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- All Subjects: Range management
- All Subjects: Bird populations
- Creators: Pima County (Ariz.). County Administrator's Office
Acquisition of this property in northeastern Pima County will prevent development of this property, conserve an important tributary to the San Pedro River, conserve riparian habitat associated with an intermittent stream and springs, and further goals of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan. The acquisition is ideally located to expand the emerging reserve system in the San Pedro watershed, which is anchored by the County's A7 Ranch, and complemented by the existing Buehman Canyon Preserve. This report provides preliminary biological and cultural information on this acquisition. Additional biological and cultural resource information will be available after County staff and consultants complete surveys of the property.
Without action by Pima County, Rosemont Ranch would probably either be mined or become a residential subdivision over the next several decades. A ranch conservation scenario offers the best outcome for preventing fragmentation of the landscape and conserving the natural and cultural heritage of the area.
This is a non-time opportunity for Pima County to preserve the Bar V Ranch property that has countless benefits. From landscape connectivity for wildlife, to a significant water source for Cienega Creek and the Tucson Basin, to important riparian habitat crucial for the survival of several vulnerable species.
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.
A companion to the Preliminary Ranch Conservation Element, this report brings together leaders in the area of ranch conservation and compiles their expert writings on ecological and economic sustainability in ranching.
Through the conservation of ranchland in eastern Pima County, the metropolitan urban boundary is better defined, vast landscapes of open space retain their integrity and the heritage and culture of the West is preserved.
By including ranch lands as a landscape form worthy of protection and preservation, Pima County formalized its commitment to keep ranchers ranching as a way of achieving multiple community goals, including conserving natural and cultural resources, preserving open spaces, and defining urban form.
Pima County contracted with Arizona Game and Fish Department to conduct telemetry analysis and gather information that would lead to effective conservation and recovery initiatives for the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl. During 1997, banded birds were monitored. Beginning in 1998 and during 1999, pygmy-owls were radio-marked with backpack transmitters and followed on foot or by vehicle.