Living Desert Alliance Celebrates our 150th Weekly Newsletter

Welcome to the Living Desert Alliance’s 150th weekly newsletter! For more than three years, we’ve loved sharing meaningful, timely, and fun updates that help our members, families, and friends stay connected and engaged with the environmental issues shaping Pima County. Thank you to everyone who reads, shares ideas, and helps strengthen our community voice. Your support helps our mission to Keep our Desert and Community Livable and Thriving.

If you’d like to help sustain this work, please consider a tax‑deductible donation—every contribution truly makes a difference. Thanks again!

Save the Scenic Santa Ritas

Files Protest Against

State Land Auction.

Asserts $993,000 appraisal undervalues the land!

In last week’s newsletter, we shared the Center for Biological Diversity’s urgent alert opposing the Arizona State Land Department’s plan to auction 160 acres in the Santa Rita Mountains. Hudbay Minerals seeks this state property for its proposed Copper World mine. If the sale proceeds, it would advance an open‑pit mine expected to pump at least 9 million gallons of groundwater per day from an aquifer already declining. Note the proximity of mining activity to Copper Ridge Elementary School should this be approved!



 We’ve since learned that on March 6, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas (SSSR) filed a formal protest challenging the auction. The protest argues the state‑approved $993,000 appraisal undervalues the land, fails to assess groundwater‑related impacts on nearby State Trust parcels, and violates statutes requiring five‑year disposition plans before land sales. Pima County has formally backed SSSR’s protest, citing the same concerns about undervaluation and unassessed financial impacts to State Trust holdings.

Read SSSR’s press releases for more details:

• SSSR files protest challenging April 29 auction of 160 acres for Copper World
• Pima County once again asks Hobbs to postpone state land auction for Copper World
• Pima County backs SSSR’s formal protest challenging April 29 Auction of 160 acres

You can help!

Click here to send a message to Gov. Hobbs asking her to withdraw this land from auction, stop the sale, and protect the Santa Rita Mountains.

Get Your Feet Wet &

Restore Beaver Habitat

Head out with Watershed Management Group’s River Run Network for a fun day on the Babocomari River! Just 90 minutes southeast of Tucson, this lush stretch of flowing water, cottonwoods, and willows is already great beaver habitat—and you’ll help make it even better.

You’ll learn how to build simple, nature‑based structures that slow, spread, and sink the flow using natural materials. It’s hands‑on, teamwork‑driven restoration that creates the conditions beavers need to return and thrive. Bring your family and friends, roll up your sleeves, and spend a day in a beautiful riparian oasis while picking up new skills and supporting our furry ecosystem engineers.

Click below to learn more and to register:

• Friday, March 27th,10:00am - 2:00pm
• Saturday, March 28th,10:00am - 2:00pm

Join

Friends of the

Iron Wood Forest

'Meet at the Monument'

Saturday, April 4, 2026, 9am-1pm Waterman Peak Area, Marana

Free and open to the public!

Friends of Ironwood Forest invite you to their annual Meet the Monument event on April 4 — a day dedicated to celebrating and safeguarding one of Arizona’s most remarkable public landscapes.

The Ironwood Forest National Monument is a place of deep ecological, cultural, and historical significance. Yet its future is not guaranteed. In recent years, federal administrations have attempted to downsize or open public lands to resource extraction, and the Ironwood Forest has been among the places considered for reduced protections. Protecting this landscape requires awareness, advocacy, and a strong network of people who care.

Why Your Presence Matters

Meet the Monument is more than an event — it’s an opportunity to connect with fellow supporters, learn about current challenges, and strengthen the collective voice that keeps the Ironwood Forest protected.

Together, let's ensure the Ironwood Forest remains wild, resilient, and protected for generations.

Click here for more information and the QR event code.

Help Shape a Future Wildlife Refuge Along the

Santa Cruz River

Envisioning a Tucson Urban Wildlife Refuge

Join a two‑year, community‑driven effort to imagine what a future wildlife refuge along the Santa Cruz River could become. This project, in partnership with the University of Arizona and local organizations, aims to create spaces where wildlife, culture, recreation, and restoration all thrive together.

You’re invited to share your ideas through a short survey. Your input will help identify meaningful places along the river, set priorities for future programs, and guide how this shared vision takes shape.

The survey takes about 15 minutes, is completely voluntary, and all responses are anonymous. Click here for more information and a link to the survey.

Volunteers Still Needed to Remove Buffelgrass

The following pulls are scheduled in the Tucson Mountains. Invite your family and friends to join you. Click here to register

• Tucson Mountain Park - Saturday, March 21, 7 am - 11 am (organized by the Sonoran Desert Weedwackers)
• Tucson Mountain Park - Wednesday, March 25, 7 am - 11 am (organized by the Sonoran Desert Weedwackers)