The outpouring of recent support from the community and local governments for Ironwood Forest National Monument (IFNM) has been incredible.
The Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection has been working hard with our partners to prepare for any future action by the administration that threatens IFNM.
Over the past few months, we have engaged and educated the public, while also working with local governments to ensure that IFNM remains protected well into the future.
On August 6, 2025, one of our closest partners in our defense work, the Town of Marana, unanimously passed a resolution confirming their support for the IFNM and their opposition to any reduction in its boundaries for resource extraction.
This was after the Coalition and Friends of Ironwood Forest met with Marana’s Mayor Post and Town Manager Terry Rozema to raise our concerns about the threat against the monument.
“That’s such a boon for our community to have that available to us. We want to do everything we can to protect that.” – Town of Marana Mayor Jon Post
The City of Tucson followed with a resolution on September 9, 2025, that also opposes any boundary reduction and resource extraction – unanimously approved 7-0. Mayor Romero stated that this resolution shows Congress that local governments are paying attention, and the City of Tucson expects the full protection of IFNM.
“The Ironwood Forest National Monument is quintessential Sonoran Desert, a biodiverse treasure just a short drive from Tucson…We’ve seen it elsewhere – when federal protections are rolled back, extractions win and people lose.” – City of Tucson Mayor Regina Romero
“It’s an amazing place. It should always be an amazing place, not just for us but for our children and our children’s children.” – Ward 3 Council Member Kevin Dahl
The message to the Administration and our representatives, including Juan Ciscomani, is clear – this monument is not only valued for its immense biodiversity, ecology, and cultural heritage, but for its presence in the lives of local residents.
The same is true for all our public lands, which play an important role in our communities and the conservation of natural resources.
Pima County led the way in May 2025 with a strongly worded resolution defending IFNM. We are grateful to these three jurisdictions for speaking up and letting our elected officials and administration know how much this landscape means to us here in Southern Arizona.
These recent threats from the administration aren’t the first and we expect they won’t be the last. We sincerely appreciate the continued support of our community, partners and local governments for their attention and efforts working to protect our public lands and natural spaces for generations to come!
We will continue our steadfast work for the desert – together.