Aerial view of the Tucson Mitigation Corridor, showing crossing structures over the Central Arizona Project canal.
Photo: Bureau of Reclamation
Construction of the Central Arizona Project canal created a barrier on the landscape, however, the Tucson Mitigation Corridor helps minimize its effect on wildlife movement.
NPS Photo
The 2,514-acre Tucson Mitigation Corridor (TMC) is one of the best kept wildlife conservation secrets in Tucson. The Bureau of Reclamation acquired and officially established the TMC in 1990 as mitigation for the construction of the 336-mile Central Arizona Project Canal (CAP) which delivers water for municipal and agricultural use to central and southern Arizona from the lower Colorado River at Lake Havasu. The Tucson B Aqueduct of the CAP canal borders the Tucson Mountains to the west which restricts the free movement of plants and animals to other nearby federal and tribal lands. Part of the importance of the TMC is the strategic placement of a series of seven siphons which are concrete pipe sections that travel underneath desert washes to allow the natural movement of wildlife and other biological processes. When its construction was planned, research showed that the canal would interrupt the primary wildlife movement corridor between the Tucson Mountains and across Avra Valley to the Roskruge Mountains and Ironwood Forest National Monument.
Wildlife studes and monitoring have shown that mule deer, bighorn, and many other animals use these crossings.
Because the CAP would affect wildlife movement and their habitats outside of Saguaro National Park, the Tucson Mitigation Corridor was established and a number of crossing structures were built over the canal. Wildlife studies have shown that mule deer, bighorn, and many other animals use these crossings. The Tucson Mitigation Corridor continues to serve as an important linkage, helping to conserve wildlife in the region.
