Describes how information was collected for use in preparing the cultural and historical resources element. The SDCP is a regional planning effort that is designed to balance future growth in Pima County with environmental protection. Pima County compiled and analyzed information on three basic resource types known to occur within the County's jurisdiction: archaeological sites, historical resources, and traditional cultural places.

Provides a review of cultural resources management on the public lands as currently practiced in Pima County, Arizona. Cultural resources include archaeological sites, historic resources, and places of traditional cultural value. This report examines which agencies are responsible for cultural resource management, when they began their programs, how management is conducted, and the challenges that must be met in order to achieve the goal of preserving and protecting cultural resources for future generations.

In order to communicate effectively about land use in Pima County, we must understand that different individuals and groups of people have assigned meaning to places and landscapes in Pima County in accordance with their experiences and their mode of communication. Ten different cultures and their landscapes are described, providing a fascinating summary of the history of each group in the area.

Four adjacent ranges define the western edge of the Avra and Altar valleys. Even though desert ironwood has dark green, lush foliage much of the year, this tree is almost exclusively a Sonoran Desert species. The same is true of the distribution of saguaros, foothill palo verdes, fishhook barrel cacti, and most of the hundreds of other plants growing here. These rugged ranges also provide natural refuges for a variety of wildlife, including desert bighorn and migratory pollinators. In addition to the biological resources, the area has abundant rock art sites and other archaeological sites.