Provides a review of eight monitoring efforts in southern Arizona to highlight their accomplishments and to critique their efficacy and overview of important attributes of a monitoring program. This review of projects and successful attributes will provide an assessment framework to better guide the development of the Pima County Ecological Monitoring Program.
Reports on the development of a reconnaissance level numerical groundwater model of the Davidson Canyon and Cienega Creek watersheds. Includes recommendations for data that must be collected prior to completing environmental analyses for the proposed project.
Develops the methods for using the National Land Cover Dataset to report change by jurisdictions and land ownership by utilizing an existing dataset. Local GIS-based measures of development based on tax assessor records do not provide direct measures of habitat loss.
The purpose of this study is to provide the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service with an analysis that identifies anticipated impacts to each of the covered species and asks the question: How effectively will the County's mitigation lands include the specific habitats of covered species under the Multi-Species Conservation Plan?
This report examines how effectively Pima County’s natural open-space acquisitions have addressed priorities for conserving species’ habitats and landscape features identified in the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. The scope of this study is beyond the County's Multi-Species Conservation Plan, which is a subset of the overall Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
While we may view climate change issues as a more global or national problem, our unique Sonoran Desert ecosystem is a recognized global resource; hence climate change is an important consideration in how we manage and protect our fragile desert ecosystem. This discussion is designed to promote local awareness of how climate change may impact our resources.
The purpose of this report is to highlight lands acquired with 1997 and 2004 voter-approved bond funds, provide a historical record of Pima County’s land conservation efforts and consider how these properties contribute to Pima County’s long-term vision – the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. The report also provides a special feature on the evolution of conservation and land use planning in Pima County.
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.
Two additional sets of fact sheets that describe the threatened, endangered, and priority vulnerable species of Pima County. For each plant or animal there is a physical description and full color illustration. The habitat, range, diet, status, and history of each species is also outlined. These fact sheets will be widely distributed through the youth participation program.
The spread of invasive species creates serious environmental problems as well as economic hazards for residents and will hamper implementation of parts of the SDCP.