Tucson, AZ, (May 9, 2024) – In a unanimous vote, the Pima County Board of Supervisors passed a proclamation announcing Friday, May 10, 2024, to be “Santa Cruz River Day” in honor of the ongoing restoration efforts along the Santa Cruz River. A complementary proclamation certified the Board of Supervisors’ support for creating the Santa Cruz River Urban National Wildlife Refuge. An urban national wildlife refuge designation protects crucial green space, improves and maintains wildlife habitat connectivity, ensures equitable access to the river and surrounding landscape for local communities, and honors the rich cultural and historical connections to the revitalized river. This proclamation proposed over 630 acres of land owned by the Pima County Regional Flood District to be examined as candidates for acquirable property for the refuge.
These proclamations recognize the importance of the Santa Cruz River to outdoor recreation, ecotourism, cultural significance, and ecological habitat for beloved wildlife along its path through Arizona counties, Tribal Nations, and Mexico. This proclamation further seeks to protect and enhance the $9.8 billion state GDP driven partly by the Santa Cruz River and its habitat for critically endangered species such as the Gila topminnow and yellow-billed cuckoo.
This effort follows the American Rivers designation of the Santa Cruz River as an Endangered River. The community-building efforts of the Santa Cruz River Urban National Wildlife Coalition—including Sonoran Institute, The Wilderness Society, and dozens of other community organizations—have led to the passage of this critically important proclamation. The Pima County community is encouraged to support the designation of the Santa Cruz River as the country’s newest urban national wildlife refuge by visiting santacruzriver.org and signing the letter of support.