The proposed Laguna Division Conservation Area project, part of the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, would include removing non-native plant species such as salt cedar and replacing them with native plants such as cottonwood and willow trees, water channels, and marsh habitat.

Reclamation staff will make informal presentations about the proposed project, and answer questions about it. The presentations will address where the project site is, how it would improve habitat for native species, and the procedures Reclamation will follow for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act.

What: Public meeting on proposed Laguna Division Conservation Area Project

When: Thursday, March 18, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. MST

Where: Old City Hall, 180 1st Street, in Yuma, Ariz. (To access the location from the north, turn left on Quechan Road from County Highway S24 and continue on to E 1st Street/Penitentiary Avenue. Follow 1st Street east and Old City Hall will be located on the right. From the south, continue north on S 4th Avenue and turn right on W 1st Street. Follow 1st Street west and Old City Hall will be located on the left.)

The project is scheduled to begin later this year, and be completed by 2015.

Additional background information about the Laguna Division Conservation Area can be found at http://www.lcrmscp.gov/worktasks/conservationareas/E27/index.html. The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, or MSCP, is a coordinated, comprehensive, long-term federal, state and local effort to conserve and work towards the recovery of endangered species, and protect and maintain wildlife habitat on the lower Colorado River, while ensuring the certainty of existing river water and power operations.