Oak Creek begins as a fissure on the Mogollon Rim and drains a riparian wooded canyon linking the Colorado Plateau to the upper Sonoran desert. Lower Oak Creek emerges from the steep canyon walls among the red ramparts of Sedona - just a mile or two upstream of Red Rock State Park and meanders the next several miles to Page Springs where it meets the onrush of 21st century development. Most of the surrounding land is U.S. Forest Service, Coconino National Forest, interspersed with a few small private in-holdings in the riparian zone. The 175-acre property of Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD), Page Springs Fish Hatchery, comprises riparian gallery (cottonwood/willow/sycamore), mesquite / hackberry bosque, recovering floodplain terrace and upslope prickly pear grassland. Other mature riparian gallery forests on well-developed floodplains occur at Echo Valley, Hidden Valley, Deer Creek, and Red Rock State Park. The identified IBA is the river corridor, extending upslope to approximately the rim level on either side of the river extending from Red Rock State Park to just south of Page Springs Fish Hatchery. Northern Arizona Audubon Society (NAAS) and AGFD jointly manage the vegetated land at Page Springs for the benefit and diversity of wildlife. A public-access trail system with educational signage has been put in place and plant restoration programs are on-going. NAAS is the steward for this site. More information about Northern Arizona Audubon Society and how you can help as a volunteer can be found at http://www.nazas.org/

Lower Oak Creek supports the broad species diversity that accompanies the convergence of the northern plateau with the rising arid desert lands from the south. This riparian corridor IBA is exceptional for Arizona in two respects, 1) it is a significant migration corridor that supports exceptional landbird diversity and abundance in spring and fall migration, and 2) it is a premier riparian habitat corridor supporting numerous riparian obligate species, many of which are species of conservation concern in Arizona. Audubon WatchList species that breed within the IBA include: Bell's Vireo, Lucy's Warbler and Abert's Towhee. Audubon WatchList migrants passing through Oak Creek IBA include Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Virginia's Warbler. Notable populations of rare species in Arizona also occur, such as Wood Duck, Common Merganser, Common Black-Hawk, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Many cavity nesting species are supported in great abundance because of old growth gallery forest within this IBA, they include: American Kestrel, Common Merganser, Gila Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Bewick's Wren, Bridled Titmouse, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow and Lucy's Warbler.

Most all southwestern waterways are at risk of dewatering. While most of the large scale irrigation extraction from Oak Creek is downstream of the IBA (two irrigation ditches originate from the Page Springs property) the rapid conversion of pasturelands to ranchettes and residential lots watered by new private wells in the riparian zone amplifies both the loss of water and of riparian gallery. Associated channelization hampers the flood regime and greatly diminishes recruitment of new cottonwood and willows. The spread of invasive non-native plants is of considerable concern. Russian olive and tamarisk are preventing natural re-colonization of some riparian areas following flooding. The USFS lands are subject to cattle grazing.