+ Sonoran Institute
+ Tierra y Alma
+ The Wilderness Society
+ Tucson Bird Alliance
+ Pima County Regional Flood Control District
+ The University of Arizona
+ Sonoran Institute + Tierra y Alma + The Wilderness Society + Tucson Bird Alliance + Pima County Regional Flood Control District + The University of Arizona
The Santa Cruz River Wildlife Refuge Vision Framework is driven by a collaborative team of organizations, agencies, and community groups with deep roots in conservation, planning, and community engagement across the Tucson region. Together, they bring decades of expertise and a shared commitment to advancing ecological stewardship and equitable access to nature.
Project TeamPima County Regional Flood Control District serves as the land manager for much of the Santa Cruz River corridor. Pima County contributes technical expertise, regulatory coordination, and long-term stewardship capacity. Pima County’s participation ensures that the project aligns with county-wide conservation priorities and flood management plans.
Tucson Bird Alliance holds a long history of bird conservation and riparian habitat ecosystem restoration in southern Arizona, Tucson Bird Alliance contributes its expertise in species monitoring, habitat planning, and community science. Their work ensures that priority species—including the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo and the Lesser long-nosed Bat—remain central to refuge site design and ecosystem restoration goals.
The University of Arizona supports the project through interdisciplinary expertise in ecological sciences, design, planning, and data science.
The College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture
CAPLA faculty lead design research, vision framework development, and conceptual refuge site planning. Their work emphasizes multispecies urban design, equitable access to nature, and integration of community feedback into actionable planning scenarios. CAPLA’s involvement ensures the project bridges innovative design thinking with implementable conservation strategies.
Sonoran Institute has led regional river revitalization efforts for over three decades, creating community-based frameworks for watershed planning and climate resilience. For this initiative, they manage public engagement tools, advisory briefings, and mapping efforts, connecting scientific data with actionable community input.
tierra y alma exists to engage communities in the process ecological reconciliation through education, meaningful land-centered experiences, environmental action, participatory storytelling, and multimedia that celebrates the diverse connections of people, places, and non-human life throughout the borderlands and beyond.
Reconciliación en el Río is a community initiative centering ecological and social reconciliation, learning and justice along Santa Cruz River in the Southern Arizona Borderlands
The Wilderness Society leads efforts to advance conservation at a national and regional scale, focusing on the protection of public lands and the promotion of resilient, connected habitats. For this project, TWS provides strategic leadership and coordination of the Santa Cruz River Refuge Coalition, ensuring that diverse voices are engaged and that long-term implementation pathways are sustained beyond the planning phase.
The School of Natural Resources & the Environment
SNRE researchers provide scientific leadership in ecological assessment, habitat suitability modeling, and triple bottom line measurements. Their work documents baseline conditions for riparian health and models future scenarios to evaluate the ecological outcomes of the proposed interventions.
The Libraries Data Cooperative
This unit ensures that all spatial, ecological, and community engagement data generated by the project are curated, standardized, and accessible. This work supports transparency, long-term knowledge sharing, and future research opportunities.
Community CouncilThe Community Council for the America the Beautiful Challenge grant working group brings together respected community, cultural, and environmental partners to help guide the development of community-facing and scientific products throughout the grant term.
By offering strategic input, attending occasional meetings and events, and helping amplify project activities, these groups will ensure that the grant’s work reflects local priorities and remains grounded in lived experience. This is a working group that reports out to the larger Santa Cruz Wildlife Refuge Coalition www.santacruzriver.org
Coalition members will receive an annual stipend in recognition of their time and expertise. With their strong reputation and deep involvement in the community, these organizations will serve as an essential interface between the America the Beautiful Challenge team and the residents who engage in project activities, helping maintain transparency, accountability, and relevance across the effort.
Tucson Birthplace Open Space Coalition
Favor Celestial
Santa Cruz Watershed Collaborative
Ironwood Tree Experience
Tucson Clean and Beautiful
Menlo Park Neighborhood Association
Watershed Management Group
The Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection
Advisory GroupThe Advisory Group are policy leads, agency planners, and governmental staff that are critical to provide guidance, feedback, and direction to the project.
Arizona Dept. of Transportation
Arizona Game & Fish Department
Arizona Land & Water Trust
Arizona State Parks
City of Tucson, Department of Transportation and Mobility
City of Tucson, Environmental & General Services
City of Tucson, Parks & Recreation
City of Tucson, Planning & Development Services
City of Tucson, Tucson Water
City of Tucson, Ward Offices
Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Pima County, Board of Supervisors, Districts
Pima County, Conservation Lands & Resources
Pima County, Department of Transportation
Pima County, Parks & Rec
Pima County, Regional Flood Control District
Pima County, Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department
Santa Cruz County, Board of Supervisors
Tohono O’odham Nation, San Xavier District
Town of Marana Water (and Wastewater) Dept
Town of Marana, Environmental Planning
Town of Marana, Parks Department
Town of Sahuarita
US Fish & Wildlife Service
US National Park Service, Rivers, Trails, & Conservation Assistance program
US National Park Service, Saguaro