12/2/1997 270

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.