An integral part of the country's history, Yuma, Arizona, was designated as a National Heritage Area in 2000. Since only 2 of the 23 National Heritage Areas are located west of the Mississippi, Yuma takes great pride in this distinction.

Yuma's key role in the nation's development is directly linked to the Colorado River. In the early days, the Colorado River was wild and untamed, cutting through the Grand Canyon as it flowed south. At some points along the Colorado River, the river was 15 miles wide making it virtually impossible to cross. The only ways to get to California were to wade through the raging rapids or travel around the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

Where Yuma is today, two granite promontories created a natural narrowing of the river. In 1877, a railroad bridge was completed at the narrowing, allowing trains to enter California from the west for the first time. Then, in 1915, the Ocean-to-Ocean bridge was opened, fully linking the east and west coasts.

The river today is not quite what it used to be. The Colorado River now is broken down into so many lakes; it's not exactly the raging torrent it used to be and not as big a draw as it will be once we clean up the river and get it re-channeled. The West Wetlands and the East Wetlands areas are, in fact, undergoing a renaissance. The first phase of the 110-acre natural preserve at the West Wetlands was dedicated in December 2002, with ongoing creation of equestrian areas, walking paths, a lake, bird sanctuaries, tree farms, hummingbird and butterfly gardens, and revegetation. The East Wetlands, a 1,400-acre preserve area, is also undergoing revegetation to replace non-native vegetation with native cottonwood and willow trees, among other projects.

The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Corporation, a partnership among government agencies, nonprofit groups and civic organizations, is instrumental in these projects and others aimed at revitalizing the National Heritage Area. New life has been infused into the area - thanks to a lot of multi-government funding.

As part of its revitalization efforts, Yuma will be getting a new federal courthouse to kick off the downtown redevelopment, one of many incentives for firms to establish in or relocate to the downtown. A new city hall, Fine Arts Center and the restoration of the historic Yuma Theatre jump-started Yuma's downtown renaissance. The focus is in part on riverfront development. The Yuma leaders are advocating for a 'mini San Antonio', complete with a convention center, a hotel, offices and loft-type residential properties. The combination of old and new blending throughout the community will be very complementary.