Lower Gila River Collaborative
Kelly Wolff1
1Arizona Game and Fish Department, Mesa, Arizona, USA; kwolff@azgfd.gov
The vision of a restored portion of the Lower Gila River serving as a catalyst for economic development in the Southwest Valley was born in 1999. Since then, that vision has flourished through the cooperative efforts of Maricopa County Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Cities of Phoenix, Avondale, Buckeye, and Goodyear. As a result, this partnership produced the El Rio Watercourse Master Plan which serves as a blueprint for regional flood control, economic, development, recreation, and preservation along the Gila River. Since the 2006 adoption of the El Rio Watercourse Master Plan, several projects have been launched and partnerships created involving many private stakeholders, cities, state, federal, non-profit, academia, tribal and public agencies and the formation of the Lower Gila River Collaborative (LGRC ) to support coordination of project implementation across the entire area. The LGRC is a regional collaborative fostering proactive dialogue, coordination and collective action on stewardship of natural and cultural resources. To serve as an ongoing forum for collaboration, coordination, integration, and outreach for restoration, habitat enhancement, fuels and flood management, cultural resource protection, outdoor recreation and beyond the banks economic development.