Aravaipa Canyon Preserve

Preserve Regulations

In consideration of our sensitive wildlife habitats and the number of visitors we host, all visitors are asked to remain on the road while traveling through The Nature Conservancy’s preserve land. No unauthorized off-road entry is allowed. Damage or removal of any plants, animals, wood, minerals or artifacts and/or collecting of any kind is prohibited. Visitors are asked not to feed the wildlife. Picnicking, camping and fires are not permitted. No dogs, horses or other domestic animals are allowed on the preserve. Hunting, fishing and firearms are prohibited. To preserve the natural character of our lands for our wildlife and the privacy of our visitors, we restrict the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), whether amateur or commercial, anywhere within this preserve.

Road Conditions
Roads into and through the preserve are gravel, can be rough and are subject to closure during wet weather.  At the east end the road crosses Aravaipa Creek several times through the preserve before reaching BLM Wilderness Area parking. All visitors are asked to remain on the road while traveling through The Nature Conservancy’s preserve land.  No hunting or unauthorized off-road entry is allowed on the preserve. 

Gear
Hat, binoculars, sturdy shoes, sunscreen and plenty of water. High-clearance vehicles are recommended.

Camping

No camping is allowed on TNC land. At the West end, camping is available across from the Brandenburg Ranger Station. Brandenburg Campsite is identified by a sign along Aravaipa Road. There are restrooms and trash cans. Fires are not allowed. Space is very limited. Only one small group can occupy this site and no other public land is available outside the wilderness for camping on the West end.

At the East end two camping areas are available. Fourmile Canyon Campground, located about one mile southwest of the Klondyke Store has ten units with picnic tables, grills and a flush toilet. Fourmile Canyon has a fee of $5.00 per night. The second area is Turkey Creek, a primitive camping area with no facilities. Turkey Creek is located near the east wilderness entrance and has no fee.

Please remember that, on both entrances, campsites are limited and are on a first-come, first-served basis. Primitive camping in the Wilderness Area is for permit holders only.

Questions?
Call (928) 828-3443 or e-mail mhaberstich@tnc.org

Wildlife Viewing

Pristine Aravaipa Creek flows perennially through the full length of the preserve’s canyon property and is the heart of the preserve and canyon. The creek is a tributary of the San Pedro River and shelters the best remaining assemblage of desert fishes in Arizona, with seven native species. Two of these species are federally listed as threatened—the spikedace and loach minnow. Among the more than 200 species of birds found at Aravaipa are black and zone-tailed hawks, peregrine falcon, yellow-billed cuckoo, Bell’s vireo and beardless tyrannulet.

Among the larger mammals that roam the canyon rim and bottomlands are mountain lion, coatimundi, ringtailed cats, black bear and desert bighorn sheep. In the spring, colorful native wildflowers such as lupine, four o’clock, monkey flowers, columbine and other, more rare species can be seen along Aravaipa Creek. 

Open daily, year-round. Access into The Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness requires a permit from the Bureau of Land Management by calling (928) 348-4400. Pedestrian access to TNC's preserve is allowed only with prior authorization from Aravaipa Canyon Preserve staff. Neither The Nature Conservancy nor its Aravaipa Canyon Preserve staff can issue BLM Wilderness permits. Permits can be obtained only by contacting the Safford, Arizona District Office by calling (928) 348-4400.

Laughing Waters and Happy Fish

In Arizona, year-round flowing creeks are a rarity. One exception: A canyon and creek in southeastern Arizona named Aravaipa, an ancient Indigenous word (some say Apache, some say Papago)  for “laughing waters.”

Aravaipa Creek runs for 20 miles, including a 10-mile stretch through a wilderness canyon. The stream nourishes a cottonwood-willow riparian oasis for such native desert wildlife as bighorn sheep, bobcats, coatis, box turtles and javelina. The stream—home to spike dace, loach minnow and other native fish—is widely considered the healthiest native fishery in the Southwest.

Healthy Land Supports Healthy Water Flows

Twenty-five years ago, when Mark Haberstich joined The Nature Conservancy as the Aravaipa preserve manager, the prognosis for the creek was not good.

At that time, an analysis of Aravaipa’s flows showed a declining trend, one that might be expected to continue given the accelerating impacts of climate change. Indeed, the last 20 years have been some of the warmest on record in this region, and 2020 was the worst monsoon season in 25 years, producing very little rain.

Yet over the last 10 years, Aravaipa Creek flows are trending upward.

The reason, explains Haberstich, is that “our preserve lands are acting as a sponge, storing water in the ground and releasing it slowly downstream.”

For the last two and half decades, Haberstich has focused on keeping this pristine watershed healthy and ensuring the longterm protection of the stream and the riverside cottonwood, willow, walnut, alder and sycamore trees.

He works in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the wilderness area cutting through the 9-mile central gorge. The preserve encompasses 53,000 acres of private and leased land, with cooperative management agreements that extend to 70,000 acres of the surrounding watershed.

Cobra Ranch Restoration

When the Cobra Ranch became part of the preserve in 2007, Haberstich got to work replacing the former alfalfa fields with native grasses and adding shrubs along the creek banks. The native grasses require only a quarter of the water needed by alfalfa and other more traditional crops.

The Cobra Ranch acquisition included the water rights, so the previous water irrigation was retired.

Haberstich and his staff also introduced meanders into the creek and its tributaries, stabilizing the banks and reducing runoff. These efforts promote infiltration during floods, ensuring that more floodwater goes underground and recharges the aquifer.

The health of the native grasses is something of a litmus tests for the health of the ecosystem, which is under stress. “We don’t have as much summer rain as they do farther south, so it’s an area that’s become more susceptible to climate change,” says Haberstich.

Controlled Burns, Native Fish and More

The innovative use of fire—including burning at a large scale—is another key component in maintaining the health of the preserve, which lies within one of the largest unfragmented areas in Arizona. Fire has improved the uplands of Aravaipa which benefits the whole watershed and the habitat for bighorn sheep.

And the trickling stream. Well, if fishes had wishes, they would all wish for habitat like Aravaipa Creek. A recent fish survey found that spike dace had expanded their range and are now present in the stream’s whole length.

“We still have all the fish we had when I started this job, even though they’ve disappeared from many other Southwest streams,” says Haberstich.

The native grass field of the Cobra Ranch is abundant with the chatter of grassland birds. And the creek’s gurgling waters and its many tiny fish have something to laugh about.

An Aravaipa Gem Protected Forever

A large ranch in the heart of southern Arizona’s Aravaipa landscape—one of the wildest, least developed parts of Arizona—is now protected, opening up public access to thousands of acres of public lands and sustaining the waters of Aravaipa Creek.

The complex conservation deal supported by The Nature Conservancy protects the 5,000-acre Cross F Ranch, the only unprotected private land remaining in the corridor between the Aravaipa Creek and Santa Teresa Mountains wilderness areas. The Trust for Public Land purchased the land and conveyed most of it to the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to be managed as part of the Aravaipa Ecosystem Management Plan, which The Nature Conservancy played a key role in developing.

The land includes Stowe Gulch, which is adjacent to TNC’s Aravaipa Canyon Preserve and contains a network of natural springs that provides an estimated 50 percent of the water in Aravaipa Creek, a tributary to the San Pedro River. The creek, which flows through the stunning 10-mile long Aravaipa Canyon, is a critical wildlife corridor and home to desert bighorn sheep, mountain lions, black bears and a diverse assortment of birds and wildlife.

About 40 acres were sold, along with a BLM-held conservation easement (deed restriction) that prohibits subdivision, to a private rancher along with associated grazing leases. TNC received guarantees to purchase this portion, should the owner decide to sell it.

The deal opened up public access to around 40,000 acres of public lands previously cut off from use by hikers, hunters and horseback riders. The uncertain future of the Cross F, its history of mining and poor grazing management, and previous plans to develop the property for commercial use had been a perennial threat to conservation investments in the area.