05/31/2026
Recent visitors to Watson Lake may have noticed “No Disturbance” signs on a trail near the lake. These signs were installed by the City of Prescott to close “social trails” in the area of a rare Northern Harrier nest. Social trails are user-created paths that form as visitors take detours off of designated trails and can have negative impacts on wildlife habitat and/or behavior. We commend the City of Prescott for working on a comprehensive management plan for Willow Lake, including managing human/wildlife interactions, and we are hopeful that the harrier nest succeeds, as breeding has never been recorded here before.