Why were Yaqui and McPherson Tanks expanded with manmade water catchments?
A35 These tanks are two of the 24 waters identified as “critical” bighorn sheep waters in the investigative report. They were redeveloped to provide a more reliable, low maintenance, low footprint water source for the bighorn sheep in that part of the Kofa NWR. The Yaqui redevelopment added 11,280 gallons of capacity and the McPherson redevelopment added 9,392 gallons of capacity. Bighorn sheep were using Yaqui Tank within days of its installation. The original catchments are modified natural tinajas whose construction reflects a less efficient design first used in the state several decades ago. Arizona Game and Fish’s extensive experience with these waters tells us that they require some of the highest levels of maintenance of any of the waters the Department maintains due to the need for frequent water hauling, sediment removal, and resealing. When such projects began in the 1950s, the modifying of natural tinajas made sense given the then limited technology. Such projects often took
