A glimpse of the Southwest Valley’s restored wetlands

By Madeline Ackley Salazar
Mail | Twitter: @Mkayackley

Southwest Vally residents don’t have to travel to the Everglades to visit a wetland habitat — there’s one right here in your backyard!

The Tres Rios Wetlands, just south of Tolleson is a man-made, 700-acre area, part of a restoration project to help rehabilitate important riparian habitats surrounding the Salt River.

Cattails and reeds line the rushing rivers, and visitors can hear the sounds of waterfowl chirping and clucking as birds fly overhead and squirrels scurry across the dirt paths.

It’s hard to believe that prior to 2009, what is now a lush habitat for hundreds of species of riparian wildlife was nothing but empty farmland.

The project was approved in the early 2000s by the Army Corp of Engineers as a way to help remove nitrogen from wastewater that flows from the 91st Avenue sewage treatment plant.

The area, which is managed by Phoenix’s Water Services Department, is now open to the public, and home to skunks, coyotes, muskrats, beavers, bobcats and more than 150 different species of birds.

It’s also a hub for fishing, hiking, picnicking, bird watching, biking, trail running and horseback riding.

Madeline Ackley Salazar can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.