On a chilly morning in January, the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation Department, the Arizona Conservation Corps, and the Rio Vista Conservation Project led an ecological restoration workday at Rio Vista Natural Resource Park. This collaborative effort was the second phase of a plan to close rogue (unauthorized) paths and to enhance designated trails for park visitors. Rogue paths destroy wildlife habitat and native plants and compact the soil, threatening the natural communities to whose protection our natural resource park is dedicated.
Five members of the Tucson Parks and Recreation staff (including Parks Area Supervisor Ann Jefferson), 4 Arizona Conservation Corps volunteers, 12 neighborhood volunteers (including Ward 3 Councilmember Paul Durham and several board members and advisors of the RillitoBend Neighborhood Association), and 2 Rio Vista Conservation Project personnel laid brush along rogue paths and blocked entrances with signed barriers. As a result, all of the targeted paths were closed in a single day. Since then, many park visitors have contributed suggestions and encouragement.
The Rio Vista Conservation Project is deeply grateful not only for the diligence of the workday participants but also for the considerable investment in planning and preparation by Tucson Parks and Recreation staff and Arizona Conservation Corps volunteers before the event. Special thanks also to the neighbors and local landscapers who contributed brush.
After natural regrowth of vegetation has closed rogue paths in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 areas more completely, barriers will be removed and will be reused for closures farther north in the park. Anyone interested in participating in future restoration efforts at Rio Vista Natural Resource Park can reach the Rio Vista Conservation Project at ProRioVista@gmail.com.
Report by Jennifer Shopland, Project Manager and Melanie Campbell-Carter, Project Advisor
