Appendix F - Open Space Framework

The Open Space Framework was delineated using the steps described below. This approach draws from the emerging discipline of landscape ecology, but also follows long-established principles of sound landscape planning. For background see Benton MacKaye's 1928 classic, The New Exploration, and Dramstad, Olson, and Forman's Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and Land-Use Planning.

Step 1. We reviewed the wildlife habitat maps provided by the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch (Research Ranch) and the species richness maps provided by the Cooperative Park Studies Unit at the University of Arizona. These maps show the distribution of key species of mammals and the richness (number of species present) of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles. Reductions of the habitat maps provided by the Research Ranch follow page F-2.
Step 2. We considered other natural resources and natural hazards. The Open Space Framework includes the Sonoita Creek, O'Donnell Canyon, and Turkey Creek valleys where shallow alluvial aquifers are vulnerable to contamination from surface sources and on-site sewage disposal systems. Flooding is a hazard in parts of these valleys. The cienegas in O'Donnell Canyon are a rare vegetation and habitat type.
Step 3. We conducted a visual preference survey, as described in Appendix G. The visual preference survey was a systematic approach to determining which views are most valued by residents of NE Santa Cruz County. Open space, wildlife habitat, and water resource values overlap to a fair extent in NE Santa Cruz County, providing multiple reasons for including most of the lands in the Open Space Framework.
Step 4. We analyzed the land ownership pattern. The Open Space Framework should rely on federal and already protected private lands as much as possible.
Step 5. We analyzed landscape fragmentation by mapping subdivisions and records of survey to identify heavily fragmented areas. Such areas were not included in the Open Space Framework. For example, the area between the Sonoita Crossroads and Elgin, is largely divided into parcels ranging from four to forty acres in size. This eliminates a potentially valuable open space corridor along the upper reaches of Cienega Creek.

This process delineated three key "blocks" of open space in NE Santa Cruz County. They are described below.

Gardner Canyon. Gardner Canyon links the Santa Rita Mountains to the grasslands of the Upper Cienega Creek Basin. It also appears to be a major source of groundwater recharge for that basin. Gardner Canyon is mostly in the Coronado National Forest. Private lands total less than 500 acres. The Coronado National Forest is seeking a land exchange that would add 319 acres of private land in Gardner Canyon. That exchange is inconsistent with Policy 4 and Strategy 6.A of this plan.

Sonoita Creek. Casa Blanca and Corral Canyons form a link from the Canelo Hills to the Santa Ritas. This part of the Open Space Framework also extends along Sonoita Creek from Casa Blanca and Corral Canyons to Fort Canyon, extending the linkage upstream to include important views and the alluvial aquifer associated with the creek. There are approximately 3,240 acres of private land in this block, including several areas that have been divided into large - mostly 40+ acres - residential lots.

Huachuca/Canelo/Mustang/Empire. The Open Space Framework provides a critical connection from the Huachuca Mountains and Canelo Hills to the Mustang Mountains and Empire-Cienega Resource Conservation Area. This corridor is widened north of the Mustangs to include highly valued views from State Highway 82 and also includes the view from Highway 83 north of the Sonoita Crossroads looking east toward the Whetstones. This corridor is built around public lands - national forest, state trust, and BLM - and the Research Ranch, but does include four areas of private land.

There are 1,100-1,200 acres of private land in O'Donnell Canyon and along Turkey Creek, including The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) preserve in O'Donnell Canyon. There are a number of homes along these drainages, but expansion of the TNC preserve to further protect the cienega and acquisition of development rights from the larger undeveloped parcels would be desirable.
Completing the linkage from the Research Ranch to the state trust and BLM lands in the Mustang Mountains requires a corridor across the Babocomari Ranch. That corridor can vary in width with the owners' needs, but should be wide enough to be a valuable patch of grasslands habitat, rather than just a connector.
BLM and state trust lands already form a partial linkage from the Mustang Mountains to the Empire-Cienega Ranch. Adding one section of private land would complete this linkage. Some of the most valued views in NE Santa Cruz County are from Highway 82 to the Mustangs, however, so this corridor was widened to include a few hundred acres of private lands on the north slope of the Mustangs.
There is also an important visual connection from the north side of the Sonoita Crossroads to the Empire-Cienega RCA and on to the Whetstones. This view corridor includes around 1,400 acres.

The Open Space Framework would ideally include about 7,300 acres of private land without the Babocomari. Preserving a substantial habitat patch on the Babocomari would at least double that figure. Note the "ideally," however. Some lands within the Open Space Framework have already been divided into small parcels.

The Open Space Framework also includes virtually all of the state trust lands in NE Santa Cruz County. While some state trust lands, like the steep slopes of the Mustangs, have little development potential, moving them into a conservation status through creation of the Las Cienegas NCA or some other means is essential.

Next: Appendix G: Visual Preference Survey

Return to the index

Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum
P.O. Box 1274
Sonoita, AZ 85637