Santa Cruz River Bounces Back – KGUN9

“[Luke] Cole says Pima County voters helped power the recovery by approving a bond issue that helped cover the cost but there’s still more work to be done on a historic river that… MORE ›

A Journey Along the Santa Cruz River

For many of its miles, the Santa Cruz River is a dry sandy bed inhabited by tough desert creatures and vegetation. From headwaters in the Sky Islands of southeastern Arizona to its confluence… MORE ›

Santa Cruz River Research Days Recap 2022

“The cultural history of the Santa Cruz is a rich, complex, and fascinating one. For starters, the Santa Cruz is the reason we can call Tucson home. And its waters have supported people… MORE ›

Santa Cruz River Ask Me Anything 

Last month our Santa Cruz River team was invited to do an Ask Me Anything on the Tucson subreddit. The online group is focused on Tucson-specific issues and news and has more than… MORE ›

Water for the Santa Cruz River Ecosystem

Bringing water from the Conservation Effluent Pool into action. Good news broke last March at Santa Cruz River Research Days: Pima County received approval to permanently allocate water to sustain river flows benefiting… MORE ›

Trash. It’s pervasive and pernicious.

It’s one of your pet peeves, and ours too! As every visitor to the Santa Cruz River knows, trash is a persistent environmental issue. Our community has long brought up trash as something… MORE ›

A Recap of Research Days

“Many different research projects are working in tandem to create a better environment for the natural world, but also for the one we carve out for ourselves.” Santa Cruz River Research Days brings together… MORE ›

An Update From Our CEO

The Colorado River Gives Life Now we must give life back to the Colorado River. The Colorado River has been a life source for centuries. As the most iconic river in the West,… MORE ›

Native Fish Make Six-mile Journey Down River

When you flush your toilet, you’re helping the recovery of native aquatic species. That may seem strange but let us explain. We’ve written about one of these species here before: the Gila topminnow.… MORE ›

Capturing our Annual Fish Survey

On November 13, Sonoran Institute coordinated the annual fish survey at four locations along the Santa Cruz to determine which species are currently in the river. This multi-partner effort included staff from Arizona… MORE ›

Helping Gila Topminnow Swim Home

In 2015, we found about a dozen endangered Gila topminnow in the Santa Cruz River near Tubac. If you had told me then, that in 2020 I would help catch hundreds of the… MORE ›

A Living River: Where Community and Nature Meet

Charting Santa Cruz River Conditions from Northwest Tucson to Marana – 2019 Water Year The Santa Cruz River near El Camino Del Cerro and flowing north into Marana, has been improving for almost… MORE ›

A Bridge Without Its River

It would be an easy site to miss, compared to nearby attractions like the de Anza Trail and the Santa Cruz River, but this cement ruin means something more to Diana. It was once a pedestrian bridge that spanned the wide Santa Cruz River, and Diana used to walk across this bridge to visit her grandmother on the other side. The bridge has been partially removed and is now almost completely forgotten; the river is no longer wide enough to need it.