The Lower Gila River Collaborative: Lessons from a Diverse Multi-Stakeholder Partnership to Bring Back the Lower Gila River
 
Kelly Wolff1, Spencer Bolen2, Mark Briggs3, Woodrow Crubmo4, Robert Lamoureux4, Melissa A McCann5, Theresa Pinto2
 
1Arizona Game and Fish Department
2Flood Control District, Maricopa County
3RiversEdge West
4Gila River Indian Community
5Arizona State University
 
The lower Gila River stretches from the City of Phoenix, west to the historic Gillespie Dam Bridge. Although modified by a variety of human-related activities, this critical reach provides habitat for a variety of native species as well as numerous opportunities for local citizens and visitors, including bird watching, fishing, kayaking, and more.  The Lower Gila River Collaborative (LGRC) is a decade old, diverse, ongoing forum for collaboration, coordination, and outreach among local governments, the Gila River Indian Community, state agencies, NGOs, and the private sector that provides opportunities for communities to get to know their backyard river, while improving wildlife habitat and restoring river flows. In this presentation, we will discuss the importance of collaboration, which has produced numerous results as well as lessons learned, including the importance of:
  1. Gathering information about the river and conveying it in creative and diverse ways to the public
  2. Conducting the needed science to understand current river conditions and trends
  3. Having dedicated facilitation to help plan, organize and synthesize results of meetings and collaborative events
  4. Implementing pilot restoration projects that provide tangible results to garner support for larger scale efforts that will have greater impact.