River Revitalization and Enhancement through Collaboration
Kelly Wolff1*, Maggie Soffel2, Cecilia Riviere3
1Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, Phoenix, Arizona, Maricopa County; kwolff@dffm.az.gov
2Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, Maricopa Country; Maggie.Soffel@asu.edu
3Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, Maricopa Country; Cecilia.Riviere@asu.edu
Abstract:
The Rio Reimagined initiative and Lower Gila River Collaborative are regional and sub-regional coalitions aligned in an effort to restore and revitalize the Salt and Gila river corridors in Central Arizona. Public and non-profit partners engaged in these coalitions share mutual goals of environmental revitalization, community connection to the river corridor, sustainable economic development, and habitat enhancement.
Rio Reimagined is a regional planning initiative focused on revitalization of 55-miles of the Salt and Gila River corridor, spanning nine jurisdictions; six cities, two Native nations, and one county in the greater Phoenix metro area. A diverse coalition of public, private, and non-profit organizations forms the Rio Reimagined partnership, working to elevate and conjoin priorities around a multitude of projects and plans at the regional, sub-regional, and local scales to create a unifying movement for the region.
The Lower Gila River Collaborative is a subregional coalition of partners that implements place-based projects in the western reach of the Rio Reimagined study area, including habitat enhancement, recreation, and scientific data collection. These projects are designed to mitigate flood and fire risk to critical infrastructure, wildlife habitat, and agricultural use along the river. This subregional work will help to inform regional-scale habitat enhancement and river restoration.
This oral presentation and poster provides an overview of the collaboratives, project treatments and monitoring techniques, and shares lessons learned from the ongoing work of these efforts.