Birding

Tour of the Phelps Dodge UBAR Ranch Bennett Restoration and Research Project
Friday, 10 - 11:30am. Led by ranch manager Dave Ogilvie, the tour highlights Southwest Willow Flycatcher restoration efforts. Meet at Cliff High School parking lot.

Birding Fieldtrip to the Mogollon Box Campground * REGISTRATION INFO
Saturday, 8:30 - 10am. This riparian area off Highway 293 affords a look at spring migrants and local nesters among cottonwoods and adjacent desert scrub. Group leader: Hope Woodward. 8am shuttle bus from Cliff High School takes participants to the area. Limit 15 birders.

Birding Fieldtrip to The Nature Conservancy's Gila River Farm * REGISTRATION INFO
Saturday, 8:15 - 10 a.m. Ponds, grain fields, bosque and river frontage give opportunities for a wide range of bird species, migrants and local nesters alike. Group leader: David Beatty. 8am shuttle bus from Cliff High School brings participants to the Lichty Center headquarters of the Gila River Farm. Limit 15 birders.

Bird Banding at the Gila River Farm
Saturday, 9 - 11am. Join field ornithologists, Mike and Carol Fugagli, for a bird banding demonstration.

Birding Fieldtrip to Gila Cliff Dwellings Area
* REGISTRATION INFO
Sunday, 7am - 3pm. Conifer and deciduous forest and riparian areas are easily accessed for excellent birding on this trip to the National Monument area within the Gila National Forest. River trails and access to the new Heart Bar Ranch Preserve make this a special birding experience. $15 fee includes a box lunch. Group leaders: Larry Malone, David Beatty. Trip departs via bus from Silver City Visitor Center at 7:00 am.

Hikes & Horse Rides

Middle Box Hike * REGISTRATION INFO
Friday, 8am - 3pm. Led by USFS ranger, Dave Warnack, this 4-mile hike begins at the confluence of Mogollon Creek and the Gila River. Moderate physical conditioning and backcountry experience recommended. Meet at Mogollon Box Campground; return via USFS vehicle.

A Hike to the Gauging Station * REGISTRATION INFO
Saturday, 9am - 1pm. Get your feet wet, see some birds, catch some fish, and learn about the watershed health of the Gila River. Dutch Salmon, author of Gila Descending, and Black Range RC&D Coordinator Rich Olson lead this 4-mile hike to the USGS Gila gauging station. Children welcome. Meet at Mogollon Box campground.
Soil Communities Along the Gila River
Saturday, 3 - 4pm. A walk exploring the floodplain and terrace soils of the Gila River Farm with soil scientist, Frank Kirschner, and hydrologist, Rebecca Summer.

Sapillo Creek Hike * REGISTRATION INFO
Sunday, 8am - 3pm. This 10-mile trek with Dave Warnack descends almost 2,000 feet to the confluence of Sapillo Creek and the Gila River. Recommended for hikers in good physical shape. Meet at the junction of NM Hwy. 15 and Forest Road 282. Hikers will carpool from there to the trailhead approximately 6 miles down the road.

Horse Ride to Jordan Hot Springs * REGISTRATION INFO
Sunday, 9am-5pm. Experience a wild hot spring on a 12- mile roundtrip horse ride. Space is limited. Weight limit 250 lbs. Kids need to be able to handle the long ride. Wear long pants, smooth-bottomed boots or shoes with a heel, and a sun hat. Bring lunch and water. Meet at Woody’s Corral. Cost: $60 per person.

Cultural Activities

Tour of the Meaders Stage Coach Site
*REGISTRATION INFO
Friday, 9am - 1pm. Join USFS Archaeologist, Bob Schiowitz, and local historian Duane Ericson for a tour of this important station along the historic road from Silver City to late-nineteenth and twentieth century mining communities at Mogollon, Alma, and Cooney. Shuttle bus leaves from Silver City Visitors Center. Bring water and a sack lunch.

Woodrow Ruin Site Tour
Saturday, 10 - 11am. Join Chris Turnbow of the Museum of New Mexico on a tour of this large, multi-room prehistoric Mogollon ruin dating from the 11th century. Meet at site on Box Canyon Road (see map).

Tour of Fort West
Saturday, 3:30 - 4:30pm. USFS Archaeologist Bob Schiowitz and Chris Turnbow of Museum of New Mexico will lead a walk and talk to this US military fort from the 1850s. The site has a commanding view of the Cliff-Gila Valley and a series of adjacent pre-historic sites. No shuttle service. Meet at site in Airport Mesa Rd.

Flint Knapping Demonstrations
Saturday, 9am - 12pm. Don Peters, retired stone tool artist, will demonstrate how Native Americans fashioned tools from stone. Gila River Farm.

Atlatl Demonstrations
Saturday 1:30 - 5pm. Chris Turnbow, archaeologist with the Museum of New Mexico, will demonstrate how the ancient atlatl was used to throw a spear. Learn about the importance of the atlatl to Native American survival and test your own skill at atlatl throwing. Gila River Farm.

West Fork Ruin Program
Sunday, 1pm. Every visitor to the Cliff Dwellings unknowingly drives over a site that once contained everything from pit houses to a Classic Mimbres pueblo to a historic ranch house. Find out more in a presentation and site visit with archaeologist Chris Turnbow. Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center.

A Worldwide Molecule: Worldwide Community Water Issues from Laos to Alaksa
Lichty Center
Overview of the Cultural Importance of the Gila River
Saturday, 9am. Regina Mueller is a former interpreter/tour guide at the Gila Cliff Dwellings. She will give an overview of the cultural importance of the Gila River in Prehistoric times, along its 600 miles from the Mogollon Mountains to the Colorado River.

Native Harvest: Authentic Southwestern Gardening
Saturday, 11am. Kevin Dahl, Executive Director of Native Seeds/SEARCH
Kevin Dahl has served as executive director for Native Seeds/SEARCH since February 2003, and also worked for the organization in various roles, including education director, from 1986 to 1997. He was executive director of the Tucson Audubon Society and Natural Resources Superintendent for Pima County’s Parks and Recreation Department. An alumni of both the University of Arizona and Arizona State University (where he was student body vice president), his interest in plants led him to obtain his degree in ethnobotany from Prescott College. Author of Wild Plants of the Sonoran Desert, published by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and Native Harvest: Authentic Southwestern Gardening, published this spring by the Western National Parks Association.

Research Along the River
Saturday, 2pm. Martha Schumann, Southwest New Mexico Field Representative, The Nature Conservancy. This presentation will discuss how The Nature Conservancy's work in the Gila Valley fits into their mission: to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the land and waters they need to survive. The Lichty Ecological Research Center provides a platform for long-term monitoring and research of the Gila River. Past studies and recent restoration projects will be profiled, as well as conservation goals for the Gila-Mimbres Headwaters area.

Talks Under the Trees

The Life-giving Molecule: Water Issues in Communities Worldwide Saturday, 3:30. Writer and National Public Radio rural contributor Doug Fine talks about how community efforts in two very different regions are proving the key to water health and sustainability. In Laos, local villagers, aided by some NGOs like the International Rivers Network, have for ten years been fighting a World Bank proposal to dam the Nam Theun River. This would flood out traditionally sustainable villagers, all for expensive hydroelectrcity no one except the European corporate contractors and some local bigwig wants. The argument is that the "poor" rural Laotians will be modernized. Most don't want to be. In the second part of the event, Fine will outline efforts of rural Alaskans near the town of Haines to fight both a road and a mine that would threaten traditional subsistence fishing lifestyles. The talk will conclude by tying together the issues and outlining how they are relevant to our Gila Mimbres Region, showing how local networking in communities like ours, and between comunities like ours, Alaska's and Laos', might be a key component of healthy survival in the 21st Century.

 

Stewardship Activities

River Trail Clearing
Sunday, 9am-12pm. Get up-close and personal with the Gila River by clearing brush along the river and setting up rock cairns to mark river crossings. Tools and training provided. Wear sturdy shoes, long pants, long sleeves, gloves and sun hat. Bring lunch and water. Location: Woody's Corral, near the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center.

Hot Springs Dig
Sunday, 1:30 - 3pm. The closest "wild" hot spring, just half a mile and two river crossings up the Middle Fork trail, often needs a little help to mix the river water and spring water. BYOShovel (& swimsuit) to dig a little before a well deserved soak! Meet at Middle Fork Trailhead, near the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center.

Festival Schedule of Events
Maps and Transportation Registration
Festival Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Organizers
Planning Your Trip
Festival T-shirts, Caps, Posters & Water Bottles