In February of 1998, the Pima County Board of Supervisors launched what has evolved into the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP) -- a comprehensive effort to protect the Sonoran Desert, guide growth and rationalize land development in the metropolitan Tucson region. Proponents of this planning process maintained that the project would reconcile conflicts between human activities and conservation, providing benefits for both wildlife and economic development. Critics, however, have increasingly alleged that implementing such an initiative will adversely affect land and housing markets, increase taxes and create problems of housing affordability. Over time a pressing need has consequently grown for objective information about the possible fiscal and economic impacts of the conservation programs being assembled by Pima County. This report addresses that need. It is a tool in the form of an impartial framework for assessment that government officials, environmentalists, business people and the general public can use for debate and decision-making.

Pima County is endowed with many mineral resources, not only copper mines, but also the important products such as sand, gravel, and limestone used everyday in supporting the infrastructure of our cities. It is essential that these mineral resources, and the lands where they occur, remain available for exploration and development. This report presents an assessment of the mineral resources of Pima County based on hard data derived from many experienced geologists working in the private sector and from publications of state and federal government agencies.

This Campaign Effectiveness Study, conducted for the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, was designed to evaluate the specific effectiveness of the 2013-2014 Clean Air and Clean Stormwater Program Campaigns. This project analyzed and tracked the overall effectiveness of the Clean Air Program after 24 campaign sessions. For the second consecutive year, the survey also measured and tracked attitudes, knowledge, awareness, and behaviors related to stormwater management for the Clean Stormwater Program Campaign.

This Campaign Effectiveness Travel Behavioral Study, conducted for the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, was designed to evaluate the specific effectiveness of the 2012-2013 Clean Air Campaign, as well as analyze the overall effectiveness of the air quality media campaign after 23 campaign sessions. New to the current study, the survey also measured baseline awareness/knowledge related to storm water and hazardous waste issues.

The Neighborhood Reinvestment Program has been in existence since the 1997 Pima County bond election established General Obligation Bond funding for construction of small scale capital improvement projects to be selected through a neighborhood consensus process. Specific projects are recommended by the citizen committees to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.

The purpose of this Pima County roadway project is to improve operations on Colossal Cave Road within the project limits while being sensitive to the surrounding environmental features and land uses. Potential impacts of the project are on the historic adobe building; the historic Shrine of the Santa Rita property during construction on biological resources, utilities, access, traffic operations, noise, and air quality.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine what transportation improvements would be needed to accommodate future growth and development of the Raytheon Missile Systems facility located south of Tucson International Airport on Hermans Road. A secondary purpose of this study is to consider longer-term roadway and transit improvements that will improve access to Tucson International Airport and associated airport property planned for future development. Specifically, the study analyzed the effects of closing Hughes Access Road/Alvernon Way to non-Raytheon traffic and recommends alternative roadway improvements that would be needed to accommodate this closure.