Tortolita Fan Preserve
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Prepared for the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection
Prepared by: Ellen Cohen, Nikki Fields, Maeve Foley, Dustin Garrick, Austin Harclerode, Wes Miksa, Rebeca Morgensten, Howie Schnabolk, Brent Schoradt, Joe Selinger, Katie Umekubo
May 2003
Executive Summary
A century ago, the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy Owl (CFPO) was abundant throughout southern Arizona. Today, only 18 individuals are known to exist in the state, concentrated entirely in Pima and Pinal counties. The most significant factor leading to the CFPO’s decline has been habitat alteration and destruction as a result of rapid population growth. In 1997, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) listed the CFPO as an endangered species in an attempt to prevent species extinction.
This report is designed as a guide for developing the Tortolita Fan Preserve (TFP), an undeveloped area in Tucson suitable for CFPO habitat. In addition to protecting the species, the TFP has a number of other benefits, including serving as habitat for numerous other threatened and endangered species, housing a number of Hohokam archeological sites, and providing recreational and economic benefits to the local community.
One of the major difficulties that will be faced in the process of designating and maintaining the TFP will be managing and monitoring the CFPO and other priority vulnerable species that live within the designated lands. Possible issues include limited biological data about these species due to the low population sizes and difficultly assessing how much funding will be available for continued monitoring and managing of the lands and species. As a result, a rigid, non-experimental approach to managing these lands is unfeasible.
Adaptive management allows for the best possible management strategy by accommodating flexible responses to transient biological and ecological conditions. There are many uncertain biological factors which make rigid management difficult, such as nesting and migration patterns, human influences on land and ecology, and predator numbers. The overall goal of the Adaptive Management Plan will be to preserve existing populations of priority vulnerable species and to maintain favorable biological/ecological conditions that can support viable populations.
Inherent in the creation of any preserve is the complex interaction of policy and politics at all levels of government. Species conservation, habitat preservation, and open space protection are important state and federal goals, as evidenced through policy. The most important federal policies pertaining to the TFP are the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA). The ESA has provided a framework for CFPO conservation and protection in the form of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. The CWA allows for the protection of important riparian areas, and when protection is not possible, it provides funding for conservation and riparian area improvements in other areas. There are many social and political considerations in the form of interest groups. Important stakeholders in the area include a variety of community and environmental groups. Major opposition may come from growth and development advocates and homebuilder’s groups.
There are many different forms of land acquisition mechanisms that may be pursued to establish the TFP. These entail both general land acquisition measures, such as private landowner incentives and condemnation, and measures that will require specific jurisdictional authorities to create or reclassify particular parcels of publicly managed lands. Private landowner incentives, such as conservation easements, leases, and private land donations, will be difficult to pursue until a state tax credit is adopted for open space land donation and conservation. However, private, non-profit land trusts and land use regulation revisions may offer viable, more readily available conservation mechanisms.
There are three major strategies, specific to jurisdictional authority, which are pertinent to our preserve area: designation as an Urban Wildlife Refuge, reclassification of State Trust Lands, and creation of a Community Parks Maintenance District. The most immediately pertinent land acquisition measure is the reclassification of State Trust Lands because there are currently two Arizona Preserve Initiatives up for approval by the State Land Commissioner. These lands comprise a considerable portion of this preserve system and reclassification as land suitable for conservation could greatly aid in the creation of the TFP.
Of the federal, state, local, and private funding sources available for conservation, each has benefits and limitations, depending on the method of acquiring funds, the political feasibility, and the security of the source. Therefore, a stable funding plan for conservation and land acquisition will require a variety of overlapping revenue sources. Furthermore, because the process of conservation is an on-going project, a funding plan must consider the ability to adapt to unforeseen changes in either, conservation needs, cost structures, or funding sources. Considering the current state of the economy and the downsizing of many federal and state conservation programs, securing county and municipal funding sources through public initiatives will play a major role in establishing the TFP.
GIS is utilized to display current zoning regulations, development status and the land values of the priority land parcels inside the potential TFP. This data has been synthesized to create a conservation strategy for the preserve. All State Trust Lands are recommended to be purchased through the Growing Smarter Act and all private lands valued at less than $120,000 are recommended to be purchased immediately. Private, non-profit land trusts, landowner incentives, and revised land use regulations should be pursued to conserve the remaining private lands. For all parcels with “acceptable zoning” regulations land owner outreach and education is recommended to promote responsible land stewardship on private land. The total cost of acquiring all state lands through the Arizona Growing Smarter Act and purchasing all private parcels valued at less than $120,000 is estimated at $ 7,730,348, based on 2001 estimates from the Senior Property Appraiser of the Pima County Assessor’s Office.
Given this plan, the establishment of the TFP is a realistic goal that can be achieved using a variety of mechanisms and with the support of many community groups.
Page last modified: January 31, 2007 at 02:30 PM