Community Vision for the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan

May 2004

The Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection is pleased to present this Community Vision for the Multiple Species Conservation Plan (MSCP), outlining important next steps to achieve species and habitat conservation goals under the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. This Vision reflects and builds upon recommendations of the SDCP Citizen's Steering Committee, and is intended as a constructive contribution to discussion of the recently formed MSCP Implementation Committee.

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan aims to preserve the quality of life of all Pima County residents by protecting native species and habitat, mountain parks, ranches, cultural and historic resources, and others while planning responsibly for development. The Multiple Species Conservation Plan will implement species and habitat conservation goals of the broader SDCP. The historic open space bond just approved by county voters will also provide crucial resources to carry out the MSCP. Following the bond election, the time is right for our community to continue this progress towards a truly visionary and effective conservation plan.

For a truly effective Multiple Species Conservation Plan, the County should:

Outline specific conservation goals for each species - The MSCP should actually benefit each plants and animal addressed by the plan. The MSCP should therefore spell out specific conservation goals and objectives for each species, and especially the rarest species. These goals and objectives should be based on the current status of each species, including how rare it is and what the current threats are.

Protect the most important lands - The MSCP should incorporate valuable information developed by the Science Technical Advisory Team and conserve the most biologically valuable lands in the county. Several different tools can be utilized to conserve these lands, including:

• Acquisition - Open space bonds and other funds should be utilized to purchase important lands, or to purchase development rights, water rights, or others attached to those lands;
• Voluntary incentives and regulations - Voluntary incentives should be provided to encourage landowners to protect the most important areas of their property while allowing development to continue in other areas. The county should also improve and consolidate its existing land use codes in order to provide protections to the most important lands and, at the same time, streamline development permitting.
• Mitigation banks - Mitigation banks consist of high-value lands purchased by the County or other participating jurisdictions. These lands are then marketed to landowners, who can purchase credits from these lands to offset development which is occurring on other lands that have similar biological value.

Improve and simplify current land use codes - The current land use code for the county should be improved and consolidated in order to provide better protection for the most important lands, species and habitats, and to simplify development permitting. This will improve the current development permitting to reflect the goals of the MSCP, and improve the flexibility of the system for the benefit of property owners.

Manage and monitor conserved land - Proper adaptive management and monitoring plans are vital to ensuring a successful MSCP. By monitoring current management systems and adjusting those systems based on what works and what does not, the county can ensure the long-term protection of the most important lands, species, and habitats.

Provide assured funding - It is critical that assured funding is made available to carry out the conservation plan's goals and objectives. The bond is an important first step, but more will be necessary in the future. While there are a variety of possible funding mechanisms, the burden of funding the plan should clearly be shared by all beneficiaries. That includes property owners and others who benefit from the expedited take permits, the local public enjoying the open space, and taxpayers nationwide who support endangered species protection.

The Coalition's detailed "Community Vision for the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and Multiple Species Conservation Plan" can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat® format (142 kBytes).

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