A Conversation with MillerCoors Grant Finalist -Gila Watershed Partnership

The Gila Watershed Partnership is comprised of that part of the Upper Gila River Watershed from Coolidge Dam to the Arizona-New Mexico border. The watershed covers about 6,000 square miles, of which 17 percent is privately owned and the remainder is under the stewardship of state, federal and tribal governments. Mining, ranching, and agriculture are the principle industries. The Gila Watershed Partnership is a leading a group of stakeholders working to address a host of water issues including soil erosion, contaminants and flooding, and is one of eight organizations now competing for a $25,000 grant to support their efforts.

Q & A with Gila Watershed Partnership

RN: Tell us a bit about your proposed project.

GWP: The Gila Watershed Partnership is launching a program to address a dangerous E.coli problem on the San Francisco and Blue Rivers that is making people sick. Our local farmers, ranchers, ecologists, local health departments, and other community stakeholders have banded together to sample the water along almost inaccessible terrain to determine the source of the E.coli and craft a plan for restoring the river to a pristine state. This is essential as in our impoverished watershed our rivers are the heart of the community, providing opportunities for recreation including kayaking, swimming, fishing and camping.

RN: Why are local watershed protection programs like yours so important?

GWP: When a locally-led effort like ours is empowered to work collaboratively and take ownership of a watershed issue, we can do a very effective and efficient job. A watershed group can take on issues and solve them, without waiting for the government to rely on fines, enforcement, and mandatory compliance. Not only can our communities do a good job of restoring healthy ecosystems, but the collective knowledge we gain from the experience can be circulated around the community and passed on to our children, assuring a healthy and sustainable watershed for generations to come.

RN: Why should people vote for your organization?

GWP: Our organization is made up of an amazing group of intensely diverse individuals, from traditional, conservative farmers and ranchers to exuberant avant-garde environmentalists, and all permutations in between. But they all recognize their different opinions and positions, and behave respectfully towards each other while working towards the good of our watershed. Our watershed is in a wild and remote area with scarce resources, and even less money. We aren’t a big environmental organization with a big budget. We are a smattering of small towns spread across two huge wild and remote counties. But we are accomplishing great things by bringing folks together to create sustainable solutions. There are lots of people who say it, but were really doing it. We have an incredible group!

RN: Tell us about upcoming projects your organization will implement this year.

GWP: We are launching our first water conservation education program. This is critical, as the continuing drought and a looming water settlement will reduce the amount of available water. In another project, we are working with a local farmer to remove some dikes and re-slope the land to the original, pristine state and restore proper function to the river. We will be adding a vegetation buffer to stabilize the river banks and provide critically-needed habitat for birds and wildlife.

We also have a grant to help a rancher with fencing to keep his cattle away from the river, and off-riparian livestock water facilities that will reduce E.coli and sedimentation in the river. This project will restore the water quality and re-establish the native vegetation in the riparian area. The rancher is hosting a field day so that he can teach his neighbors about how the project works with his ranch while ensuring the cleanliness of the water and improving the riparian habitat for the fish and wildlife in the watershed.

RN: Thanks for all you are doing to protect and restore water quality in the Gila Watershed of Arizona.

View project summaries from the MillerCoors-River Network Watershed Protection Grant competition and cast your vote today!