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Copper Area News
It was a spectacular weekend for outdoor activities! The San Pedro River Festival had a wide range of events and fun for everyone free of charge. The Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition along with Arizona Audubon Society hosted the festival at the Winkelman Flats Public Park.
There were guided hikes, bird banding and walks throughout the San Pedro River and Gila River. The rivers are recognized for environmental values and people have been trying to protect and preserve different areas along the San Pedro Valley. The EPA issued regulations governing compensatory mitigation for authorized impacts to wetlands, streams and other waters of the US under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These regulations are designed to improve the effectiveness of mitigation to replace lost aquatic resource functions and areas.
This fantastic area is very plush vegetation, white wild roses, Ash trees, Willow trees, other greenery, songs of birds and all kinds of varieties of birds. Some of the many birds in this particular area are Grey Hawks, Coopers Hawks, Northern Cardinals, Yellow Warblers, Summer Tanagers, Humming Birds and Oriole, just to name a few. Bird watchers of all ages enjoyed the different species.
The exhibits at the San Pedro River Festival were archaeology information, food and drinks, a Dinosaur bounce house and rock wall, musical entertainment and a performance of a Spanish Dancing Horse and Rider it was fun for the whole family. Two local book authors were there selling books about the area. Gregg Vinson of Jojoba Beef Company provided samples of beef. The Mammoth STEM School had representatives there and showed off some of the award winning exhibits they recently won at the SARSEF competition and even had youth there to serve chia pudding. There were many other talented people showing off their special talents with homemade items at the festival. There were limited tours providing informative and insightful information about the areas and the wildlife. Nature lovers and birdwatchers truly enjoyed this special event.
The many vendors that helped make this day fun filled included Tucson Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, SRP, Resolution Copper, US Fish and Wildlife, Arizona Game and Fish, Jojoba Beef, Enriqueta Flores-Guevara, Central Arizona College, Archaeology Southwest, Aravaipa Canyon Preserve, Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens and many others.
There were people from Superior, Kearny, Hayden, Winkelman, Dudleyville, Mammoth, San Manuel and Oracle it was so nice to see so many people from other areas coming together. Thank you everyone that came out to support the San Pedro River Festival 2014!
Nina Crowder is a resident of Mammoth. She volunteers in several local organizations. She covers events throughout the Copper Corridor and Superior Town and School governance.
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