Weekly Wave: Field Trip to GRIC’s MAR 5 Site Enlightens Attendees

On October 22, 2021, the Gila River Indian Community hosted over 60 people at the Managed Aquifer Recharge Site #5 (MAR 5) and Gila River Interpretive Trail. This opportunity was offered to those who attended the WRRC’s 2021 Annual Conference, Tribal Water Resilience in a Changing Environment. As noted in the Interpretive Trail pamphlet received by all, “MAR 5 is a water recharge project that operates as a storage system, and serves as the first portion of the Community’s ‘Return to the River’ program.” Attendees were honored with a welcome from Governor Stephen Roe Lewis (pictured above), who spoke to the site’s importance as a nexus of culture, history, spirituality, and science. He underscored the connection of the site to the life’s work and vision of his late father, Rodney Blaine Lewis, to whose legacy the conference was dedicated. After breaking into smaller groups, participants learned about the history of the Gila River and the Community’s farming, how plants at the site provide materials used for traditional basket weaving, the Community’s flora and fauna, and the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project (P-MIP). We thank P-MIP Director David DeJong for facilitating this meaningful and interactive site visit; Governor Lewis and the Community and staff experts (Henrietta Lopez, Yolanda Elias, Kristina Morago, and Sam Rector) for welcoming us and sharing their knowledge and insights; the Gila River Indian Community for its care in screening attendees according to Community COVID-19 protocols; WRRC Program Manager Michael Seronde for facilitating registration and communications; and all attendees for participating.