Posted Sep 3, 2020, 3:32 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2013
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Rio Reimagined project to restore Salt, Gila rivers receives special desig. from EPA
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Originally Posted by ASU Diablo
Who said it's not going anywhere? This is McCain's legacy project and I see it happening. It's currently in Year 2 but it's still years away. It was also recently designated as the 20th Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) location and hopefully will receive some federal funding
https://rioreimagined.org/ |
AZ Central article on what I previously mentioned...baby steps.
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The Rio Reimagined project to restore the Salt and Gila rivers in metro Phoenix is getting a boost from the feds, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday.
Rio Reimagined has been selected as the latest Urban Waters Federal Partnership project, an EPA program that seeks to cut red tape, open up grant opportunities and help local leaders decide where to best spend federal money.
Rio Reimagined is the 20th project chosen by the EPA since it launched the collaborative effort in 2011. It's the only such partnership in Arizona and the first one made under the Trump administration.
The designation is meant to kick-start the work that's already happening. The efforts include a partnership between Phoenix, Avondale, Tempe and Arizona State University to assess and clean up land near the Salt River with help from a $1.4 million EPA grant and growing efforts in far west Buckeye to clear invasive plants that choke the Gila River's flow.
The designation also is meant to fast-track the sort of permitting and logistical planning that's needed when working on a body of water that cuts across tribal, city and county jurisdictions.
The EPA made the announcement Tuesday on ASU's Tempe campus. Sen. Martha McSally, Rep. Paul Gosar, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck, Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community President Martin Harvier were all present.
Others, including Cindy McCain and ASU President Michael Crow, delivered pre-recorded video messages praising the designation.
The Rio Reimagined project, pioneered by Sen. John McCain and announced by his wife Cindy in 2018, aims to restore and revitalize 58 miles of the Salt and Gila rivers, which wind through the Valley touching six cities and two Native American communities.
"For centuries, the Salt River has been the lifeblood of the Valley," said Cindy McCain, chair of the McCain Institute for International Leadership's board of trustees. "Looking at the river today, I see what John McCain saw … something that would keep future generations here."
What the designation means
The new designation for the Rio Reimagined project is meant to facilitate the process, officials said.
Since the Urban Waters Federal Partnership program was created, it's chosen 19 other projects across the U.S. where local officials saw a need to reconnect their urban cores to nature, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Tuesday.
Some of the program's other partnerships include the Los Angeles River Watershed in Los Angeles, the Middle Rio Grande Watershed in Albuquerque and the San Antonio River Watershed in Bexar County, Texas.
"It’s been said that this river gave life to this Valley and now it’s time to return life to this river," Wheeler said.
'The river helped to create our community'
The Valley has an opportunity to make the Salt and Gila rivers its "centerpiece," ASU President Michael Crow said.
Dams and reservoirs first installed more than 100 years ago stopped the Salt River's annual flow, he said. While they've served central Arizona well, it's time to reinvest in the river, he said.
"Over 100 years later, we’ve moved to the point where urbanization and fabulous development are occurring and on the banks of the river are 5 million people, give or take," Crow said. "(We can) build the Rio Salado in a way in which it becomes the centerpiece."
Several speakers on Tuesday acknowledged that the modern Phoenix area was built over indigenous lands and the Valley's vast framework of canals wouldn't be possible without the prior system used by indigenous peoples.
"Arizona State University is located in Indian Country," former Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano said at the announcement.
"These Gila, Salt and Agua Fria tributaries in central Arizona are not only sacred to us, but important to the non-Indians who live in Arizona," Stephen Roe Lewis, Gila River Indian Community governor, added.
Plans to revitalize the Valley's watersheds date back to the 1960s, when a group of ASU students launched the "Rio Salado Project" to develop along the river. Those plans ultimately led to Tempe Town Lake's creation.
Today's plans are similar, but they also focus on clearing invasive species, as well as the potential to add trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding.
“The Valley of the Sun exists because of Native American tribes who ingeniously transported water across the Valley floor through an innovative canal system,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in a statement. "The river helped to create our community and we are thrilled that with this influx of resources, we can reinvigorate this area which runs through six cities and two tribal communities.”
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https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...on/5680612002/
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