Filtering by
- All Subjects: Cultural property
- All Subjects: Ferruginous pygmy owl
- All Subjects: Tanque Verde Wash (Ariz.)
- All Subjects: Land use--Planning
- Creators: Pima County (Ariz.). County Administrator's Office
Conservation of the Tortolita Alluvial Fan landscape has been promoted by Pima County and Town of Marana over the past two decades. An interdepartmental team was formed to evaluate flood and debris flow hazards and the potential to create an expanded Tortolita Fan Preserve. This report provides an overview of the alluvial fan characteristics and evaluates information on the significance of the biological and cultural resources to determine of the area meets the criteria to create a federal preserve.
On the County's behalf, the Arizona Open Land Trust has entered into two purchase agreements for the Buckelew Farms property. Under this conservation acquisition proposal, farming would continue in the areas currently farmed, grazing would continue on a seasonal basis, and the popular annual pumpkin festival would continue. However, the County and the Buckelew's would work together to enhance opportunities for wildlife habitat on the farm and grazing lands.
Pima County in partnership with the Arizona Open Land Trust has the opportunity to purchase 500 acres of land in fee simple from the Buckelews at a per acre price of $1,800, for a total of $900,000 plus closing costs.
A PowerPoint presentation that talked about what the Cultural Resources staff have been doing over the last three years; the process they've gone through in collecting information; and the data they've collected.
Most of the owls until just the last couple of years have been found in residential areas in northwest Tucson. It take a lot of cooperation on the parts of private residents to help get the work done. These are incredible little birds that fill an interesting role in the environment since they are more diurnal versus nocturnal. Our objective is to gather as much information as fast as possible to feed into the process to make this County plan based on the best available science that we have.
The historical range of the ferruginous pygmy-owl included areas of southern Arizona, southern Texas extending south along both coasts in Mexico, through Central America into the southernmost population in Argentina. However, over the past 150 years urban and agricultural expansion within the United States has reduced its population to a few isolated pockets of uncertain stability.
The Arizona population of the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl was listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act in 1997. Historical records and recent surveys definitely show a decline of species. There is a wealth of historical information out there and it still trickles in every day.
The first four sections present background information to define cultural resources and to explain the results of three years of effort ot locate, characterize, evaluate and comparatively analyze cultural resources in eastern Pima County. The last section examines each of these alternatives and concludes with a brief assessment of the effect of the no action alternative on cultural resources.
The final version of the report issued in early 2001. County staff responded in writing to clarify misunderstandings in the letter by Tucson Water. Pima County will continue to assess and look for ways to contribute to the protection of the resources in the Tanque Verde area.
In the early 1990s, a study of the Tanque Verde Creek by Dr. Julie Stromberg and others described the relationship between the depth to groundwater and the health of the mesquite woodland habitat in the area. This report revisits the Stromberg study to describe variations in groundwater levels since the report was completed early last decade. They identified around 3,000 acres of riparian vegetation in the Tanque Verde-Agua Caliente shallow groundwater zone.