Public Meeting: What’s Up with the Friends of the Rio?

Attendees at a workshop focused on stormwater in the Southside Neighborhood discuss the future of the Rio de Flag in their neighborhood with City staff. The meeting was co-hosted by the City of Flagstaff and Friends of the Rio de Flag.

What: Public Meeting

Where: Montoya Community Center, 245 N. Thorpe Road

When: Thursday, October 4th, 6:00-7:30pm

Friends of the Rio de Flag has been busy over the last year. Join us October 4th to learn more about where we are at and where we are headed.

Last fall, the Friends received and EPA Environmental Justice Small grant aimed at building partnerships and gathering information in the Southside Neighborhood where the Rio de Flag and localized flooding have caused issues for generations.

As our EPA grant wraps up, we are preparing to receive a WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management grant from the Bureau of Reclamation. The WaterSMART grant will help us gather input from key stakeholders and the public for a watershed restoration plan.

Join us to learn about these projects and how you can be involved moving forward! Presenters include Chelsea Silva and Matt Muchna.

Rio de Flag Cleanup and Mini-Citizen Science Workshop

The Rio de Flag is Flagstaff’s river. Like many rivers and streams in the Southwest, “the Rio” appears as a dry wash for most of the year. But when winter storms roll through Flag, and monsoon seasons pick up, the Rio flows through town and makes its way to San Francisco Wash, a tributary to the Little Colorado River.

We will host a Rio de Flag cleanup event and mini-citizen science workshop as part of Colorado River Days (bring your smart phone!).

Time and Date: The citizen science workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 25th from 4:00PM – 6:00PM. The cleanup will follow and we will wrap up by 6PM.

Location: Meet at Willow Bend Environmental Education Center at 703 E. Sawmill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (additional parking available at police station east of the center).

Note: Please dress for weather. Long pants and close-toed shoes recommended. Bring a smart phone and a water bottle. Gloves, trash bags, and trash grabbers will be available for use. Please follow instructions to download and install the Arizona Water Watch phone app prior to the event: http://azdeq.gov/arizona-water-watch-mobile-app.

Contact Chelsea Silva at deflagrio@gmail.com to RSVP.

Hike through the Southside with Mayor Coral Evans

Thursday, September 20th, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Mayor Coral Evans will walk us through the Southside Neighborhood to discuss the history of flooding in the neighborhood and potential solutions to address the issue. Mayor Evans is a third generation Southside resident who has lived and experienced the challenges of flooding in her community. We hope you can make it to this informative hike!

Meet at the northwest corner of Phoenix Avenue and Beaver Street.