Pima County, AZ

Pima County, Arizona, has pushed the envelope with its innovative Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, which incorporates protection of biodiversity at a landscape scale. The county has had the right combination of political will, public support, solid science, and state and federal pressure to move ahead relatively quickly on planning for biodiversity protection. The county has begun to implement some plan concepts (and has several other nature-friendly programs already in place). A successful bond election in May 2004 gave implementation a substantial boost, allotting $112 million specifically for acquisition of habitat identified by the plan, as well as significant funds for additional projects that will protect other habitat (e.g., community open space and floodprone land acquisition). As the county’s Map of Priority Biological Resources states, “Protection of biological resources is considered an essential component of land use planning.”

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