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- All Subjects: Riparian ecology
- All Subjects: Pima County (Ariz.)--Appropriations and expenditures
- Creators: Pima County (Ariz.). County Administrator's Office
- Status: Published
Provides a rational basis for (1) a cost of growth element to require development to pay a fair share of public facility costs, and (2) to plan for and regulate infrastructure service area boundaries beyond which the County may limit or prescribe conditions on the publicly financed extension of improvements.
Arizona's fish story begins in 1904 with the publication of Morton Chambrlain's "Survey of Arizona Fishes", the first detailed study by an aquatic biologist of the area. He was able to count sixteen native species in Arizona. Today more than half are either extinct or listed as threatened or endangered, and most of the rest are considered to be imperiled. In Pima County, we count more extirpated native fish than remaining residents. The story, absent a fairly dramatic change in circumstances, will end with the extirpation or extinction of all native fish in the region. This report provides an opportunity to change the circumstances of aquatic and riparian systems in eastern Pima County.
This memorandum describes (1) the potential applicability to Pima County of a national initiative to institute reforms in floodplain management; and (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of Pima County's Riparian Habitat Mitigation Ordinance (attachment). An inter-departmental team was formed to formulate specific proposals for consideration as part of the Riparian Protection Element of the SDCP and the major plan amendment to the County's comprehensive plan.
Ten watercourses in eastern Pima County were selected because, except for one, each has a 100-year discharge in excess of 10,000 cfs, and each is located within an urbanized or urbanizing area, or in an area where an increasing number of permits are being sought to develop in the floodplain.
A comprehensive review of over 100 city or county budgets. Many of these governmental entities have service populations in the general order of magnitude similar to Pima County, and some have experienced similar trends in population growth. Given the comparisons that have been made, Pima County's per capita expenditure is among the lowest of other high growth counties with a similar population base.
Stream flow disappearance due to groundwater pumping, floodplain development, and habitat loss due to erosion have significantly altered the biologically rich and diverse riparian corridors of eastern Pima County. Today, there are new opportunities to recreate our watercourses as a gathering place for people and wildlife.