The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area admitted more than 60,000 visitors to its state parks in fiscal year 2024, provided public tours to nearly 4,000 people and generated support from 70 volunteers across all of its educational and community event programs.
Executive Director Cathy Douglas attended the Jan. 14 Yuma City Council work session to provide an update on the Yuma Crossing accomplishments from Oct. 1, 2023, through Sep. 30, 2024.
Yuma Crossing encapsulates seven square miles in and around the city of Yuma, responsible for maintenance and operation of 400 acres of restored wetlands along three contiguous miles of the Colorado River, in addition to the operation of the Colorado River and Yuma Territorial Prison state historic parks.
The organization collected more than $3.4 million in revenue last year, including over $1.4 million from 16 federal, state and foundation grants and private donations. Nearly $900,000 of revenue came from a 10% share of the city’s 2% hospitality tax, and $715,000 was raised in state park admissions and gift shop sales.
Expenses did exceed revenues by $70,000, but Douglas explained that this is largely due to the loss of the historic freight depot in downtown Yuma, which was confirmed to be an act of arson in March.
A staff of five full-time employees monitors and operates the 380-acre East Wetlands conservation area.
In fiscal year 2024, Yuma Crossing completed the Sunset View Wildlife Area, a 2-acre nature park development at the East Wetlands, thanks to $500,000 in grant funds, including $300,000 of Yuma’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Yuma Crossing also entered a 5-year funding agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation for site maintenance, starting with $208,000 in 2024 and increasing by 5% each year.
“That allows us to do basic maintenance at East Wetlands including all of the flood irrigation, but we always are looking for additional money to keep the site in a standard that we like to try to maintain for the community,” Douglas said.
Yuma Crossing secured an additional $8.6 million investment from the Department of the Interior this year to protect and maintain the East Wetlands through ongoing infrastructure improvements. These improvements include a vast project to replace the area’s depleted diesel pumps with a state-of-the-art electric irrigation system.
The agency also secured $96,000 in grant funding from the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management for invasive vegetation removal in 2024, as well as another $124,000 in 2025.
Most notably, the East Wetlands received Arizona Forward’s 2024 Environmental Excellence Award for Natural Environmental Preservation.
Yuma Crossing worked with the city to complete an additional eight acres of park development at the West Wetlands in 2024, which was opened to the public in December, thanks also to a $250,000 grant from the Arizona Office of Tourism. Additional parking, landscaping, trails and two ramadas were added to this area – one new and one relocated – offering additional rental revenue to the city’s parks and recreation department.
The organization has operated Colorado River and Yuma Territorial Prison parks since 2009, currently employing seven full-time staff and three part-time/seasonal staff. The parks combined for 60,335 visitors in 2024.
Yuma Territorial Prison was voted the fourth best haunted destination in the country by USA Today readers in 2024.
Yuma Crossing has also expanded its educational historical programming, providing 352 group and general public tours for nearly 4,000 people. Aiding this amount were 70 volunteers who combined to contribute 2,458 hours of service.
“This is a big factor in allowing us to really give the customers a good experience when they come to the parks,” Douglas said. “We have a lot of valued regular volunteers.”
For the fourth year in a row, Yuma Crossing received a grant from the National Park Foundation to support free field trips for third and fourth grade students to visit the national parks.
In 2024, 80% of Yuma County schools participated in this program, offering 60 in-person and 43 virtual educational programs to 4,847 students and 501 adults. Virtual programs include a digital workbook and video series that allows students from all around the world to learn about the history of the Lower Colorado River.
As far as cultural community events, Yuma Crossing held 13 events for about 3,500 guests in 2024. Included in these events were Día de los Muertos, multiple outdoor movie showings and the Prison to Prison Beer Run.
Mayor Douglas Nicholls, Deputy Mayor Carol Smith and Councilmember Karen Watts all praised Yuma Crossing for the recent three-day Christmas at the Crossing event.
Yuma Crossing’s next event was Wild West Days, held at the Territorial Prison on Sunday, Jan. 25.
This year, the state conducted a historic structures report for adobe restoration and building repair at Territorial Prison.
“We were supposed to get a significant amount of money in the state budget for historic preservation and improvements at the Yuma Territorial Prison,” Douglas said. “Unfortunately, that money, due to the state’s budget deficit, was slashed.”
Despite rerouting those funds, the state is proceeding with engineering and design work for a sally port restoration.
In the meantime, both state parks continue to present new exhibits for visitors.
“We’re always trying to improve the customer experience and finding ways to bring people back into the parks,” Douglas said, bringing attention also to the new ADA-accessible sidewalk project at the Territorial Prison.
Yuma Crossing offices currently reside in the Historic City Hall on 1st Street, which was selected to receive $398,000 in Community Directed Spending funds for exterior preservation, pending final approval of the FY2025 federal budget.
“It would do an exterior preservation of the facade of the building as well as new windows and a new front door that would really go back to make the building look how it did historically,” Douglas said.
Moving forward, YCNHA’s goals are to continue its successful operations of the East and West Wetlands and state parks, implement historic city hall renovations, continue to expand outreach and cultural programming, and create a historic walking tour through downtown Yuma with funds from Union Pacific Foundation and in partnership with the Downtown Yuma Merchants Association.
For more information about Yuma Crossing programs and history, visit www.yumaheritage.com or call (928) 373-5198.
