The San Pedro River's shield of retirees are known as the Friends of the San Pedro, a local non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of the river.

Whether they are giving tours along the river as docents or visiting local schools to educate children about the importance of the river, they are dedicating their free time to the preservation and protection of the river and its wildlife.

"It really is the last of its kind," said Tom Mouras, a docent of 12 years and former president of the organization. "We've degraded or destroyed about 90 percent of our desert rivers and if you want to see what a destroyed desert river looks like, go to the Santa Cruz in Tucson."

Friends was formed in 1987 to assist the Bureau of Land Management in conserving the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, which includes 40 miles of river running north-to-south from Arizona and into Mexico, and about one mile on either side where plants and animals thrive from the availability of water.

The area was designated by Congress in 1988 to preserve and protect the only free-flowing river in the southwest, as it is a major corridor for birds and other wildlife during migration season. The area is home to more than 350 species of birds, 80 species of mammals, several species of fish and more than 40 species of reptiles.

"The river provides food, water, and shelter for those birds passing through," said Chris Long, president of the organization. "It's also a place that people can come to find peace. We want to protect that."

Birds are important to the crops in the area because they act as fertilizers through pollination, according to retired geologist and docent Richard Bower.

"If those birds go away," Bower said, "we lose their free services – they are pesticide free and they help provide the crops around us. We need to supply them with an environment that they can thrive in.

The organization is made up of nearly 250 members and volunteers, residents of Tombstone, Sierra Vista and the surrounding areas. The number of volunteers, each contributing about 120 hours per year, allows the Friends to stay active 363 days a year, with breaks for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Every Saturday morning, the Friends' hold interpretive walks, in which docents of different backgrounds take a group of community members along the river.

"Some talk strictly about the different species of birds," Mouras said, during one Saturday morning walk. "For some it's about the natural history and other times, it's the cultural history."

Docents bring their own particular expertise but each is also required to obtain at least 25 hours of free training by professionals to prepare them to teach others along the trail.

On the walks, people can learn interesting facts like what bird songs reveal during their courtship period, the sounds that bees hate, or how 75 beavers can give the river a new makeover.

"We don't want this to look like a giant wash," Mouras said. "We don't want to have to recreate what is natural now. That's why we do what we do – we educate."

For more information about the Friends of the San Pedro, please visit sanpedroriver.org.