![\"Environmental](\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/12\/22100025\/Ribbon-cuttin-final-keepers-of-the-river.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Final Keepers of the River was the first riverside restoration project on the three neighboring reservations that make up Cocoaph tribal lands. Now, the tribe has much bigger plans: restoring more than 161 hectares (400 acres) along the river on the West Cocopah Reservation, starting in 2024, with support from $5.5 million in grants from federal and nonprofit groups.<\/p>\n
By restoring habitat, the tribe aims to preserve its cultural traditions for generations to come. Since settling in the area more than three millennia ago, the tribe relied on the river for fishing and the delta\u2019s fertile soil to grow grains, beans, pumpkins and watermelon. However, with invasive plants and low water levels, agriculture along the river is becoming more difficult.<\/p>\n
The river has also provided resources that the tribe historically used to make climate-appropriate adobe and wood homes, cradles, art, archery bows and other items that shaped the Cocopah lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we bring back these plants, it\u2019s not just for the wildlife,\u201d Alspach said. \u201cIt\u2019s for the people. It helps to preserve their culture and to bring back these resources that they used for centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Sonoran Desert region where the Cocopah Reservation lies, water is life, Rodriquez said. His ancestors settled along the Colorado River because it allowed them to farm in a region where sand dunes, summer days above 40\u00b0 Celsius (104\u00b0 Fahrenheit) and months with hardly any rainfall are common.<\/p>\n The Cocopah people lived along the river long before its first dam was built in 1909 in Colorado, followed by 14 more dams across multiple states. Those dams have prevented the natural flooding needed to spread nutrients and native seeds, decimating the riverfront habitat containing culturally important trees and making agriculture more challenging. As Alspach describes it, since native plants take more time to establish, the quick-growing phragmites easily overtook the riverfront.<\/p>\n Climate change is also to blame for why the water flow in the Colorado River \u2014 powerful enough to carve out the Grand Canyon millions of years ago \u2014 has shrunk by 20% in the past century. A study from the University of California, Los Angeles, estimates that the river has lost more than 40 trillion liters (32.4 acre feet) because of climate change since the start of a megadrought in 2000.<\/p>\n Growing up, Rodriquez enjoyed going fishing on the Colorado River with his father and uncle. He recalls wanting to jump in the river at times but deciding against it because the current was too strong. Now, the river is only a fraction of the width it used to be in some places on the reservation.<\/p>\n Rodriquez said restoring habitat along the river marks a revival of the environment that shaped the tribe\u2019s traditions. He gave the example that, without the trees along the river historically used to build musical instruments, the tribe\u2019s songs would sound very different.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are the things that made us who we are as a people and helped to define our culture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For the Final Keepers of the River project, the tribe used machinery to clear out phragmites. To make up for the dams\u2019 impacts on water sources, they also installed 1,219 meters (4,000 feet) of drip lines to irrigate newly planted native trees.<\/p>\n For technical assistance, the tribe partnered with the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area \u2014 a collaboration among state, federal and tribal organizations to protect riverfront habitat in southwestern Arizona. The tribe also partnered with bird conservation nonprofit the Audubon Society on river restoration and will continue their partnership on the upcoming projects.<\/p>\n Cocopah Tribal Council member Neil White has walked the Final Keepers of the River trail several times, describing it as a peaceful place and noticing the return of wildlife. \u201cThe insects, the various birds, the animals, all those kinds of life are coming back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Native vegetation along the lower Colorado River serves as habitat for birds that migrate across the border, including tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), black-throated gray warblers (Setophaga nigrescens) and summer tanagers (Piranga rubra).<\/p>\n In addition, the river\u2019s marshes are home to the federally endangered Yuma Ridgway\u2019s Rail (Rallus obsoletus yumanensis), whose habitat is disappearing because of low water levels.<\/p>\n The Final Keepers of the River site is located above Morelos Dam \u2014 the final dam on the Colorado River built in the 1950s to divert water to Mexico. The restoration area that will break ground in 2024 is below the dam, making water levels even lower and irrigation even more critical in the area dominated by invasive salt cedar shrubs (Tamarix ramosissima).<\/p>\n Alspach said the Environmental Protection Office plans to transport water from a nearby canal to the site, through the help of $5 million from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.<\/p>\n The NFWF, a nonprofit started by Congress to fund conservation, holds an annual grant competition called the America the Beautiful Challenge open to tribal, state and other organizations. This year, the Cocopah Tribe was one of 21 tribal nations to receive the grant after their application the previous year wasn\u2019t selected. The tribe is also receiving $200,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and $315,000 from the nonprofit Bonneville Environmental Foundation.<\/p>\n As with every restoration project, Alspach will share the design plan with tribal elders and Cocopah Tribal Council members to make sure it addresses the community\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to talk to tribal elders because they do remember when the river was different. They remember how wide and magnificent the river once was,\u201d Alspach said.<\/p>\n According to White, restoring land along the river could open new possibilities to practice old traditions. Generations ago, Cocopah tribal members used the river\u2019s trees and soil to construct adobe homes. White said he hopes that one day, tribal members will be able to use the river to keep their ancestors\u2019 traditions alive and build these homes once again as artifacts.<\/p>\n The upcoming project also includes creating a Cocopah tribal youth corps, allowing younger generations to connect with the river by working on the restoration sites.<\/p>\n At the Cocopah Museum, where Rodriquez is working to preserve artifacts and documents so future generations can understand their history and culture, the river restoration serves another dimension. A riverside filed with the same trees and wildlife that previous generations saw and relied upon will make history even more tangible.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re changing with the times but what remains is our culture and our language. Those are the things that we\u2019re fighting to keep,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Tisdale, S. J. (1997). On the Colorado River, restoring riverside habitat means retaining Native culture (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/docview\/304333524?%20Theses&fromopenview=true&pq-origsite=gscholar&sourcetype=Dissertations%20<\/p>\n Hoerling, M., Barsugli, J., Livneh, B., Eischeid, J., Quan, X., & Badger, A. (2019). Causes for the century-long decline in Colorado River flow. Journal of Climate, 32(23), 8181-8203. doi:10.1175\/jcli-d-19-0207.1<\/p>\n Bass, B., Goldenson, N., Rahimi, S., & Hall, A. (2023). Aridification of Colorado River Basin\u2019s Snowpack regions has driven water losses despite ameliorating effects of vegetation. Water Resources Research, 59(7). doi:10.1029\/2022wr033454<\/p>\nA revival of culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Addressing community\u2019s needs<\/h2>\n
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