Pima County’s procedures to salvage plants prior to project construction and to select plants for project revegetation were recently revised to improve compliance with state law and provide more clarity for project managers. Revisions will enable County departments to more consistently comply with
Arizona Native Plant Law regulations regarding plant selection and salvage. The
plant salvage procedure, first developed in 2016, also promotes greater use of drought-adapted, native plants from the County’s
Native Plant Nursery.
Changes highlight the fact that the State of Arizona imposes more stringent thresholds for notification of land-clearing activities on counties than the private sector. As the name implies, the Native Plant Law applies to many naturally occurring plants, including mesquite and cacti. The law requires counties to give notice to the state when grading more than a quarter acre of land containing protected plants; the notice and acreage requirements for counties are more stringent than for the private sector.
The Native Plant Nursery often salvages plants from County project sites. Many are used to revegetate County road rights-of-way or other public projects. Plants salvaged by the Native Plant Nursery staff can also be used on public projects outside of Pima County or in other jurisdictions.
County staff who would like to tour the Native Plant Nursery can contact Amy Belk, the nursery manager, at Amy.Belk@pima.gov.