Pima

The Pima Natural Resource Conservation District plans to foster recognition of and legal protection for our Southwestern customs and culture and to address rural/urban interface issues. We will seek to en- hance and sustain the productive tax base of the District and to strengthen and protect individual property rights within the District.
The Pima Natural Resource District plans to:
• assist private property owners, farmers and ranchers to conserve natural resources; protect
• water rights, grazing rights and other property rights; and,
• promote the production of natural resources including food, fiber, and mineral wealth with the intention of increasing gainful employment and economic well-being within the District and con-tributing real wealth and well-being to the State of Arizona.
We that private lands provide the tax base that supports most county and state services. Additionally, pri-vate lands are the underlying lands for historic federal and state grazing leases. As these lands are the basis for economic productivity, we will advocate for a policy of no net loss of private land and no de- crease in livestock grazing on federal and state land within the Pima Natural Resource Conservation District. We will support and contribute when relevant to scientific research and publication of materi- als informing agencies and the public about land and resource conservation. We consider the purchase of ranches and farms by Pima County to be a major issue. The District is concerned there may be in- sufficient long term availability of funding and personnel over the next several decades to maintain the County lands within the District in a healthy and economically productive state without overbur- dening the taxpayers.
We recognize that soil and water conservation are fundamentally important to the economic productivity of our District. We will advocate for plans to enhance soil and range productivity and for economic invest-ments leading to increased water resources for the District. Education will also be an important element.
We are mindful of the high value ore within this State and will support environmentally responsible mod-ern development of the District’s mineral resources. We view these resources as critical to national security as well as to the local and national economy. We believe Arizona’s mineral wealth can make a sig- nificant contribution to national self-sufficiency while reducing economic dependence upon a service/ tourist econ-omy.
The rural/urban interface is causing our agricultural producers problems with Off Highway Vehicle use. This increase in access without regard or respect to ownership causes:
• degradation to the water shed
• loss of production of cattle and crops,
• vandalism,
• litter, and
• abandonment of unwanted horses and dogs.
Pima Natural Resource District lands encompass areas with historic and cultural significance, with vast reaches of open space and with well-managed lands essential to farms and ranches. We stand on the princi-pal that conservation of land in the District includes and depends upon the protection and de- velopment of all multiple productive uses of the District’s natural resources.
The District will invoke coordination with any Federal Agency connected with the Federal Land