Rio Vista Conservation Project
A collaboration between Friends of Rio Vista and the City of Tucson Department of Parks and Recreation to protect and restore Rio Vista Natural Resource Park
Coyote (Canis latrans). Photo credit: Scott Olmstead.
Rio Vista Natural Resource Park
A place in the urban desert where wild and human communities restore each other
At a bend in the Rillito (Spanish for “Little River”), in the heart of Tucson, Arizona, lies a wild treasure. Rio Vista Natural Resource Park is unlike any of the other parks managed by the City of Tucson Department of Parks and Recreation: its primary purpose is to protect the natural ecosystem, and it is situated along a major ecological corridor in midtown. Bobcats and Great Horned Owls, devil’s claw and velvet mesquite, pinacate beetles and gopher snakes call this desert landscape home. So do the human visitors who come to the park — many of them daily — to immerse themselves in the restorative power of nature.
Friends of Rio Vista
Friends of Rio Vista is a science-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting stakeholders in preserving this uniqueness. Our mission is to support the City of Tucson Department of Parks and Recreation, through the Rio Vista Conservation Project, in protecting and enhancing the ecological values of Rio Vista. Our vision is a natural resource park that is a haven for native plants and wildlife, that offers a unique visitor experience of nature in midtown Tucson, and that models collaborative conservation in the City of Tucson park system. Learn more…
Rio Vista Conservation Project
The Rio Vista Conservation Project is Friends of Rio Vista’s vehicle for connecting park managers with other stakeholders in behalf of the park’s wild inhabitants. Since early 2019, the conservation project has united volunteers and professionals for fieldwork, planning, and oversight.
Rio Vista Natural Resource Park
This natural gem in the desert supports habitats from open creosotebush flats to thick stands of small trees along ephemeral washes. Dirt trails connect them all. On a 15-minute walk through Rio Vista, you may see a javelina, a horse and rider, a wolf spider turret, a Cooper’s Hawk nest, and a glorious patch of white datura flowers and golden crownbeard — all against the backdrop of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The future of the park depends on managing this diverse ecosystem so that the wild things stay wild. Learn more…
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News from Rio Vista
- The Park as PowerIn these uncertain and divisive times, protecting our local legacy of nature may be one of the most powerful things that we can do. Wild places like Rio Vista Natural Resource Park connect us to the . . .
- More Bird Walks with Tucson Audubon SocietyOn September 21, Scott Olmstead and Gary Bachman led the Tucson Audubon Society birding field trip at Rio Vista. Participants and the trip leaders started at sunrise and saw 32 species of birds, with good looks . . .
- Birding Opportunity at Rio Vista!Here’s a chance to observe some of Rio Vista’s birds that you may never have seen before. On Saturday September 21, Tucson Audubon Society (TAS) will sponsor a birding field trip to the park. Beginning birders . . .
- Trail Etiquette to Keep Us All SafeAll of us at Friends of Rio Vista have been very concerned to learn that a riding accident took place in the park in early May. Fortunately, the horse wasn’t hurt, and the rider wasn’t seriously . . .
- Many Thanks for a Grant from Vanguard CharitableFriends of Rio Vista is honored to have received a grant from Vanguard Charitable. The grant is an unrestricted gift from a donor-advised fund that Vanguard Charitable administers. The donor wishes to remain anonymous. We’re truly . . .
- Some Good News for Conservation at the ParkWith so much of what we love about wild Rio Vista changing so rapidly, all of us at Friends of Rio Vista would like to share some news about good things in the works and on . . .