The continued growth of the human-built environment in Pima County, Arizona will result in the “incidental take” of species that are listed under the Endangered Species Act. To avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to both listed and unlisted species and their habitats, Pima County is submitting this Multi-species Conservation Plan for 44 species that may be impacted as a result of the otherwise lawful activities of Pima County and its development community. The Incidental Take Permit, also called a Section 10 permit, will be for 30 years. This MSCP is part of the required documentation needed to receive an Incidental Take Permit under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA.

The Multiple Species Conservation Plan will complete the land use planning process in a conflict between competing interests on the question of growth. A path of balance was chosen by advancing the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. This second draft will be posted on the website and distributed to interested community and committee members. A public process will be conducted so that during 200t the document can be finalized and submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the application for a federal endangered species permit.

Wildlife 20/20 provides broad strategic guidance for all department programs. It is intended to be a living document that conveys policy direction that the Arizona Game and Fish Commission has provided to the department to guide its work into the future. It will be complemented by additional plans designed to provide more specific direction, as needed.

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.

What has been developed in Orange and San Diego County, Calif. are blueprints for other urbanizing communities committed to striking a balance between growth and development and environmental quality and its notion of livability. These plans successfully put in place conservation measures unprecedented in their scope and breadth and yet do so without compromising the economic vitality of the region.

This strategic plan identifies the management direction that the Arizona Game and Fish Commission has provided to the Department for the next six years. The plan discusses the most important issues facing the Department, including the recruitment and retention of hunters, anglers and shooting sports participants, and explains how the Department plans to respond to those issues.

Prior strategic plans focused on just one of the programmatic areas for which the Department is responsible; for example, Wildlife 2006 was solely a wildlife strategic plan. In contrast, Wildlife 2012 provides strategic guidance for all programs within the Arizona Game and Fish Department. It emphasizes wildlife management, which is the Department’s primary focus. However, Wildlife 2012 also addresses off-highway vehicle and watercraft recreation beyond their impacts to wildlife resources, as well as the administration of the Department.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department held four Wildlife Summits to obtain input from their stakeholders into the development of the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. Stakeholder groups invited to participate in the Summits included Department constituency groups, special interests, local governments, Native American tribes, interagency cooperators, and the general public. This report combines the votes from each of the four Summits into one database for analysis. The results for each individual Summit are attached as separate reports. Comparisons are made in this combined report to show differences between the results of individual Summits. The combined results have also been analyzed to determine if there were any significant differences in opinions of the various stakeholder groups. Demographic breakdowns of the individual Summit results are not included in the separate reports because they would not be statistically valid given the small number of participants at each Summit. Participant comments are included in the
individual Summit reports.

Pima County is now finalizing the long-awaited Multi-species Conservation Plan, which, if approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will streamline public-sector and private-sector development compliance with the Endangered Species Act while protecting endangered species and their habitats. In the coming months, the public will have a chance to comment on the MSCP through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s formal public comment process before it goes to the County Board of Supervisors for final adoption.This report reviews the history of the MSCP, its relationship with the award-winning Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, what benefits the MSCP will bring to the community, and what obligations the County, developers, and the taxpayers will have over time. The report also highlights other benefits of conservation actions undertaken by Pima County, including economic, recreation, and health benefits.