Walnut Creek Center for Education and Research (WCCER)

Providing Opportunities to Learn, Study, and Research

Walnut Creek is a biological field station run jointly by the Prescott National Forest, Prescott College, Northern Arizona University, and The Natural History Institute in Prescott.

The center was established by Prescott National Forest (PNF) to serve as a District Ranger Station in 1909. The District Ranger Residence (1934) and barn (1936) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since that time Walnut Creek Ranger Station has also functioned as a work center and station for fire operations.  In the mid-1990’s personnel were moved to the Chino Valley Ranger Station and the fire operations were moved to the newly built Prescott Fire Center. With the buildings no longer used by the PNF, former Chino Valley District Ranger Mark Johnson coordinated with several area educational institutions and formed a partnership called the Walnut Creek Center for Education and Research (WCCER).  

Currently WCCER is operated by a partnership between PNF, Prescott College, Northern Arizona University, and the Natural History Institute in Prescott and operates under a special use permit. Students of all ages visit the facility and participate in various educational activities and research programs. 

Contact Us

For information or to arrange a visit please contact:

Dr. Ed Boyer
Director of Environmental Studies and Sustainability
Prescott College
928-350-2209
[email protected]

For more information:

Visit the he NAU website https://in.nau.edu/wccer. 

Visit the Prescott National Forest website https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/prescott/recarea/?recid=81650