Seminar: Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan: from a single-species “problem” to landscape-scale conservation

Abstract:

The human population of Pima County, Arizona is growing rapidly, but this growth is in one of the most ecologically diverse areas of the country. In 1997, development activities were slowed as a result of the listing of the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl (Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum) as a federally endangered species. This tiny owl became a catalyst for the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP), a landscape-level plan; its development has been an iterative process whereby planning tools were developed using science-based principles, shaped by public input and review, and subsequently refined into proposals that reflect community values. Many SDCP initiatives have been implemented including a major update of the County’s Comprehensive Plan, land protection priorities, purchase and lease of over 200,000 acres of open space, and ranch and cultural resource conservation initiatives.

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