INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS: Mon., April 24, 2006
Builders celebrate decision to end pygmy owl protection
by Philip S. Moore
Calling the decision “long overdue,” the National Association of Home Builders and Southern Arizona Home Builders Association are celebrating the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl from the list of endangered species.
Following nine years of research, the Fish and Wildlife Service determined that although only 20 adult owls live in Southern Arizona, the population is identical to the more abundant population in Mexico and not in need of federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. The decision could free 1.2 million acres of habitat previously reserved for the owl, primarily northwest of Tucson in Pima County but extending all the way north into Pinal and Maricopa counties.
“Right now, we can't speculate on what's going to happen, but it's definitely positive news,” said Roger Yohem, vice president and director of communications for the home builders association. “This issue had an effect on land values across Southern Arizona. The year after the lawsuit to protect the owl was filed, land prices spiked 13 percent. This was a major change from the historical 3-4 percent increase” and a negative factor in home affordability.
While the pygmy owl may be removed as an obstacle to development, Yohem said home builders are working to mitigate other environmental impacts of residential construction. It's against the “conventional wisdom to say that developers care,” he said, “but when it comes to helping preserve the natural environment, the builders are actively involved.”
Yohem said the association's members participate with Tucson Wildlife Center to rescue and relocate wild animals in the path of construction. Burrowing owls, being forced out of their habitat in the Phoenix area are being relocated to rural land around Tucson.
In partnership with Wild at Heart and Arizona Game and Fish Department, SAHBA volunteers have been creating new habitat for the owls. Filmed by TV's Animal Planet and the Public Broadcasting Service, over 200 new burrows have been created throughout Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties.
“By the end of the year, we expect to have completed 400 or 500 new burrows,” Yohem said.
Home builders are also partnering with the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society to move cacti and other native plants that otherwise would be destroyed by real estate development. Over 5,000 plants not covered by the Native Plant Protection Ordinance have been saved, so far, by the effort.
“These are plants not otherwise protected because they're too small or not species that are on the list, but they contribute to the natural environment and we're happy to be able to help in preserving them,” Yohem said.
The home builders association's government liaison, Alex Jácome, said “People find it strange that homebuilders would be out there rescuing owls and native plants. It's not how they imagined builders. However, this is Arizona, and if you're not good stewards of the land, you shouldn't be out here.”