The Gila Watershed Partnership (GWP) was founded in 1992 to improve the Upper Gila Watershed of Arizona. The Partnership is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit Arizona Corporation that is made up of community members and representatives from businesses, organizations, and local, state and federal agencies who live and work in Graham and Greenlee counties.
Our members come from many different backgrounds and are spread across a wide geographical region, but are united by the determination to protect and improve the quality and quantity of our water, and improve the condition of the Upper Gila Watershed of Arizona.
Riparian Restoration
Over the past 27 years, Gila Watershed Partnership has implemented over 30 projects to improve the riparian resources and wildlife habitat. These include off-riparian livestock watering facilities, livestock fencing, and river crossing improvements; and riparian habitat restoration.
Currently, Gila Watershed Partnership is restoring 200 acres of Southwest Willow Flycatcher habitat along the Gila River by removing tamarisk and installing native plants to create small “habitat islands”. The tamarisk leaf beetle is expected to arrive in the Upper Gila Watershed in the next 5 years, and these habitat islands will serve as refugia for SWFL and other wildlife, as well as serving as propagule islands to passively re-seed adjoining areas.
Water Quality
The Upper Gila Watershed has eight stream reaches classified as impaired by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. These impairments include E.coli, in the Blue and San Francisco Rivers in Greenlee County, E.coli and suspended sediment in the Gila River and selenium in Cave Creek, both located in Graham County. Numerous projects have been implemented to reduce the E.coli exceedances in the San Francisco and Blue Rivers, and projects are being developed to reduce the sediment load in the Gila River. Early data analysis shows a strong downward trend in E.coli in response to the installation of restrooms and increased public educational efforts.
Promoting Native Plants & Pollinators
GWP co-manages the Gila Native Plant Nursery with Eastern Arizona College Discover Park, and is currently growing 23,000 plants of over 100 species to support restoration, help reduce water consumption by promoting native and low water use plants, and create pollinator habitat. A 1.3-acre pollinator garden adjacent to the Plant Nursery serves as an outdoor classroom for local students and provides much needed habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
Promoting native plants also means reducing invasive plant presence in the Upper Gila Watershed. Invasive plants of local concern include tamarisk, Russian knapweed, sweet resinbush, yellow star thistle, and Malta star thistle. GWP has identified 16 high-priority invasive plants the correct seasons and methods for treating these plants.
Water Availability
Water in the Upper Gila Watershed is a matter of great concern. Declining aquifer levels, the adjudication of water rights settlements, a long-term drought, and a growing population, has made this historically agriculturally-based community question its long-term survival.
GWP has coordinated a watershed-wide water appraisal study with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and additional studies were conducted in cooperation with the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center to assess baseline watershed conditions including human and environmental water needs, potential impacts of climate change, and to develop support tools to address the impacts of future watershed management decisions. GWP currently provides outreach and education to local schools and community groups to help reduce water consumption in Graham and Greenlee Counties.
Sustainable Recreation
People will protect natural resources when they have a personal connection with them. GWP is working with landowners, municipalities, and the public to develop a linear river park along the Gila River that will bring residents and tourists alike to the river.
To engage the community in improving the water quality and ecosystem condition of the Upper Gila Watershed through education and economic opportunity.
