Tweets,

FYI.

Mike Scuderi




PROTESTORS BLOCK DESTRUCTION OF PYGMY OWL HABITAT-
COUNTY BANS NEW DEVELOPMENT PERMITS, AZ DAILY STAR DEMANDS
OWL RECOVERY PLAN, ENDANGERED TOWN ADOPTS OWL AS MASCOT

The tiny but ferocious Cactus ferruginous pygmy owl is bringing
development battles to a head in the Tucson basin. On November 28,
1997, television cameras captured demonstrators from the Southwest
Center and northwest Tucson neighborhoods blocking the destruction
of centuries old saguaros and ironwood trees until a stop work
order could be delivered by Pima County Flood Control. Shortly
thereafter, Pima County Development Services declared a moratorium
on all new building permits within a 16 square mile area of
northwest Tucson. The area is known to support 7 of the remaining
9 ferruginous pygmy owls left in Arizona. The County has been warned
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that authorizing new permits
may constitute "take" of an endangered species.

On December 2, 1997, the Arizona Daily Star blasted the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service for fostering confusion by not designating critical
habitat or completing a recovery plan for the pygmy owl. Tucson
environmentalists are opposing any HCP's for the owl prior to the
completion of a recovery plan. The Southwest Center is currently suing
the Service for refusing to designate critical habitat.

Finally, in a move to prevent uncontrolled development in at least
one corner of the Tucson basin, citizens recently incorporated as
the Town of Tortolita, taking the endangered pygmy owl as its
official mascot. The town's future, however, is in doubt since the
state supreme court struck down the regulations allowing incorporation
of outlying towns.