Native Plant Protections
Native vegetation in all of Pima County is protected by overlapping county, state and federal law. Much of Tanque Verde Valley vegetation is also protected in CC&Rs. Removal is restricted in more ways than most property owners realize.
Tanque Verde HOAs and CC&Rs
Many Tanque Verde neighborhoods have native vegetation protections written into the original Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. The original developers intended to preserve the natural history of the area and marketed it to homeowners as a place to live within the native desert environment. They specifically prohibited clearing the desert except for construction within an approved building envelope, and for livestock purposes such as a corral. These CC&Rs contain remediations expected should a property owner knowingly or unknowingly remove native vegetation. If your home is in an HOA, those original CC&Rs have likely been reinforced by current HOA regulations.
Arizona State Protections: Arizona Department of Agriculture
Many native plants in Arizona — including saguaros, barrel cacti, ocotillos and other cacti — are protected under the Arizona Native Plant Law (A.R.S. Title 3, Chapter 7). The department's Native Plants page covers protected species categories, permit and tag requirements, and how to notify the department before clearing land or moving plants.
Federal Protections: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a list of federally threatened and endangered plant species under the Endangered Species Act. The Environmental Conservation Online System lets you search if a specific species is federally listed.
Pima County Protections
Pima County lays out native plant protections in Chapter 18.72, the Native Plant Preservation Ordinance, which applies on top of state law. It provides a list of protected native plants and safeguarded species, and of these:
“No person shall, individually or through acts of another person, intentionally or negligently damage, destroy, or remove from the site any native plant except as authorized by an approved native plant preservation plan.”
Stated in this ordinance:
“The preservation of protected native plants and native plant communities:
- Promotes a sense of place and enhances community appearance;
- Helps maintain a region’s identity, which contributes to economic development by attracting tourism, new businesses, and business expansions;
- Promotes and sustains property values, improves and helps maintain the quality of life, and supports life-styles which the community values and enjoys;
- Contributes to the stabilization of desert soils, decreases erosion, and maintains original features of habitats that are important to native wildlife species;
- Promotes water conservation by retaining established, existing drought-tolerant vegetation that requires no supplemental irrigation and minimal maintenance after establishment, and assists in climate modification to reduce energy costs;
- Contributes to the reduction of nonnative plant allergens and the improvement of air quality by not requiring the preservation of nonnative allergen producing plants.”
This Ordinance describes compliance, conflict, violations, penalties, and assurances (18.72.140) if native vegetation is removed.