Pima County voters have given “the green light to RTA Next” (as one headline put it) in the 2026 RTA Special Election.

The voter-approved plan includes a $50 million commitment to wildlife linkages, a budget category that can support both research and infrastructure such as wildlife crossing underpasses, overpasses, and fencing. These projects help wildlife safely cross busy roadways, reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions and maintaining critical wildlife corridors across Pima County.

The 2006 RTA Plan was America’s first voter-approved regional transportation plan to include wildlife crossing funding. That plan was developed alongside Pima County’s award-winning conservation framework, the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP).

CSDP has been working on this plan for years, and we will continue to shape it for the Sonoran Desert. There are still many opportunities to input, and we look forward to working with the RTA Board and advisory groups to determine how best to advance the wildlife linkages element — a role served by the Wildlife Linkages Working Group under the 2006 plan.

The RTA Next plan must align with existing regional conservation goals and tools such as the SDCP and Pima County’s Environmentally Sensitive Roadway Design Guidelines. As always, CSDP will be watching closely and actively inputting to ensure RTA Next aligns with regional conservation goals.

This next phase will require thoughtful prioritization. Many critical wildlife linkages still need solutions, including crossings at Interstate 10 at Avra Valley Road and over Rattlesnake Pass in Marana.

THANK YOU to the community members, organizations, and leaders who helped raise awareness about the importance of wildlife linkages in this plan. And THANK YOU to everyone who voted and engaged with this process.

Let’s get this desert connected.