah. And, uh, Doug is still participating on a high level, helping with maintenance. And so his dream continues. And, uh, Lori has just done an amazing job coordinating all of us to Yeah. Net pocket. We still have twelve. And so those aren't like organized activities of any organization. They're just things that and so another example is Dave Smith. He used to work for Fish and Wildlife Service here. He's into pollinators. And he said, I'd like to build a pollinator garden out there. So he helped get a grant from Fish and Wildlife Service to go plant milkweed and rabbitbrush and a number of species that are important to native bees and other native pollinators. So that was cool. And with that project, I was only peripherally involved, but I helped get together some community members from Forest Highlands that's right there next to Kachina Mittens, from the from Kachina Village, from Flagstaff. We had forty people out there one day planting four hundred milkweed plants…
that Dave Smith had managed to get grown from his seed Love that. At a at an NAU garden, uh, nursery center. So that was that's another one. And then so Forest Highlands, I mentioned them. Teddy Thomas, who was running the garden club there for many years, she organized her garden club to put together a pretty little garden of beautiful perennial plants right there as you enter the wetlands. It's just a little splash of color that and they're not native, but they're harmless too, you know, and they really add a little zest and just show once again the community involvement. Yeah. And then a couple very sweet ladies, maybe if you've noticed those benches out there, those nice green benches. Beautiful. Just a couple people who walk out there all the time and they say, we'd like a place to sit down. So we, again, made sure that they would be in places that wouldn't…detract from the natural setting, and we now have those. So it could go on and on. Boy scout troop, a girl scout troop that have one time or another adopted the wetlands Mhmm. To do little projects out there. Wow. And and I'd like to mention a little bit about the science that's going on out there. Sure. So you mentioned the NES BOTCH program, which is just a joy to be part of, to see those little bluebirds from beginning to fledging, uh
, is just wonderful. Those data from those observations are submitted to the Cornell NestWatch program where they're aggregated. And so people at very high levels can get more accurate idea about how western bluebirds are doing in different parts of the country. So it helps feed into a larger effort. Absolutely. Yep. Yes. And then aren't there some other science efforts, research efforts going out there? Yeah. There sure are. One that's notable is that PhD student, Matt Jenkins, is studying western bluebirds as part of his doctoral dissertation. And so he's out there frequently and he's exploring how maternal development environment links both the elaboration of bird plumage and an individual's competitive ability. And he's doing some very sophisticated stuff that involves banding many of these that also contribute a great deal to science efforts. And a new program that's going on out there is studying the relationship between blowflies and bluebird nests in different parts of Arizona. And those blowflies can be found in nests after the nestlings have fledged. And these blowflies are parasites that attack the nestlings and also can carry disease. Wow. And so Nest Watch volunteers are contributing the vacated nests to this project at Northern Arizona University. So there's a lot of stuff that's going on out there that's really not visible on a day to day basis that's, I think, helping bird conservation in Northern Arizona and beyond. That is so wonderful. I think, really, that's what makes Kachina so so special. It's very much a win win situation…
People just love to come out there, and whether they're coming to…just ride their bike and look around Mhmm. Or if they're working on something that's scientific contributing to a broader effort, it Kachina of Wellness is the place to do it. It's a remarkable place. And and just in my short time visiting it, I've noticed substantial improvements, not only in the the weed abatement that's taking place, but also the signage…that's been established there has been really helpful and that new observation deck. I say new. It's several years old now, but it's a beautiful place where people can get past the reeds and see blue herons and black crowned night herons and variety of other birds. Yes. That was funded by Arizona Heritage Fund. And so do you know why we had to make it a floating deck instead of just put pilings and make it a little walkway out there? I don't. Tell me. Yeah. Well, remember I told you that these are artificial basins Right. That have been lined with clay. Well, I thought about putting a little, you know, just a regular little dock out there, boardwalk or something. And Alan Hayden from Natural Channel Design said, if you start doing that, you're gonna poke holes through the clay lining and all the water's gonna run out of the sand. Oh, wow. Well, let's not do that. So he said, you can find online. I mean, you can find anything online. You can find floating boardwalks. So that's what that is. That's just something that Audubon bought online, and then KVID installed it for us. The partnership we've had with them has just been great. One of the things I love doing on that deck is watching the Osprey come in and take fish out of it. And you were going to Mention the fish. Yes. Okay. Well, Forest Highlands…
has a number of ponds as well. The wetlands area is much bigger than you realize when you're out there because from a bird's eye view, it includes these…ponds that are on…the golf courses of Forest Highlands…community. But they as a result of all that water, it had become a breeding place for midge flies, and their larvae have live in the bottom of the pond. Well, Sam, the the manager, found out that a solution for controlling the midge flies is to introduce goldfish to the ponds. And they can't go anywhere. They can't get into any natural waterway because these are just little contained basins. But he plants the ponds or has them. You know, he pays contracts out to have the ponds planted with goldfish every year, and some of them get to be eight, ten, twelve inches long. Mhmm. So at that point, they're a carp, not just little goldfish. Mhmm. And it has become a food source for an amazing number of species. You mentioned the osprey. Mhmm. And then there's black crowned night heron. There's the great blue heron. And then the grebes, it will eat some of the smaller ones. Uh
, mergansers will eat little fish too. So there's a lot of birds that benefit from those fish, and it has controlled the the midge fly to a certain extent…So there's been remarkable progress there over the years. What are some of the goals that you have for the wetlands in the future, Christina? Two things that I would like to see out there. We already have a couple kestrel nest boxes, and a kestrel is the smallest…North American falcon. Beautiful bird. The males are reddish and sort of a slate blue color. And they are a cavity nester. They need a box. I mean, they're a falcon, but they eat grasshoppers and lizards and very small prey. And they like to nest in fairly open places, but close to woods where there are…trees, dead trees, to provide nest cavities. Well, because around that area is almost all homes. The best solution is kestrel nest boxes. We need to get one more out there in the very first basin…as you enter the wetlands. That's where I usually see the kestrels. And they haven't used the other boxes, so I don't think they're replaced where they like them. I wanna try again. Then the next basin to the north of the first one, On the map, it's called basin two. There's trees in that basin, and I think that might be a nice place to put a platform for ospreys to nest. Right now, they're nesting in a cell phone tower…
And I don't know if the people that run that cell phone tower like to have ospreys, and it would be better to just have a more natural site for them in the middle of one of those basins. That'd be terrific. Yeah. And then there's there would be an opportunity to get more wildflowers in the mix, more diversity. Right now, most of the vegetation is dominated with western wheatgrass, which is a great one, as I mentioned earlier, for weed control. But there's so many wildflowers that are native to Northern Arizona. But that's gonna take some money. That's gonna take grant funds. And so it's down the road. Mhmm. So all this has gotten me very excited to go back out there, uh, which I may do. It certainly is tomorrow morning. I don't know. But for people who are thinking about coming from longer distances to see the wetlands, what are some of the best times to visit during the year? I think…a really good time to go is late April and early May. You have to be careful about the winds sometimes. Absolutely. But there are so many migrating waterfowl in their beautiful breeding plumage. They they just…
are spectacular. Green winged teal. Mhmm. Sometimes you see a couple blue winged teal. Right. Cinnamon teal. Oh my gosh. They're just so aptly named. They're just the richest cinnamon brown you could imagine. Just beautiful plumages. So that's one time. And then…they come back through again in the fall. It can be as early as late August…that the migration of some birds begin, And it'll continue on through November. So those two periods, the April, May and then maybe September, October…
you'll see the greatest diversity of birds. Yeah. And we sure have seen some beautiful ones there, black legged stilts Yeah. Uh, avocets Oh, yes. And the, uh, the ibises that you mentioned, cormorants. It's just a really wonderful place. And, again, around every corner, you don't know exactly what you're gonna see. That's what's so fun about it. Yeah. You go there, and it's all there's always a new surprise…
So where can people go for more information about the wetlands? Well, probably the best place is to the Northern Arizona Audubon website. I'd like to mention that in addition to Kachina wetlands, there's three other bird sanctuaries. And by that, I mean, they each have their own…ownership of another entity. But Northern Arizona Audubon provides public awareness about birds there, bird walks, conservation projects, youth projects. So the four that we have that you can learn more about are Kachina Wetlands and Picture Canyon. Those are here in Flagstaff. Picture Canyon is owned by the city of Flagstaff. And then two down in Sedona, the Sedona wetlands, which again is a wastewater treatment facility, and then Bubbling Ponds, which is a place where they rear fish for stocking other ponds in Arizona. So those are the four that we have. Each one of them has very different special bird species, and they all offer bird walks…
You know, I'd like to just end with one other thing if we're starting to wrap up. I might have given the impression that morning is the best time to visit Kachina wetlands because that's when birders sometimes go out. But if you haven't gone out there in the evening, you're really missing out. It is…yeah. I know you have. You've gone out there. It's just, you know, the long shadows against the bulrushes and the colors of the birds just come out. The peaks, the San Francisco peaks are just gorgeous. Sun starts to get lower in the sky. Then black crowned night heron starts to fly. It's a beautiful, beautiful place…in the early and late evening. Mhmm. Yeah. I love going out through that time of day. Yeah. Well, you know what? That turns out to be, I think, a nice way to end this. Right? Just celebrating the beauty of Kachina wetlands and just reflecting on all of the great stuff that's been done there over the years. What a pleasure it's been talking with you today, uh
, Christina. I know I speak for all of the users of the wetlands when I say thank you for all the work that you do there. I'm reminded of the importance of that work every time I wander out there and photograph birds. Well, thank you, and thanks for all that you've done too, Matt. You bet. The photographs you've taken and the monitoring you've done with the little bluebirds and everything. It's been great. We hope you've enjoyed this podcast. Please consider joining Northern Arizona Audubon Society or your local bird group to support the work they do to help birds. And above all, we hope you will continue appreciating and protecting birds and the places they need.