TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Local nonprofits; Sonora Research Institutereceives state funding to keep the Santa Cruz River clean.

The group’s goal is to restore the river, and it will spend $1.6 million on five projects to do so.

“One is an economic study to understand the value of Santa Cruz for the environment and for its people. The second is a riparian master plan, which will consider all possible restoration activities.” said Luke Cole, director of the Sonora Institute.

We will also form a stakeholder group to explore all possibilities for infrastructure on both sides of the border, expand our annual publication and hold urban planning workshops to keep communities informed. is.

You may be wondering why we here in Tucson should care when many of these projects are happening in Santa Cruz County.

“There are older trees along that river, a little more established as a river corridor, and the lessons learned there will absolutely inform the work that Pima County and the city of Tucson and many other cities are doing here. “It can be applied,” he said. call.

The Sonora Institute is Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to secure subsidies coming from Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority. It is also important to note that this grant is a planning grant. So it’s important to do your homework and make that information available to your local government.

One of the biggest obstacles at the Sonora Institute is trash. There are ways to do it at home.

“Picking up trash at the end of your driveway really, really makes a difference,” Cole said. “This Styrofoam cup has been sitting there for a week. It will break and end up in the Santa Cruz River, so please pick it up.”

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