Recommends where riparian land acquisitions would be most effective in serving as mitigation that would cover all priority vulnerable species identified in the SDCP. Priority is given to reaches of watercourses.

Provides background information on improved mapping techniques that have led to a proposal to update the Watercourse and Riparian Habitat Protection and Mitigation Requirements Ordinance adopted in 1994. New riparian classification maps will be forwarded to the Board to consider for adoption during 2003.

Summarizes four documents that reflect some of the work that Pima County and Department of Interior staff, along with the science and Geographic Information Systems technical teams, have created to develop the biological component of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.

Pima County Department of Transportation's Technical Services Division maintains GIS hardware, software, and databases with skilled personnel and has applied TIS technology to the SDCP, adapting, creating or acquiring over 1000 data layers for use in the Plan. Metadata has been developed for some of these layers.