The Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison (DTAP) Program enables drug addicted criminal defendants to plead guilty to an offense and then enter a residential, therapeutic community treatment system for three years as an alternative to a prison sentence. The Program begins with three months of in-patient, residential drug treatment followed by wraparound recovery support services managed by a resources specialist, including transitional housing, literacy services, higher education, job training and placement services, and counseling, accompanied by drug testing, probation monitoring, and regular court hearings.

Saguaro National Park encompasses two geographically distinct areas: Rincon Mountain District and Tucson Mountain District. Of the two, only Rincon Park has significant riparian habitat due to Tanque Verde Ridge. The scope of this study includes Rincon Creek, its tributary riparian areas and Tanque Verde Creek riparian tributary areas within or immediately adjacent to the Park. Both of these creeks have riparian resources that will likely be impacted by proposed development adjacent to the Park boundaries.

With the passage of the Federal Endangered Species Act in 1973, the stage was set for a confrontation between urban development and the provisions of Federal Law. Language was amended to the Act that established standards that a plan would have to meet before the Fish and Wildlife Service could approve it and issue a permit for the take of a listed species. In those jurisdictions that have adopted this approach, conservation of natural resources is no longer an afterthought but a major element that has to be considered during the regular land use permitting process.