RTA and wildlife linkages: time to organize

RTA Next

It’s time to organize!

The RTA’s current 20-year regional transportation plan for Pima County is set to expire on June 30, 2026. The plan’s funding tax will also expire. Read on to see what we accomplished in this plan, including our crossings on N Oracle Rd or State Route 77.

In advance of that, the RTA is drafting our next 20-year regional transportation plan: “RTA Next”. Both the citizens committee and the staff of all the local jurisdictions have recommended $50 million for wildlife linkages in the RTA Next plan. In September 2024, the RTA Board reduced that amount in the draft plan to only $25 million. This funding helps to ensure healthy wildlife populations by helping them traverse between protected preserve areas.

$25 million is not enough! This is significantly less than the $45 million budgeted in the last plan, which was spent in full on important wildlife crossing projects. It’s also a 50% reduction in RTA Next’s initial $50 million budget for wildlife linkages.

$25 million also won’t cover the critical wildlife crossing needed over I-10 to reconnect the Tucson and Tortolita Mountains, let alone crossings also needed in areas such as the I-19 south of Green Valley.

The Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection is mobilizing our desert advocates in advance of the RTA Next draft being made available for public comment—check back here for specific talking points and actions you can take.

For now, we encourage you to stay informed and present. Here are two ways to show up now:

  1. Attend an open house. The RTA Next project is hosting a series of open houses from Nov. 6 to Dec. 17, 2024. At these events, we encourage you to let the RTA team know that you support the full $50 million in funding for wildlife linkages. Check for one near you (specific locations and times at this link: https://rtanext.com/events/) and attend!
    • Wed Nov 6 – Marana!
    • Thur Nov 7 – Green Valley!
    • Wed Nov 13 – Tucson!
    • Thurs Nov 14 – Oro Valley!
    • Mon Nov 18 – Marana!
    • Tues Nov 19 – Tucson!
    • Wed Nov 20 – Vail!
    • Thur Nov 21 – Tucson!
    • Tues Dec 3 – Sahuarita!
    • Tues Dec 10 – Tucson!
    • Wed Dec 11 – Tucson!
    • Thur Dec 12 – South Tucson!
    • Tues Dec 17 – Tucson!
  2. All RTA meetings are open to the public. Check for upcoming meetings here: https://pagregion.com/get-involved/events/#monthly

History of the RTA and wildlife linkages

While Pima County was developing the 2004 Open Space bond, local citizens began investigating the feasibility of forming a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to address comprehensive transportation funding across the region. The nine-member RTA Board, representing the local, state and tribal governments in the region, met for the first time in September 2004.

During the ten month planning process, information about the effect of transportation activity on wildlife was presented by the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. The RTA was approved by Pima County voters in 2006. Included in the package was $45 million to protect and enhance wildlife linkages.

After the RTA plan was approved, a Wildlife Linkages Sub-committee was formed and charged with coordinating the disbursement of the $45 million in wildlife linkages funding. Some of the first projects to receive funding include the following:

  • The Arizona Game and Fish Department received funding to study the efficacy of specific crossing structures for the species of the Sonoran Desert
  • The Town of Marana received $20,000 in funding to conduct wildlife crossing research on a 3.2 kilometer (2 mile) stretch of road scheduled for lane expansion. The results of this project are supposed to inform the placement and design of wildlife crossing structures during the expansion project, but the project has been delayed indefinitely.
  • The Town of Marana received funding to construct additional wildlife crossing structures along a section of new road.
  • The Arizona Department of Transportation received $11 million to construct two wildlife crossing structures (one overpass and one underpass) along State Route 77 as part of their project to widen the road from four to six lanes. These are what we now typically call our Oracle Road crossings!

Jurisdictions match funds for their projects as required by the RTA and the Wildlife Linkages Sub-committee continues to evaluate project proposals as they are developed. After the Wildlife Linkages Sub-committee approves projects for funding, the proposals then make their way up a hierarchy of RTA committees, culminating with final approval by the RTA Board, comprised of elected officials from all the local jurisdictions.

To catch up on existing RTA wildlife linkages projects, check out some of our previous posts: