Stewardship
Stewardship is the heart of the Friends of Madera Canyon mission—a commitment not only to protect this unique Sky Island ecosystem, but to actively care for it, learn from it, and ensure its vitality for generations to come. In Madera Canyon, stewardship means embracing a deep responsibility for the land, its wildlife, and its cultural heritage. It’s a living promise to conserve, preserve, and restore—each action guided by respect, science, and community.
Conservation efforts focus on understanding and protecting the canyon’s rich biodiversity, from monitoring native bat populations to educating visitors about erosion and invasive species. Preservation safeguards the canyon’s natural beauty and ecological integrity, ensuring that its trails, habitats, and historical features remain undisturbed and accessible. Restoration breathes new life into damaged areas, whether through replanting native pollinators, repairing trails, or collaborating with partners to rehabilitate sensitive landscapes.
Stewardship also means fostering a culture of awareness and care. Through volunteerism, education, and collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and local organizations, Friends of Madera Canyon empowers people to become active participants in the canyon’s future. Whether it’s packing out litter, planting native species, or simply staying on the trail, every action contributes to the health of this treasured place.
In Madera Canyon, stewardship is not a single act—it’s a way of being. It’s the quiet work of hands in the soil, the shared knowledge passed between hikers, and the enduring belief that nature thrives when we choose to protect it together.
Capital Improvement & Conservation Projects
Since the organization’s inception in 1987, the Friends of Madera Canyon has taken an active roll in assisting the USFS with construction, upgrade, repair & maintenance of canyon facilities and amenities, always with safety, protection and conservation in mind. Over 1 million dollars and thousands of volunteer hours have been donated to parking, restrooms, picnic facilities, trail heads/trails, bridges, natural history interpretive exhibits, habitat preservation/rehabilitation and nature education. The following is a list of recent projects
- Madera Parking & Picnic Area (West) Eagle Scout BGINT exhibit landscape & re-vegetation project
- Madera Canyon Road Bridges Project landscape & re-vegetation project
- Friends of Madera Canyon Honor Wall/retaining wall construction
- Proctor Native Plant and Pollinator Landscape (Proctor Parking Area) re-vegetation project
- Proctor (ADA) Accessible Trail and Madera Creek viewing area
- Amphitheater bench seat replacement
- Aligned 300-feet of Old Baldy Trail and restored six CCC-era culverts to move water properly off the trail and into a nearby stream.
- Restored 634-feet of eroded slope between Old Baldy and Super Trailheads by building mini-rock terraces and planting 270 native pollinator plants, grasses and shrubs to stabilize hillside
- Installed Restoration Partners sign
- Installed Indigenous people’s sign
- Installed pollinator signs
- Replacement of 44 rusted grills throughout Madera Canyon
Today thanks to volunteers and the United States Forest Service we are working hard to keep the canyon clean and trails groomed for your enjoyment. There are many ways you can help us with this work.
What’s New in Madera Canyon? What’s Next?
By Kevin Murphy, Editor NABUR
Autumn 2024
Kevin Murphy wrote:
In August the Friends of Madera Canyon completed a collaborative effort with the U.S. Forest Service to have each of the 44 grills in the picnic areas replaced with grills made of stainless steel.
But the Friends always has something else in the works.
Several other projects are on the horizon, including powder coating the picnic tables in the Whitehouse Picnic Area, replacing steps in the Madera Picnic Area and above the Wrightson parking lot approaching Old Baldy Trail, and a bench project.
Picnic tables may be finished this fall, and work on the benches comes next.
After Lauren Atkinson with the Forest Service assessed the condition of the 28 benches on the Proctor and Whitehouse loops between Proctor Road and the Madera Picnic Area over a year ago, Friends of Madera Canyon President Dan White secured a $5000 grant to help fund a project to renovate, remove, and replace the benches.
It got us thinking, “Well, maybe there’s an opportunity here as well. So, we kicked that around for a while, and then, it struck me. That’s something that maybe the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation would get behind,” he said. “So, I wrote up a grant proposal and, son of a gun, we have five grand to spend on benches….”
To read the rest of the article, use the link to the Green Valley News/NABUR website below.
https://www.gvnews.com/eedition/nabur/page-a01/page_47730054-ff96-5e7f-9055-795b83e37a97.html
Proctor Native Plant & Pollinator Landscape
The Proctor Native Plant and Pollinator Landscape was proposed by the USFS for habitat restoration and as nature education/interpretation that complimented the existing Bud Gode Interpretive Nature Trail Ramada. The installation of two picnic tables with ramadas in the center island of Proctor Parking Area cleared a large patch of surrounding mesquite trees and vegetation, making way for the planting of native flowering plants to attract and support local bees, butterflies and other pollinators, while providing an attractive natural landscape for canyon visitors to observe flowers and plant/pollinator interaction.
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Now established and essentially self-sustaining, the nursery-grown plants initially required regular watering to survive. FoMC “super-volunteer” Dita Hagen visited and watered the entire landscape by hand weekly for over a year, with supplemental help from the FS and FoMC volunteers. FoMC volunteers also do seasonal “weeding mornings” to thin out returning native perennials and remove invasives like Desert Broom and Camphor Weed that threaten to take over the landscape.
Still some years from full size, landscape Desert Willow and White-thorn Acacia trees are already mature enough to flower. Wolfberry, Buckwheat, Tecoma, Hibiscus and other shrubs are also blooming in season, though it will take a while for the Ocotillos to grow tall enough to bloom. Penstemon, Cassia, Silverleaf Nightshade and other perennials are regularly reseeding. Native Fairy Duster, Velvet-pod Mimosa and Goldeneye are colonizing from the edges, as is a flowering milkweed vine. All the flowers are attracting pollinators! Already an excellent place to take camera, binocs and field guides to look at flowers and insects in spring, summer and fall, the Proctor Native Plant and Pollinator Landscape will continue to get better over time and provide enjoyment and nature discovery for years to come.
