conservation services
Conservation Planning
The Arizona Open Land Trust assists southern Arizona counties in protecting vanishing western landscapes and wildlife habitat.  Our recent work in Pima County serves as a model for how we aim to assist other southern Arizona counties to achieve their conservation objectives by identifying conservation priorities and securing conservation funding.  Under contract with a county, we assist in the following conservation planning activities: identification of conseravtion priorities, gathering public and county support for public funding mechanisms, and implementation of the conservation program (often through an open space bond measure). 

Identify Conservation Priorities
In 2001 the Arizona Open Land Trust (the Trust) received a two-year grant to identify habitat conservation priorities in Eastern Pima County.  The Arizona Open Land Trust partnered with The Nature Conservancy of Arizona to create the plan - Habitat Conservation Priorities for Eastern Pima County.  During the course of our work we solicited input from community stakeholders and completed the plan in April of 2003.  The Habitat Conservation Priorities for Eastern Pima County calls for protection of our community's richest biological resources on both private and state land by working with willing sellers. 

Open Space Bond Measure
Funding to acquire the conservation priorities will come from public finance mechanisms, private donations and matching funds programs through state and federal agencies.  The public finance mechanism we are using to protect these priorities is the May 2004 Pima County General Obligation Bond of  $174.3 million for open space and habitat conservation.  The Arizona Open Land Trust partnered with other conservation organizations to successfully campaign for the open space bond.  Overwhelming voter support for the open space bond measure is evident by the 67% voter approval.     

Implement Open Space Program
The Arizona Open Land Trust is partnering with Pima County to use the open space bonds to protect our conservation priorities in perpetuity.  The Trust assists in the implementation of the open space program by conducting outreach with willing sellers and the conservation buyer, Pima County.  In the first year of the open space bond program, the Trust assisted Pima County in acquiring 10,395 acres with open space bonds.

Further Reading:
AOLT Priority Protection Program
Pima County

Conservation Buyer
The Trust connects conservation buyers with properties supporting significant ecological, historic and open space values.  Conservation buyers are people who support our mission to protect southern Arizona’s western landscapes and wildlife habitat by acquiring and managing properties with conservation values.  Conservation buyers are either interested in buying land encumbered by a conservation easement, or donate a conservation easement on their purchase to that permanently protect a property’s conservation values and restrict its development potential.  Contact us if you are interested in purchasing property with the intent of protecting its natural values in perpetuity.    

For more information about our conservation services or how we can assist in the protection of open space and wildlife habitat, please contact Diana Freshwater, Executive Director at (520) 577-8564 or dbfreshwater@aolt.org.