Tortolita Alliance (TA) held its General Meeting on 11/12/24 at the Ritz Carlton-Dove Mountain-Golf Club at Dove Mountain Clubhouse. A total of 58 members and quests were in attendance.
Many thanks to the Ritz Carlton-Dove Mountain for supporting the local community and allowing TA to utilize this iconic venue for this important meeting and for providing cookies, coffee, tea and water. All provided at no charge to TA!
The primary agenda items included a presentation by Marana Parks & Recreation, Strategic Plan 2020 Update, Strategic Plan 2025 review/input and Call For Volunteers and Donations. The meeting PowerPoint presentation is available for download at the link below.
Marana Parks & Recreation
Thanks to Jim Conroy (Director), Bob Stinson (Superintendent), Brandon Laue (Superintendent) and Jay Grodman (Natural Resource Supervisor) for a great presentation that included a review of improvements and programs at the Tortolita Preserve, Tortolita Mountain Trail System and El Rio Preserve. They also provided information on the upcoming Holiday Festival (12/7/24) and an update on the construction of the new Community Center and Aquatic Center.
Strategic Plan 2020 Review
TA developed a multiple-year Strategic Plan in 2020 with the input of the members. Most of the items in that plan have been completed which included all the improvements at the Tortolita Preserve as reported by Marana Parks & Recreation. Other key items completed were; (1) Bioblitz (2022), (2) Animals & Plants of the Tortolita Preserve, (3) Wildflowers of the Tortolitas, (4) monitoring local activities, e.g., TRICO Electric Transmission Line, defunct plan to develop the entire Tortolita Fan, aerial reconnaisance for minerals, etc.
Strategic Plan 2025
Members attending were provided scoresheets and rated the proposed 2025 Strategic Plan items by Priorty 1, 2 or 3. All ratings were tabulated and the results are shown in the final Strategic Plan 2025 above. TA will now endeavor to accomplish these tasks over the next several years.
TA also requested and received some strategic plan suggestions including:
Make Tortolita Preserve A State Park-that possiblity will be included as part of Strategic Plan Item 8.
Identify HOA Lands In Washes-this will be included in our ongoing watch of local activities.
Support RTA Wildlife Crossing Funding-TA has and will continue to support wildlife crossings especially along Tangerine Road in Marana.
Support Fight Against I-11 West-TA has and will continue to support efforts to stop the potential construction of a new interstate highway through Arva Valley that will adversely impact the Saguaro National Park and Ironwood Forest National Monument.
TA Volunteer & Financial Support
TA's success as a small non-profit is dependent on volunteers and financial contributions.
TA put out a call for volunteers, especially potential members to serve on the Board of Directors. If you interested in serving in any capacity please send an email to info@tortolitaaliance.com with your background and areas of interest.
TA's annual budget is $3,500 and consists primarily of insurance and website fees. We've had 3 successful fundraisers over the last five years and the community has been very generous and we thank you for that.
With that said, donations are always welcome and you can donate by clicking on the link below: