Push to make parts of the Santa Cruz River a wildlife refuge gets research funding boost

Local and federal officials cheered in November when part of the Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona was tagged to be part of a namesake future urban wildlife refuge.

Now, a conservation group is injecting $600,000 into the effort.

The Santa Cruz River is considered endangered by conservationists. It flows from near the Patagonia Mountains into Mexico. It then does a U-turn to go back north past Tucson and up to the Gila River.

A large, local and diverse cohort drives the effort to have parts designated a national refuge.

University of Arizona landscape architecture professor Mackenzie Waller said the area is a global destination for birdwatchers.

“This refuge could really make it so Tucson could permanently protect and have access to these resources that we’ve been taking for granted,” Waller said

The grant from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will pay for research, such as mapping, to help pick which parts of the Santa Cruz River to designate and for what use. It all but dried up decades ago, but O’odham and Yaqui people relied on it for thousands of years.

“The city of Tucson is historically a river city. But over generations we have lost that connection,” Waller said.