Wildlife Manager,
Noah Silva
By Stacey Gregory
From the rugged mountains to the sun-soaked deserts, Southern Arizona is a haven for adventure—no one knows that better than Noah Silva. As a Tucson-based Wildlife Manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, he spends his days protecting the state’s natural spaces and wildlife as a game warden.
Noah found his way to Arizona in 2013 and eventually to Tucson in 2018 from his home state of New Mexico, thanks to the Arizona Game and Fish Department. This past spring, he received the Cliff Sorrells Officer of the Year Award from the Arizona Game Ranger FOP Lodge #71. The award is presented annually to an officer who has excelled in law enforcement and consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty.
“It’s an honor to serve the people of Arizona and protect the state’s wildlife,” said Noah.
The avid outdoorsman likes to get out and enjoy nature. So when he’s not safeguarding wildlife, you’ll find this award-winning officer spending time with his family in Tucson and the surrounding areas. Noah offers some insider tips to help you explore.
A still from a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, where Officer Noah Silva drives northwest of Williams, Arizona, where a bull elk was shot and left to waste, in an effort to curb this practice.
Silva, right, collaborates on a road cleanup project.
Silva and his family celebrate his Cliff Sorrell’s Award
NOAH’S TASTES OF TUCSON
A New Mexico native can’t pass up authentic food from his home state. If you like it hot, these two restaurants in Tucson create dishes using famous Hatch Chiles from Hatch, New Mexico. First on his list is Goyita’s, which is family-owned and operated by the Meza family. The menu begins with a disclaimer, “Our chili is SPICY!” with an offer to ask for a taste sample before committing to a spicy dish. Poco & Mom’s is his other favorite restaurant, where every southern New Mexico dish is made fresh to order and cooked with love.
Noah suggests you grab some grub at the Copper Brothel Brewery for those venturing to Sonoita and Elgin to explore the first region to earn the American Viticultural Area designation. This family-owned restaurant handcrafts food and beer, featuring a menu largely made from scratch and battered to order.
“I’ve never had a bad meal at the Cooper Brothel, and the service has always been great,” he said. “If you’re looking for breakfast in Tucson, the best breakfast burrito I’ve had is
from Coronado’s Mexican Food on 22nd Street.”
TUCSON OUT AND ABOUT
If you want to get outside, you can enjoy Tumamoc Hill, Madera Canyon, or the local lakes. Tucson’s Tumamoc Hill is a 1.5-mile climb from the base to the top with a 700-foot rise in elevation (3 miles up and back). There’s more to explore in the deep, wooded ravine on the northwest face of the Santa Ritas (one of the sky-island mountain ranges of Southern
Arizona) at Madera Canyon. Hikers can access more than 100 miles of trails, and more than 250 species of birds can be seen in the riparian woodlands. Believe it or not, visitors can beat the heat in several lakes near Tucson, too.
“Patagonia Lake offers boating opportunities that no other lake has in Southern Arizona,” he said. “Other lakes to check out are Parker Canyon and Pena Blanca Lake. All these lakes are within an hour of Tucson.”