A new report is highlighting changes along the Santa Cruz River, including a new wildlife ramp designed to improve how animals move through the area.
The Sonoran Institute, Pima County, and the City of Tucson | Tucson Water released the 2026 Living River report, which documents conditions along the Santa Cruz River from downtown Tucson to Marana during the 2025 water year, which ran from October 2024 through September 2025.
As part of the Santa Cruz River Management Plan, stakeholders identified an area off Interstate 10 and Avra Valley Road that needed better wildlife connectivity.
Deirdre LaRochelle says the existing bank protection made it difficult for animals to move in and out of the river.
She says the cement bank was steep, “not something the animals could easily get up and down, and so it was kind of impairing that flow of wildlife traffic.” The goal was to create a path that wildlife would feel safe using…