For two years, more than 10,000 boy Scouts and their leaders campaigned to protect bighorn sheep through a “save the bighorns” poster contest, talks, and dramatizations on the radio and at school assemblies. Burnham, a frontiersman turned conservationist, observed that populations of bighorn sheep were sharply declining and appealed to the Boy Scouts to take up the cause. Kofa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 for the protection of desert bighorn sheep and other native wildlife following a 1936 campaign by the Arizona Boy Scouts. Major Frederick R. Elsewhere on the refuge, moist soil units and wildlife crops offer nutrient-rich tubers, grains and seedlings, important sources of winter food for Canada and snow geese.

Ground dwelling birds like Gamble’s quail and roadrunners dart between river vegetation looking for cover from overhead predators in search of prey, specifically golden eagles and peregrine falcons. The tall trees offer colorful migratory songbirds like the vermillion flycatcher a place to perch and watch for an insect meal. Here, western and Clark’s grebe chicks ride the backs of their parents as they cruise along a shoreline under the branches of cottonwood and willow trees, rookeries for great blue herons and egrets.

The greenbelt of the Colorado River serves as an important migratory corridor for a host of birds making their thousand-mile journey through this area. Because of the river’s life sustaining water, wildlife thrives in this environment where temperatures reach 120 degrees in the summer and the average rainfall is two inches per year. Along with these main water bodies, several important backwaters are home to many species of wildlife that reside in this portion of the Sonoran Desert. No Fee, but a permit is required from a camp hostĬibola National Wildlife Refugeencompasses both the historic Colorado River channel, as well as a channelized portion constructed in the late 1960’s. Take highway 95 North, look for Plomosa Road. There is a small fee, but in return you’ll have water, a dump station, and trash facilities.Įxit Interstate 10 at the city of Quartzsite, AZ. You can camp for 7 months straight on the LTVAs. The La Posa Long Term Visitor Area near Quartzsite is one of the most popular locations. There are 5 free 14-day camping areas and 4 Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVAs). Many will find their ways down to Arizona and Sonoran Desert to set up temporary homes over the winter. The small truck stop along I-10, normally a town of around 3,000 will swell to nearly 700,000 people. Every year during the winter months retirees from around the US and Canada pack up their RVs and campers and head south. Quartzsite, AZ- the RV boondocking capital of the world. Click image to view more pictures Campground:

Swell holbrook az