Defenders' Experts
Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan
Pima County, Arizona
The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, which received the American Planning
Association's 2002 Outstanding Planning Award, covers a 59 million-acre portion
of the Sonoran Desert ecosystem in Pima County, Arizona-one of the fastest
growing counties in the U.S. The county administrator and Board of Supervisors
initiated the plan in 1998 in response to conservation needs for a handful of
rare species, most significantly the federally listed cactus ferruginous pygmy
owl. The purpose of the plan is to ensure the long-term protection of "the
heritage and natural resources of the west in Pima County." The Sonoran Desert
Conservation Plan contains six areas of focus: Protection of Critical Habitat,
Biological Corridors, and Mountain Parks, Riparian Restoration, Historic and
Cultural Preservation, and Ranch Land Conservation. Over 205 reports have been
produced, including a mapped conservation reserve design that prioritizes the
protection of the region's biodiversity by applying the six areas of focus
above. In the future, the county plans to apply for a multi-species Habitat
Conservation Plan permit under the U.S. Endangered Species Act to allow less
protections for 55 federally listed species in exchange for habitat protection
in the conservation reserve system.
The effort has created a partnership among more than a dozen local, state, and federal land management agencies that together have authority over 97 percent of the 59-million-acre planning area. It has involved more than 5,200 participants in various committees, task forces, advisory groups, and study teams. The process has been open to the public and based on partnerships. The Pima County Board of Supervisors leads the effort, coordinating with 12 major government land managers and about 40 community groups.
In December 2001, Pima County incorporated the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan into its comprehensive land use plan. The comprehensive land use plan addresses many problems caused by urban sprawl, such as a declining tax base, land consumption, water availability, and a loss of cultural identity. It prescribes the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan to address natural and cultural resource protection and incorporates the conservation reserve design into a Conservation Lands System that categorizes future land use in all unincorporated lands in the planning area. The land use categories in the Conservation Lands System include: Important Riparian Areas, Biological Core Areas, Scientific Research Management Areas, Multiple Use Management Areas, Recovery Management Areas, Agriculture within Recovery Management Areas, and Critical Landscape Connections.
The planning process generated a series of policy changes and conservation
achievements. Over the last few years a series of ordinances have been passed
that seek to protect biological resources while maintaining better quality urban
design. Ordinances include buffer overlay zones around biological preserves,
hillside development restrictions, riparian habitat mitigation, native plant
protection, conservation subdivisions, big box store limitations and home design
standards. The research and inventory work of the plan generated the scientific
and historical justification for two new Bureau of Land Management areas: The
Ironwood National Monument and Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. Also,
the county acquired and protected substantial ranch and parklands and riparian
areas. Finally, many policies were adopted that introduced and institutionalized
standards in the built environment for growth areas, mixed use development,
inclusionary and mixed income programs, transit oriented development to promote
the neighborhood unit, concurrency based on level of service standards,
infrastructure service area boundaries, and water conservation.
The West Eugene Wetlands Plan addresses the need for protection of significant natural lands within designated growth areas while still allowing some development.
The Beginning with Wildlife Program provides habitat maps, species descriptions, and guidance to local communities to help integrate biodiversity protection into local land-use planning and guide habitat conservation decisions.
The purpose of Arizona's Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan is to ensure the long-term protection of "the heritage and natural resources of the west in Pima County."
The goal of the Chicago Wilderness is "to protect the natural communities of the Chicago region and to restore them to long-term viability, in order to enrich the quality of life of its citizens and to contribute to the preservation of global diversity."
The Willamette Restoration Strategy addressed water quality and habitat issues in Oregon's Willamette basin and adopted a strategy to protect and restore the basin's ecological health.
The BioMap project's goal was "to promote strategic land protection by producing a map showing areas, that if protected, would provide suitable habitat over the long term for the maximum number of Massachusetts' terrestrial and wetland plant and animal species and natural communities."
The Landscape Project's goal is "to protect New Jersey's biological diversity by maintaining and enhancing rare wildlife populations within healthy functioning ecosystems."
In 1994, Defenders initiated the Oregon Biodiversity Project which produced a statewide biodiversity assessment and a conservation strategy that included 42 "Conservation Opportunity Areas" across the state.
Maryland's two important planning programs are the Green Infrastructure Assessment and the GreenPrint Program.
The Southeast Ecological Framework Project used GIS technology and landscape ecology principles to identify ecologically significant areas and connectivity in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida.
