News and Events
Partner Events
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Tres Rios Nature Festival
February 24 & 25, 2024
February 24 & 25, 2024
Ignite your calling for the outdoors, bring the family out for this free two-day festival. This festival showcases the rich diversity of wildlife habitat, history and culture of the Gila River drainage, which is made up of the Gila, Salt and Agua Fria Rivers. From guided bird tours, canoeing on the river, fishing and learning about Southwest wildlife, there is something for everyone during the best time of year to enjoy the Arizona weather. The event will be held at Estrella Mountain Regional Park next year due to flooding at the Base and Meridian area.
DATES: Saturday, February 24 & Sunday, February 25, 2024
TIMES: 10AM - 3PM (BOTH DAYS)
LOCATION: Estrella Mountain Regional Park
GRIC Winter Annual Count
December 2, 2023
December 2, 2023
Beginning at 7 a.m., join the Community for this Annual Winter Bird Count that began in 1998. This special event features over 80 local and wintering bird species that call the Community’s environment home. Cultural activities begin at 11 a.m. at the Huhugam Heritage Center, bringing together the Community, especially youth and elders, to share and celebrate cultural ties to the birds of the Community.
DATES: Saturday, December 2, 2023
TIMES: 7AM - 1PM
LOCATION: Huhugam Heritage Center
Tres Rios Clean Up Events
Bi-monthly volunteer clean ups
Bi-monthly volunteer clean ups
Help beautify and restore Tres Rios Wetlands while enjoying a morning in nature! Join in on this volunteer clean up event.
Upcoming events:
Clean ups take place every other month on the third Saturday at Base and Meridian Wildlife Area.
Visit Avondale's events calendar for more details.
Contact Angelo Fobbs-Valentino to receive email reminders.
LGRC Volunteer Opportunities
Sign Up to Get Involved
Sign Up to Get Involved
LGRC partners rely on volunteers in our collective efforts to steward the lower Gila River. Volunteers can assist with river clean ups, planting, invasive species removal, monitoring, outreach, and more!
Volunteer to support wildlife through Arizona Game and Fish, Region 6 (sign up here)
River clean ups at Base and Meridian Wildlife Area organized by the City of Avondale (contact Angelo Fobbs-Valentino)
Support a burned area rehabilitation project at El Mirage Rd & the Gila River with US Fish and Wildlife Service (sign up here)
Fill out LGRC's sign up form and indicate your interest in volunteer opportunities (sign up here)
LGRC in the News
Click the headlines below to read the full story.
High in the forested hills of western New Mexico's Gila National Forest, a river forges a lifeline, sustaining abundant wildlife in one of the largest and healthiest Ponderosa pine forests on the planet. Black bears, mountain lions and javelinas cool off in the river during summer. Bald eagles dip their talons in the water for a snack. Below the surface, it is one of the only places to find the rare Gila trout. This is the headwaters of the Gila River, one of the Colorado River's longest tributaries. Rushing past towering cliffs, the Gila crosses into Arizona, stretching for nearly 600 miles until its confluence with the Colorado near Yuma. more
AZ Central
June 30, 2023
A Phoenix city official told lawmakers Wednesday that Army Corps of Engineers assistance with river restoration projects has provided wide-ranging benefits for the Valley, but that there is more to be done. In testimony to a Senate panel, Phoenix Environmental Programs Coordinator Tricia Balluff said ecosystem restoration projects like Rio Salado and Tres Rios have provided flood reduction and recreational opportunities while preserving critical habitat. more
Cronkite News
June 27, 2023
The 20th Annual Riparian Restoration Conference took place February 23-25, 2022, in Grand Junction, CO. The conference featured experts from across the riparian restoration field. Recordings of the conference are expected soon.
Recordings of the 2021 Virtual Conference are currently available for anyone to view in the meantime! Visit the RiversEdge West YouTube page's 2021 Conference playlist to watch them all.
Tres Rios Nature Festival
The 2022 Festival took place from February 26 (Saturday)- February 27 (Sunday), 2022 at the Tres Rios Base and Meridian Wildlife Area (7602 Jimmie Johnson Dr. Avondale, AZ, 85323). Admission was free to the public, and was a huge success. Thank you City of Avondale for hosting a great event, and we hope to participate again next year!
Secretary of the Interior, and Congressional Visit
On February 22, 2022 a congressional delegation joined the Secretary of the Interior Deborah Haaland to meet with Rio Reimagined and Lower Gila River Collaborative Partners to support the 10th Anniversary of the Urban Waters Program. The Rio Reimagined was designated as an Urban Waters Federal Partnership in 2020. The delegation and Secretary were joined by local leaders and various federal, state, and local agencies. The roundtable event was hosted by Lower Gila River Collaborative partner, Audubon Southwest and Rio Reimagined, at the Nina Mason Pullman Rio Salado Audubon Center in downtown Phoenix. The partnerships that the Collaborative, and Rio Reimagined, help foster was a highlight of those who spoke and presented. Read full story here.
Audubon Southwest
February, 2022
Urban Wildlife Conservation Day
On October 9, 2021, to celebrate the first ever Urban Wildlife Conservation Day, a co-hosted event at the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area was held. This event, co-hosted by the City of Phoenix, Audubon Southwest, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, included the self-guided 3k walking Walk for the Wild, planting milkweed for monarchs, Audubon's native-plant sale, and participation by local conservation partners. Read full story here.
Audubon Southwest
October, 2021
The tamarisk is an exotic shrub that’s been spreading across the Arizona landscape since the mid-1800s. Twenty years ago, an insect that devours the leaves of that shrub was brought in to help restore some order. Unfortunately, the tamarisk leaf beetle is more aggressive than expected — and, as a result, even more of the state’s ecosystem is at risk. Read full story here.
Arizona Highways
September, 2021
Audubon Southwest shares some good news about the alignment of the proposed I-11 freeway.
August 17, 2021
Announcing the 2021 Catalyst Grant Funds Awards
The Network for Landscape Conservation announced the 15 awards to accelerate their efforts to protect the ecological, cultural and community landscapes they call home. Read the full announcement HERE.
The LGRC has been awarded $25,000 for two years to sustain the continued coordination of the collaborative and development of a strategic conservation action plan. Funds will also be used to strengthen indigenous participation.
August 2021
This study is led by Audubon Southwest, with support from LGRC partners.
June 9, 2021
LGRC is part of the larger Rio Reimagined Project, which was honored as the 20th Urban Waters Federal Partnership location at a dedication ceremony on September 1, 2020. This federal designation builds on local efforts and provides enhanced access and coordination with multiple federal agencies. For more information, visit https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaterspartners.
September 1, 2020
The Buckeye Independent covers Buckeye's participation and leadership in Lower Gila River Collaborative
August 2020
LGRC press release announcing the Collaborative's first Leadership Council meeting.
July 2020
Avondale is making progress on two Capital Improvement Projects near the Agua Fria: 1) Repaving and cleaning up a multimodal trail path from I-10 to Van Buren. 2) Similar efforts from Van Buren to the river, including a cleaned up tunnel just west of Avondale Blvd. Trail systems along Agua Fria are improved and Avondale wants to continue the trail from north to south.
July 2020
Community members including Phoenix and Avondale participated in the “Masks on, Litter Gone” competition between AZ and other states, sponsored by the River Network and Ball Corporation, using the Literatti app.
June 2020
City of Phoenix Press Release
May 2020
REI and Leave No Trace partnered with AZGFD, featuring Base and Meridian Wildlife Area as a Hotspot and organizing a clean up event for volunteers.
February 2020
Arizona Fish and Game Department press release and storymap launch.
October 2018
Audubon of Arizona news
August 2018
West Valley News
Oct 2018