Tucson Mountains COA

Potential Conservation Actions

1. Land and Water Protection

• Develop conservation easements on public or private lands in order to maintain and protect wildlife corridors.

2. Land and Water Management

• Continue maintenance of wildlife waters to mitigate drought and the effects of temperature extremes.

• Conduct monitoring and targeted removal efforts to limit establishment and spread of invasive species, especially buffelgrass.

• Increase connectivity by removing barriers and impediments to species movement. Modify pasture and boundary fences to meet wildlife-friendly criteria to allow safe wildlife movement or provide wildlife crossing structures to minimize wildlife/vehicle collisions.
• Manage for forest thinning and prescribed burns to create healthy habitats less prone to catastrophic wildfires and resilient to drought and insect infestations.
• Restore woodland habitats with more climate adaptable species to improve landscape resilience over time.

4. Education and Awareness

• Develop outreach programs for the public on impacts to wildlife, and recreation from introduced species. Incorporate citizen science programs to identify distribution of invasives.

5. Law and Policy

• Work with local governments to incorporate wildlife protections and habitat connectivity into general plans.

7. External Capacity Building

• Fund or work with partners to conduct conservation-related species research.

3. Species Management

• Improve management and restoration of agave species to provide resources and migration corridors for lesser long-nosed bat and other pollinator species.