Bird Monitoring and Habitat Renewal on the Cocopah Indian Reservation

Where Arizona, California and the Republic of Mexico meet, the lower Colorado River transitions into its delta and dries up before finding its way to the Gulf of California as it had done a century ago. It is here that a new habitat restoration effort is taking shape on the Cocopah Indian Tribe’s Reservation— to bring back the native vegetation and wildlife that once thrived along this vital desert waterway.

This section of the Colorado River underwent profound changes over the past century due to the dams and diversions that significantly altered the river’s flow.  The river no longer spills onto its natural floodplain, soaking the soil and replenishing the groundwater, which has made it easier for invasive vegetation to colonize these areas that once supported a lush mosaic of cottonwood-willow forests, wetlands, mesquite and other native vegetation. Further exacerbating this deterioration, climate change is extending droughts and deepening reductions in the Colorado’s flow. For the Cocopah people with ancestral ties to the Colorado River since time immemorial, these changes have not only impacted the landscape, but also their culture and ability to sustain their traditional ways of life.

Recognizing the need to heal both ecosystem and community, the Cocopah Tribe developed a vision to restore life to the section of the Colorado River that flows through their reservation in southwestern Arizona, and National Audubon was honored to support the Tribe in securing funding to implement this important work.  With the funding, the Tribe will remove invasive species like tamarisk (also known as saltcedar) at two distinct sites and replant native vegetation to create extensive wetlands, cottonwood-willow forests, and upland habitats, critical for both migratory and resident birds such as the Bald Eagle, Marbled Godwit, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

In support of the project, members of the Yuma Audubon Society completed pre-restoration bird monitoring at the one of the sites slated for restoration on the Tribe’s reservation in September. This type of monitoring provides a baseline of bird activity and allows the Tribe to measure the impact of their restoration efforts over time. The surveyed site is located upstream of the section of the Colorado River that has mostly dried up, and still has some water flowing. This water supports a small amount of native willow and quail bush, but the vegetation is mostly dominated by invasive tamarisk and phragmites. Surveys did identify 19 bird species, such as Verdin, Abert’s Towhee and Gambel’s Quail—a testament to the importance of the river’s presence even when the adjacent vegetation is not ideal—however once restoration is complete it is expected that the higher quality habitat will increase both the number of species and the total number of overall birds using the area.

“Plant the trees and birds will come,” says Yuma Audubon President Nancy Meister. “Our chapter was honored to support the Cocopah Tribe in this project. This work is about bringing ecological balance back to the river, and, importantly, about making it a beautiful place for Tribal members to enjoy.”

Construction began on the site in October, and when the site is fully revegetated with native vegetation next spring, it will become part of a growing network of riparian recovery areas along the Lower Colorado. The Tribe expects to break ground on a second site located downstream in the floodplain of the dry section of the river next fall. Projects like this not only benefit birds and wildlife, but also improve water quality, reduce wildfire risk, and strengthen climate resilience in an extremely arid landscape.

Yuma Audubon has long been a supporter of the Cocopah Indian Tribe, and this partnership continues to demonstrate how community support can drive lasting ecological and cultural impact. This project will provide vital habitat for birds and wildlife and help renew the living connection between the Cocopah people and the Colorado River that has sustained them for centuries.