Jonathan Lutz is a self-described water person and a fly fisherman who grew up in western New York appreciating the wilderness. “Conservation to me is really critical. I grew up as a naturalist in the country,” he says. “In rural areas, I got to swim and fish and build forts and chase butterflies and look at birds and really feel privileged to have had that experience.” He says growing up in the wild made him more mindful of preserving the natural world. He has dedicated his professional life to the environment.
He graduated in 2002 from the University of Michigan with a degree in environmental policy. He began his career in Charleston, South Carolina, working for the South Carolina Aquarium. He’s also worked for three audubons in three different states. As the current executive director of the Oak Creek Watershed Council, he is dedicated to ensuring Oak Creek is protected. Oak Creek is notable for many reasons. “It is a designated outstanding waterway, which is remarkable in the desert Southwest, where perennial water is a big, big deal. And then from a social and recreational standpoint, it’s hugely important for a human population, not just out of state and international visitors, but for visitors from within Arizona itself, seeking a place to cool off and to get wet,” he says. “It is an ecological jewel. With hundreds of species of birds, hundreds of species of native plants. ”
But Oak Creek is not without issues. The Council is working to relieve Oak Creek of its decades-long impairment status for E. coli bacteria. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the organization being incorporated as a nonprofit. Lutz explained that the Council manages a suite of agreements that they have with the City of Sedona, the Forest Service and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The agreements fund the work the organization does. This work includes water quality monitoring, litter cleanups, pet waste management, local trails and creek access and monitoring social trail activity in Oak Creek Canyon. The nonprofit also has volunteer opportunities like picking up litter by Oak Creek that are shared in an email newsletter and on social media.
He first visited Oak Creek in college and slide down the red rocks at Slide Rock State Park. He has a very vivid memory of telling others about a harmless bull snake, and says he has fallen in love with Oak Creek all over again after that first encounter. Much of his work is about looking forward. “If we can create a community of Oak Creek caretakers and a culture of keeping Oak Creek clean and beautiful, then this is going to continue to be a gem for tourism and locals alike for decades, generations to come,” he says. “And that’s very, very exciting, but it won’t happen unless we create that culture of stewardship.” – By Teresa K. Traverse
