GOAL AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE BIOLOGICAL ELEMENT OF THE SONORAN DESERT CONSERVATION PLAN

The biological goal of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan is to ensure the long-term survival of the full spectrum of plants and animals that are indigenous to Pima County through maintaining or improving the ecosystem structures and functions necessary for their survival.

Inherent within this broad goal are several objectives:

1. Promote recovery of federally listed and candidate species to the point where their continued existence is no longer at risk.

2. Where feasible and appropriate, re-introduce and recover species that have been extirpated from this region.

3. Maintain or improve the status of unlisted species whose existence in Pima County is vulnerable.

4. Identify biological threats to the region’s biodiversity posed by exotic and native species of plants and animals, and develop strategies to reduce these threats and avoid additional invasive exotics in the future.

5. Identify compromises to ecosystem functions within target plant communities selected for their biological significance and develop strategies to mitigate them.

6. Promote long-term viability for species, environments and biotic communities that have special significance to people in this region because of their aesthetic or cultural values, regional uniqueness, or economic significance.