The Lower Gila River Collaborative (LGRC) is a voluntary partnership formed in 2018 by public partners to support collective goals of restoring the lower Gila River ecosystem while encouraging stewardship, recreation, and compatible development. This active coalition works to create a healthy Lower Gila River system with sufficient water resources to support functioning habitat, engaged and resilient communities, vibrant local economy and quality of life for present and future generations.

The place-based work of LGRC partners, all actively engaged in Rio Reimagined, represent a sub-regional focus on the western reach of the river corridor. LGRC projects include habitat enhancement, recreation, and scientific data collection. The projects support the West Valley partners’ priorities for mitigating flood and fire, supporting thriving and connected river-adjacent communities, and improving wildlife habitat and connectivity. Through peer learning, LGRC fosters partnerships, informs decision-making and monitoring protocols, and results in effective landscape scale projects that provide data for collective use.

Learn more about the Lower Gila River Collaborative.
For a summary of LGRC partner accomplishments during the 2024-25 cycle, CLICK HERE

See the light-green oval on the map below for the focus area of the Lower Gila River Collaborative, overlaid on the Rio Reimagined regional study area.

The Lower Gila River Collaborative is a voluntary coalition of partners, who agree to work together on shared regional priorities. The group is organized into councils, working groups and committees, working on map-based priorities and key strategies centered on vegetation management and monitoring, recreation access and flood control in the west valley. Their collaborative work is heralded as a proven and successful sub-regional effort within the Rio Reimagined.

In 2024, the non-profit and public agency partners of LGRC adopted a Strategic Action Plan, which established strategies for the different “turquoise beads” or focus areas along the river and serves as a guide for West Valley projects. The plan helped partners secure a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART grant and a Resolution Copper/RESOLVE grant to support data collection. This funding complements the State of Arizona $10M investment in restoration projects along the Lower Gila River in recent years.

Partners of the Lower Gila Collaborative are working together to reduce the fire risk that requires sustained effort from many organizations. A video series by Southwest Fire Science Consortium and AZ Wildfire Initiative‘s SW Fire Stories raises awareness about wildfire risk along the Lower Gila River and surrounding communities, and the efforts of the Lower Gila River Collaborative to inform people about the importance of habitat and the positive impact of restoration on the Lower Gila River. CLICK HERE to watch the video.

The LGRC’s Collaborative Projects Dashboard below is an excellent example of their successful collaboration on communication and decision making tools, provided by the talented GIS teams of Maricopa County.

The LGRC is facilitated and convened by a consultant team from Southwest Decision Resources.

Visit the LGRC website to learn more about ways you can engage with the Lower Gila River Collaborative.