Current News
Updates and articles about our ongoing efforts to protect the Great Bend of the Gila.
Saguaro Skeleton with Gila River in background. Photo: David Wallace Visuals
The iconic Saguaro. Photo: Dawn Kish
02/20/2024 | Channel 12 News
Could the Great Bend of the Gila be Arizona’s Next national monument?
Advocates say the cultural and natural resources in the 370,000 acres of land of the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument Proposal need to be protected.
11/16/2023 | Respect Great Bend Coalition
Jenna Bryant’s op-ed in the Arizona Daily Star
Hot off the press from the Arizona Daily Star! Jenna Bryant shares why she supports permanently protecting the Great Bend of the Gila in southern Arizona. “The Sonoran Desert is a valuable region that will help protect climate-critical species like the saguaro cactus for years to come, and it’s important that we Arizonans work to conserve healthy, intact ecosystems.”
06/26/2023 | Respect Great Bend Coalition
Reflections of the Great Bend: an Interview with Artist Angelo Cortez
Respect Great Bend Coordinator Skylar Begay collaborated with Akimel O’odham and Chicano artist Angelo Cortez to create four original paintings meant to reflect the Great Bend of the Gila. See the paintings and read an interview where Skylar and Angelo discuss the process of bringing the paintings to life.
02/24/2023 | Respect Great Bend Coalition
Tribal leaders, community members demonstrate the natural and cultural significance of the Great Bend of the Gila
Today, the Respect Great Bend Coalition released an interactive Story Map showcasing the Great Bend of the Gila, a stretch of river valley and surrounding desert between Phoenix and Yuma, as described by Arizonans who want to see it permanently protected. The story map, released in partnership with the Conservation Lands Foundation, contains interviews from 13 different individuals about the profound value of these public lands to diverse communities across Arizona.
09/14/2022 | Respect Great Bend Coalition
Hearing on Bills Intended to Increase the Role of Tribes in Public Land Management
Today, the United States House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee’s National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee held a hearing to examine three bills introduced earlier this Congress that will advance additional opportunities for Tribal co-management and resource protection. Read the Coalition’s news release in support of these bills.
09/07/2022 | House Natural Resources Committee
Chair Grijalva Leads Letter to President Biden, Makes GAO Request on Tribal Co-Management, Announces Hearing on Related Bills
Find the Chair Grijalva-led letter to President Biden, Grijalva’s request to the GAO, and find out more about the upcoming hearing slated for 09/14. This subcommittee hearing will include testimony on the “Great Bend of the Gila Conservation Act” alongside two other important acts.
8/16/2022 | Respect Great Bend Coalition
A Diverse Community Coalition Praises Introduction of Bill to Protect the Great Bend of the Gila
Read the Respect Great Bend Coalition’s news release and join us in thanking Congressman Raúl Grijalva for his continued leadership in the effort to protect the Great Bend of the Gila! Today, he introduced the Great Bend of the Gila Conservation Act. Full bill text and other resources are available in the news release.
8/16/2022 | House Natural Resources Committee
Chair Grijalva Introduces Bill to Protect Tribal Cultural, Historical, and Natural Resources of Great Bend of the Gila in Southern Arizona
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today introduced the Great Bend of the Gila Conservation Act to protect one of the most culturally significant and ecologically fragile landscapes in the southwestern United States. The bill will establish the 330,000-acre Great Bend of the Gila National Conservation Area, the 47,000-acre Palo Verde National Conservation Area, and nearly 60,000 acres of new wilderness.
4/22/2021 | azcentral.com
From the Gila River to Bears Ears, a renewed push to protect public lands in the Southwest
Before committing to the motion, Zion White cautiously checks where he plans to place his hand, trying to avoid the Native American petroglyphs he’s there to document.
News Archive
Efforts have been underway to protect the Great Bend of the Gila for many years. Read archived updates and articles about past efforts to protect these lands.
Datura Bloom. Photo: Dawn Kish
10/05/2017 | tucson.com
New effort afoot to preserve Great Gila River Bend and its rock carvings
“As the Phoenix metropolitan area continues to expand, that growth will encroach on these delicate areas. Some sites on the eastern edge of the Great Bend have already been vandalized. As the population increases, Wright said, the impact on unprotected areas will grow exponentially.”
1/17/2017 | tucson.com
Lisa Palacios: My Tohono O'odham family and our legacy of the land
“Today reminds us that change can take a long time, and its pursuit must be constant. For time immemorial O’odham have been made by history, and our history is in the land. I urge every American to appreciate, be enriched by, and staunchly defend public lands, to defend our history.”
12/07/2015 | azcentral.com
Our Turn: Why the Great Bend of the Gila matters
Our Turn: There are lots of reasons why this irreplaceable land deserves to become a national monument.
Previous protection efforts press
View news clips (2011-2013) from the Sonoran Desert Heritage campaign (Opens as a PDF | 8MB)
Top Banner image: Elias Butler