To facilitate development of the Environmental Impact Statement which must accompany the Section 10 multi-species conservation proposal, a series of issue papers were prepared. In Pima County, ranching is uniquely able to preserve the integrity of vast tracts of connected and unfragmented open space and wildlife habitat. This study reviews the effect of five alternative permit strategies on the County's ability to preserve unfragmented landscapes through conserving ranch lands.

This memorandum describes (1) the potential applicability to Pima County of a national initiative to institute reforms in floodplain management; and (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of Pima County's Riparian Habitat Mitigation Ordinance (attachment). An inter-departmental team was formed to formulate specific proposals for consideration as part of the Riparian Protection Element of the SDCP and the major plan amendment to the County's comprehensive plan.

Arizona's fish story begins in 1904 with the publication of Morton Chambrlain's "Survey of Arizona Fishes", the first detailed study by an aquatic biologist of the area. He was able to count sixteen native species in Arizona. Today more than half are either extinct or listed as threatened or endangered, and most of the rest are considered to be imperiled. In Pima County, we count more extirpated native fish than remaining residents. The story, absent a fairly dramatic change in circumstances, will end with the extirpation or extinction of all native fish in the region. This report provides an opportunity to change the circumstances of aquatic and riparian systems in eastern Pima County.