The Beginning
The Tortolita Alliance (TA) was formed three years ago in response to efforts by the Town of Marana (Marana) and the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) to reconfigure and re-zone the Tortolita Preserve (TP) and surrounding lands.
With the support of hundreds of concerned citizens we were able to get Marana to change course and TP was put back on the maps and protected.
Mission & Strategic Plan
This early success was wonderful but we knew that TA had to continue to ensure ongoing attention to environmental issues in Marana and the region. In early 2020, just before COVID-19 hit hard, we were able to meet together at the first TA General Meeting and adopted the mission statement and strategic plan. As a refresher, TA's mission:
Tortolita Alliance advocates for the continued conservancy of the Tortolita Preserve and associated lands, ensuring protection of open space, wildlife habitat, watershed, and compatible recreational use.
TA's Strategic Plan covers seven (7) primary categories; Environment & Education, Water, Development/Financial, Government Watchdog/Political, Agency/Group Collaboration, Communication and Organization.
Significant progress has been made over the last three years on most of the strategic initiatives. The current status of the strategic initiatives is summarized in the following table:
TA now has over 730 members! They are kept informed with over 260 blogs published on topics including plants, wildlife, water, trails, recreation, open space, development, Marana government and more.
TA has also gained two significant partners since the Strategic Plan was adopted and they are the Pima Naturalists and Arizona Game & Fish. They along with TA, Coalition For Sonoran Desert Protection, Tucson Audubon and Marana Park & Recreation were key contributors to the successful TP BioBlitz on November 19.
The Future
TA plans to continue its work well into the future with the following special initiatives in the works for 2023:
General Meeting w/Strategic Plan Update
Fund Raiser
TP BioBlitz #2
Environmental Education For Children