Historic Ranch Donation Helps Protect San Pedro River

A key tributary of the threatened San Pedro River will be protected from development & groundwater pumping thanks to the donation of historic Cobra Ranch to The Nature Conservancy in Arizona by Dan Bates, a Tucson artist & restaurateur. Cobra Ranch includes 1,250 private acres and 10,000 acres of state & U.S. Forest Service grazing leases adjacent to the Conservancy’s Aravaipa Canyon Preserve, located about 50 miles northeast of Tucson in Graham County.

“It’s a precious jewel,” says Bates, who owned the ranch with his mother, Mary, for 25 years. “Not only is this property rich in historical importance, but it contains valuable water in a beautiful area teeming with wildlife.”

Cobra Ranch contains Stowe Gulch, a drainage area estimated to contribute nearly half of the groundwater flowing to the headwaters of Aravaipa Creek. The creek empties into the San Pedro River, which flows north into the Gila River & eventually joins the Colorado River - all part of Arizona’s Great Rivers system.

Aravaipa Creek also cuts through stunning Aravaipa Canyon, dubbed the “Little Grand Canyon,” & shelters the best remaining group of desert fish in Arizona. Two are listed as threatened, the spikedace & loach minnow. Other wildlife living in Aravaipa Canyon includes more than 200 bird species and desert bighorn sheep.

“Cobra Ranch is a tremendous gift,” says Ken Wiley, the Conservancy’s director of stewardship in Arizona. “It will allow recovery of 1.1 miles of riparian habitat & create new opportunities for improved grazing & watershed management in what is the richest biological region of the state.”

The Conservancy’s expanded 9,032-acre Aravaipa Canyon Preserve straddles the canyon east & west of a 19,410-acre Aravaipa Canyon Wildernessand includes additional acreage on the north & south rims. With the Bates donation of private acreage & public land grazing leases, the preserve now effectively protects about 53,000 acres.

Table Mountain, at 6,150 feet in elevation, overlooks this pristine area that boasts a colorful past. Prehistoric Hohokam, Mogollon & Salado peoples, and later, the Sobaipuri Indians farmed the canyon. The Aravaipa Apaches followed & fought many heated battles with the U.S. cavalry in the 18th century. Both Hispanic & Anglo settlers raised cattle, goats & sheep, & the remains of century-old copper mines are evident.

At Cobra Ranch, Bates raised longhorn cattle & hosted family and friends at the 140-year-old homestead of Burt Dunlap, a well-known Arizona territorial legislator. Bates says he donated the ranch in honor of his mother.

For more about Aravaipa Canyon Preserve, visit nature.org/arizona.