PAULDEN — Standing on the edge of the Big Chino Valley, it’s impossible to see the end of the grasslands that stretch for miles into the horizon. Herds of cattle and wild pronghorn antelope graze together in this remote expanse, unbroken except for the stray dirt roads crisscrossing between ranches. Below the surface, a huge groundwater resource flows into the nearby springs that feed the headwaters of the Verde River.
