Tucson Audubon Society
March 29, 2024



Dear Matt,

We sent out a conservation action alert earlier this week on the proposed Villages at Vigneto mega-development, and we want to follow up to encourage you to take a minute of your time to stand up for the San Pedro River! Your voice can make a difference!

Now it is even easier to submit comments, by using Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter's online action alert, which has talking points Tucson Audubon endorses. You can also choose to tailor your message.

Tucson Audubon has joined together with the Sierra Club and five other national, regional and local conservation organizations in a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers, to hold key decision makers in the federal government accountable for assessing and avoiding potential impacts to the San Pedro River watershed and the unparalleled diversity of life it supports. Help us to keep local officials accountable as well by taking action now!

Take Action!

1. Send your comments using Sierra Club's online action alert, or send snail mail to the Benson City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission: 120 W. 6th St., Benson, AZ, 85602.


2. Mark your calendar and attend three final public meetings for the Villages at Vigneto Community Master Plan (CMP). Come prepared to share your concerns at these upcoming public meetings.  Note a correction of the last alert: the City Council work session on July 9th will be held at the Cochise County College Center in Benson.

    • Planning & Zoning Commission hearing @ 7:00 PM, July 5th (Benson City Hall)
    • City Council work session @ 9:00 AM, July 9th (Cochise County College Center)
    • City Council hearing @ 7:00 PM, July 18th (Benson City Hall)

3. Write a letter to the editor (50-150 words) to: Liz.Manring@svherald.com


Click here for detailed talking points




Read this excellent editorial by Peter Else, chair of the Lower San Pedro Watershed Alliance and local land owner:

Local land owners seek to address extreme threat to San Pedro watershed


"We did our best to get the Army Corps and the Town of Benson to listen to rural conservation interests, but their ears have been deaf to the long-term concerns about the impacts to the river and to nearby landowners.


It is not extreme to want to keep one of our last free-flowing rivers flowing. It is not extreme to be concerned about a truly sustainable economy. It is hardly extreme to ask that the government give this proposal a good hard look and that it seek to minimize or eliminate the harm to our precious river." - Peter Else



Follow Peter's lead and stand up for the San Pedro River!




"That river is a treasure . . . it’s exquisite, it’s beautiful, it’s rare, there’s nothing like it . . . do not let anyone diminish it! Not a single soul!" - David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Daily Star




Join or Renew your Tucson Audubon Membership!


Learn more about why membership matters!







Join our new San Pedro River Conservation Action List!


Read Executive Director Karen Fogas's address from our recent Storytelling and Poetry on the San Pedro event




Thank you, Matt, for being a part of Tucson Audubon and helping to protect birds, other wildlife, and the places they live in southeast Arizona for future generations.



Matt Clark
Conservation Policy Analyst

 

Connecting people with birds & the places they live


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