Bonine and Gerst, ECOL406/506 30August 2005 SDCP_RolePlay_2005.DOC

SonoranDesert Conservation Plan

Role Playing Exercise (in class 8 September 2005)

Background:

  • In 1998 the Pima County Board of Supervisors initiated discussions on land use planning and conservation.
  • Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan takes advantage of Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (refer to act at: which allows the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to provide regulatory relief from prohibitions of the Act if a local government creates a habitat conservation plan (HCP) designed to protect endangered species.
  • Endangered Species Program (with lots of great links;
  • Habitat Conservation Planning (
  • Strength of Plan is seen to be the use of science-based principles in conservation planning
  • The area the Plan covers is 5.9 million acres located in Pima County, Arizona including the Tucson metropolitan area. Also includes two major eco-regions, the SkyIslands and the SonoranDesert.
  • Integrates goals of cultural and historic preservation and ranch conservation
  • Elements of the Plan are:

• Critical Habitat and Biological Corridors
• Riparian Restoration
• Mountain Parks
• Historical and Cultural Preservation
• Ranch Conservation

Interest Groups for role-playing exercise: (If not listed here come see Kathy Gerst or Kevin Bonine)

  1. Developers

(Andrew Galassi, Christine Schirmer, Chad Radford, Jennifer Oas)

  1. Ranchers

(Tony Dee, Ariel Tinney, Emily Butler, Lisa Felix)

  1. Center for Biological Diversity

(Brendan Cook, Stacy Skopp, Matt Cole, Kimberly Mars)

  1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(Aaron Poe, Gabrielle Lehmicke,Linette Ancha, Kathryn Marlor)

  1. Miners

(Erin Deely, Sarah White, Brooke LaFlamme, Justin Schneider)

  1. Panel to Report Recommendations to Pima Co. / PimaCounty Board of Supervisors

(Nicolas Ramos-Lara,, Natasha Pierce, Jenny Bauman, Samantha Redmon)

You will have up to 8 minutes to present your point of view and argue for or against the SDCP. The panel and other audience members can then ask you questions for 3 minutes. At the end the panel will have a chance to ask a few more questions and then present their preliminary recommendations.

Written Assignment (a paragraph for each of the five questions is sufficient, please be concise but use complete sentences and appropriate English. Due 15 Sept. in lecture)

1. Which interest group, if any, “won the debate”? Why? Which interest group fared poorly in your eyes? Why?

2. What information was missing that you think the Advisory Panel would need to make a reasonable recommendation to the citizens and government of PimaCounty?

3. What information would your specific group like to have had in order to make your case and represent your point of view?

4. How is the ESA relevant (both positively and negatively) to the SDCP?

5. Please comment on the efficacy of this role-playing exercise.

References:

SDCP Home:

SDCP article:

Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection:

Mining Interests:

Center for Biological Diversity:

Ranching Interests:

Opinion Articles:

Criticism and Concern of Developers (as represented by Southern Arizona Home Builders Association):

“Artificially higher home prices and a falling supply of affordable land combine to shutout many low-income buyers. Then, what happens to minorities when you throw in the$500 million Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan? Because of the efforts of a smallnumber of environmental activists, the CountyBoard of Supervisors is restricting landfor a large number of people. Proportionally, the political agenda of theenvironmentalists and the County will hurt minority families in our community the most.”(Southern Arizona Home Builders Assoc., September 2001, Affordable Housing a Nightmare forTucson’s Minorities, by Alan Lurie)

  • Citizens and stakeholders have not beenallowed to have meaningful input.
  • The costto taxpayers is unbelievable.

Rancher Concerns:

  • Grazing allotments will be decreased, as will number of cattle allowed to graze.
  • Tempts ranchers to sell privately-held land to developers.
  • Unnecessary land grabs by the government are an attempt to eliminate grazing on publiclands.
  • We should get to do what we want on our own land?
  • Historical and cultural importance of this way of life in the West.

Center for Biological Diversity Concerns:

  • Developers can get around conservation plan by taking advantage of the fact that this is a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) which initiates long-term habitat conservation for endangered species while allowing other activities (development, ranching) on the land
  • 80% of Pygmy Owl land must be preserved by development, but rest can be destroyed
  • Sonoran desert is a fragile ecosystem with many other sensitive species that will be impacted by urban sprawl.
  • Lots of important habitat for SonoranDesert species, including many listed with ESA

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Interests:

  • To establish conservation plans and habitat needs for the 26 endangered and threatened species in PimaCounty.
  • Uphold Endangered Species Act and other federal regulations.

Mining concerns:

  • There are many small mining claim holders in the region covered by the Plan and their concerns and rights are not being addressed
  • Mining products are important to local economy and sustained industrial production throughout the world.
  • Mining has an important historical and cultural role in the area.

Threatened and Endangered Species in PimaCounty:

Acuna Cactus (Candidate)

Aplomado Falcon (Endangered)

Bald Eagle (Endangered)

Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Endangered)

Chiricahua Leopard Frog (Proposed Threatened)

Desert Pupfish (Endangered)

Gila Chub (Candidate)

Gila Topminnow (Endangered)

Huachuca Water Umbel (Endangered)

Jaguar (Endangered)

Jaguarundi (Endangered)

Kearney's Blue Star (Endangered)

Lesser Long Nosed Bat (Endangered)

Masked Bobwhite (Quail) (Endangered)

Mexican Gray Wolf (Endangered)

Mexican Spotted Owl (Threatened)

Mountain Plover (Proposed Threatened)

Nichol's Turk's Head Cactus (Endangered)

Northern Aplomado Falcon (Endangered)

Ocelot (Endangered)

Pima Pineapple Cactus (Endangered)

Sonoran Pronghorn (Endangered)

Sonoyta Mud Turtle (Candidate)

Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Endangered)

Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoo (Candidate)

Some Keystone Species in PimaCounty:

Saguaro Cactus

Ironwood

Freemont Cottonwood

Velvet Mesquite