New Santa Cruz River report highlights wildlife ramp, trash cleanup efforts

For people who walk, explore, or work near the Santa Cruz River, a new report points to two practical challenges shaping the waterway’s future: helping wildlife move safely through areas built for flood control, and removing the large amounts of trash that collect along the river. The 2026 Living River report documents conditions along the river from downtown Tucson to Marana during the 2025 water year, which lasted from October 2024 through September 2025. It also describes projects intended to make the river corridor safer for animals, healthier for habitat, and more accessible for people.

The report was released by the Sonoran Institute, Pima County, and the City of Tucson through Tucson Water. One of the featured projects is a wildlife ramp near Interstate 10 and Avra Valley Road. The location was identified through the Santa Cruz River Management Plan as an area where animals needed a better way to move into and out of the river channel. The project addresses a problem created by existing bank protection, which made the river edge difficult for wildlife to navigate.

Deirdre LaRochelle said the cement bank at the site was steep enough to interfere with wildlife movement. Animals could not easily climb up or down the bank, creating a barrier between the river and the surrounding landscape. The new passage was designed to look and feel more like a route animals would naturally use. Rather than creating only a hard, engineered path, the project includes grasses, plants, brush piles, rocks, and rubble that provide cover and make the area more welcoming to wildlife.

The passage is enclosed by an 8 foot fence, which helps direct animals toward the intended route. It also includes an escape path for situations when water begins moving through the channel quickly. Animals approaching the river can use the ramp to reach the water, while animals already in the channel can use it to get out when a flow arrives. That feature is important along a river where conditions can change quickly, particularly because the river’s year round flow in Pima County is supported by reclaimed water releases rather than natural rainfall alone.

A javelina has already been spotted near the wildlife passage area, offering an early indication that animals are using or investigating the improved connection. The project is intended to support wildlife traffic through the corridor, not just provide a crossing for one species. By combining vegetation and places to hide with a route out of the channel, the design addresses both movement and safety. The report presents the ramp as one part of broader management work along the Santa Cruz River.

Trash remains another major concern. Claire Zugmeyer of the Sonoran Institute said volunteers took part in 17 cleanup events during the past year. More than 500 people removed 11 tons of trash from the river corridor. The amount is roughly equivalent to the contents of 1,100 household trash bins, illustrating the scale of the cleanup effort and the continuing volume of waste that reaches or accumulates along the river.

The debris creates more than a visual problem for people visiting the river. Zugmeyer said plastic and Styrofoam can break into progressively smaller pieces without disappearing. Those fragments can enter the food web, creating a potential environmental concern as waste becomes harder to remove. The cleanup work therefore serves both the people who use the river and the plants and animals that depend on the corridor. The Sonoran Institute’s next trash cleanup is scheduled for Oct. 17, giving residents another opportunity to participate in removing waste.

The Living River report also describes the river’s broader role in the region. More than 23 miles of the Santa Cruz River in Pima County flow year round because of releases of reclaimed water. According to the report, those releases support aquifer recharge, wildlife habitat, and community access to nature. The report also highlights the Santa Cruz River Heritage Project, which has reached downtown Tucson, and notes the return of native species including Sonora mud turtles and Gila topminnow. Together, the wildlife ramp, cleanup campaigns, reclaimed water flows, habitat work, and species reintroductions show how the river is being managed as both infrastructure and living ecosystem.

For Tucson and nearby communities, the report connects highly visible local projects with longer term environmental goals. A wildlife ramp near a major highway can help reconnect areas divided by steep concrete banks, while volunteer cleanups address the everyday waste that threatens the river’s health. The continuing reclaimed water flows make portions of the river accessible to wildlife and residents throughout the year, and the Heritage Project brings that evolving river corridor into the urban landscape. The report’s findings suggest that maintaining the Santa Cruz River will require both constructed improvements, such as the ramp, and ongoing community participation, such as the cleanup events.