A Path to Protect the Santa Cruz River for Wildlife and People

The Santa Cruz River was once a desert oasis that dried up and became polluted for decades; only recently has it come back to life. It has provided life-sustaining water to humans for more than 12,000 years–including some of the oldest communities in North America.

While historically degraded, it has been on a steady path to recovery since 2008 when wastewater treatment facilities along the river began to upgrade. It now provides approximately 40 miles of perennial flows, and with its improved water quality, native fish, birds, reptiles, vegetation, and people are returning to the river. Yet, as an effluent-dominated river, the Santa Cruz is reliant on consistent source water, and in Tucson, that water comes from the import of Colorado River water. As those water supplies dwindle due to climate change and overuse, so could flows in the Santa Cruz. To ensure this river remains a community treasure, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should establish an Urban National Wildlife Refuge.

Take action today to establish a new Urban National Wildlife Area on the Santa Cruz River. Add your name to a nationwide letter to Secretary Deb Haaland to designate this new wildlife area for birds, wildlife, and people!

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Dear Secretary Deb Haaland,

We, the signatories of this letter, are in support of the creation of the Santa Cruz River Urban National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona.

Together, we represent over one million Pima and Santa Cruz County residents and national river advocates who want to see the Santa Cruz River corridor protected in perpetuity. The Santa Cruz River Refuge coalition recognizes that the Santa Cruz River has been a storied spiritual and cultural place for the Tohono O’odham and their distinct ancestors, and Pascua Yaqui people from time immemorial. We recognize that the people of the San Xavier District, in particular, have ancestral ties to the flowing Santa Cruz River and the lands around it. The original homeland of the O’odham and their ancestors, including the Hohokam and Early Agricultural People, is located on the river, which they collectively have stewarded for millennia. They continue to access these lands for ongoing cultural and religious practices.

The ecologically and culturally rich Santa Cruz River flows through the heart of Tucson, a fast-growing city of over 500,000 people. After generations of colonization and groundwater overuse, the surface flow stopped running in some areas, with flows all but drying up except during heavy seasonal rains. In 2012, Pima County approved funding to vastly improve the quality of wastewater effluent that was being released into the Santa Cruz River. By upgrading the wastewater treatment facilities—which currently release highly treated wastewater into the Santa Cruz—local leaders, alongside restoration volunteers, created over 25 miles of vibrant habitat that has been foundational to the recovery of native vegetation, wildlife, insects, and migratory bird species.

The Santa Cruz corridor offers abundant recreation opportunities, including birdwatching at Sweetwater Wetlands and cycling and walking along the beloved 137-mile Chuck Huckelberry Loop, a popular paved recreation trail with dozens of access points that runs alongside the Santa Cruz and its major tributaries.

Our vision for an urban national wildlife refuge imagines an archipelago of protected properties along the Santa Cruz River that would offer permanent wildlife habitat and outdoor access. The Tucson land would anchor this “string of pearls,” offering shade, river access, and outdoor education for the neighboring communities. The Santa Cruz River Urban National Wildlife Refuge draws inspiration and lessons from current exemplary restoration work happening along the corridor, including the San Xavier District’s Wa:k Hikdan project.

We urge Secretary Deb Haaland to designate the country’s newest urban national wildlife area, the Santa Cruz River Urban National Wildlife Refuge, along the length of the Santa Cruz, south and north of the San Xavier District, in Santa Cruz and Pima Counties to preserve the river’s past, present and future.

Sincerely,

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