Arizona Important Bird Areas Program

Excellent way to enjoy Upper Santa Cruz River Important Bird Area!

Hiking to the river? Well, guess what. The mighty Santa Cruz has done it again. The river channel is now thirty yards west of where it has flowed for years.

The trail out to the river behind the Tumacácori mission church will lead you to a new and wonderful scene. The river is meandering through the yellow leaves of the cottonwoods, presenting a very seasonal look.

The river almost always appears docile and gently flowing, and yet without flood or even rain, it changes course and carves a new channel, creating new habitat.

At YOUR park you have a chance to see and study nature at its best. Come on in and visit one of the best parks in your own backyard.

Celebrate the Las Cienegas Global Important Bird Area with us on November 4th!

Did you know that the Bureau of Land Management portions of the Research Ranch are included in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (NCA)?

While the Ranch has been its own (IBA) since 2004, the larger chunk of the NCA to our north was not identified until 2017. Much like the Ranch, the IBA boasts five of the rarest habitat types in the state – cienegas, cottonwood-willow forests, sacaton grasslands, mesquite bosque, and semi-desert grasslands.

On November 4th at 10am, join Tucson Audubon Society, the Arizona Important Bird Areas Program, Audubon Southwest, and others in celebrating this IBA with a well-deserved dedication event! The celebration will be held during the NCA’s annual Cowboy Festival – so there will be lots going on all weekend.

- Learn more about the IBA here: https://aziba.org/?page_id=2358

- Learn more about Las Cienegas NCA’s Cowboy Festival here: https://www.empireranchfoundation.org/ranch-events/cowboy-festival/

Empire Ranch Foundation Bureau of Land Management - Arizona Arizona Game & Fish Department BirdLife International