A. Tucson’s setting is in the Sonoran Desert, a unique biological community known as the Arizona Uplands found only in southern Arizona and limited areas of northern Mexico. Some of the plants and
living in this area are found nowhere else in the world. One of the most distinctive plants is the Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea), a visual symbol synonymous with Tucson and the Sonoran Desert. The Saguaro, along with certain other Sonoran genus and species, is extremely slow growing and not easily transplanted with success.
B.
in the Tucson area has decreased the number of these unique native plants resulting in the loss of a natural resource.
-wide goals and policies for preservation of the native plants found in the Sonoran Desert have been established in the Vision: A Guide for the Future of the City of Tucson, adopted in 1989 and in the
, Section 2, Vegetation and Wildlife, adopted in 1992. This section addresses the preservation of native
that provides much of the visual character of the Sonoran Desert and supports wildlife.
C. In conjunction with
, buffelgrass invasion is spreading along
, wash systems and into the undisturbed Sonoran Desert. Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) is converting a fire-resistant desert to flammable grassland. In 2005, the state of Arizona placed buffelgrass on the Arizona Noxious Weed List prohibiting its entry or sale in the
. Buffelgrass is a wildfire risk to desert ecosystems threatening life, property, tourism and the regional economy. Buffelgrass, as it burns, can kill the Saguaro cactus, other
and is detrimental to desert wildlife species including the desert tortoise and mule deer.
D. This section is intended to encourage
of healthy native plants through sensitive
design that minimizes the disruption of areas within the
containing native plants, while allowing for salvage and transplanting plants on the
that are likely to survive. The section also provides for replacement of plants that are removed for
at ratios to assure site
and to compensate for probable loss of transplanted and replacement plants.
credits are offered to encourage
. Mature trees and Saguaros should be given particular consideration for
. When
is not possible, emphasis should next be given to plant salvage for use elsewhere on the
, and lastly, if plants are removed from the
, the
concept should emphasize the recreation of the natural character and plant distribution similar to the undisturbed vegetation on and
to the subject
.