Chris Richards / Staff Much of the Tucson area's desert land has been covered over with buildings and asphalt, but much still remains in an untouched state.

Some worry that species will disappear; others say people need space to live

The Sonoran Desert is home to thousands of fascinating plants and animals, some of them found nowhere else in the world.

But many people are worried about the future of those creatures.

During the last few decades, Tucson has gotten much bigger - our population has more than doubled since 1970. With all those new houses, stores, roads and cars, there's often less room for snakes, birds, bats and cacti.

Some of the plants and animals that live here have become so rare that they're considered "threatened" or "endangered." If things don't change, some people fear those species might become "extinct" and disappear from the Earth forever.

Already there are some creatures - such as grizzly bears, gray wolves and muskrats - that have been eliminated from the area, either because of hunting or loss of habitat, the place where plants and animals naturally live.

THE PLAN

People who were worried about animals becoming extinct helped persuade the government to make laws to prevent others from disappearing.

One law - the Endangered Species Act - is pretty controversial since it can stop people from doing things with their property, such as building a house on it.

People in the Tucson area are now trying to figure out how the city can obey the Endangered Species Act while still allowing the city to get bigger and better.

They're now working on something called the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.

There are a lot of different people involved in the plan: scientists, ranchers, politicians, businesses.

They've created dozens of maps and reports that show where different plants and animals live and how we might protect them.

One of the ideas is to make existing parks and nature preserves bigger so that plants and animals have somewhere to live. New houses, malls and roads would be steered toward areas that aren't as important to the animals.

THE DEBATE

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan is very controversial. Some people think it's a great way to protect rare plants and animals. Others worry that it could hurt the human residents of Tucson.

People get pretty passionate about this thing - after all, we're talking about species becoming extinct, the price of housing, how much jobs pay and the quality of life here.

Here are a few of the "pros" and "cons" about the plan:

PRO:

* Supporters say it will protect what many people move here to enjoy - the Sonoran Desert - and prevent species from becoming extinct.

* Lots of people aren't happy with how Tucson has grown so far and are upset that so many animals have lost their homes. They say the plan will stop us from repeating mistakes, and protecting the desert will only get more expensive over time.

* By making a long-term plan for which areas will be protected and which areas will be developed, it'll be easier to decide where roads, schools and parks are built.

CON:

* Home builders say the plan could make housing more expensive because they won't be able to put up new houses in a lot of places.

* Some businesspeople fear the plan could hurt the local economy and make it harder for people to find jobs and support their families.

* Some private citizens worry about the expense of buying and protecting maybe 1 million acres of land. That might cost $500 million and leave less money for roads, schools, police officers and other government services.

THE LAND

One of the difficult things about the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan is that so many different people own the land around Tucson. The federal government in Washington, D.C., owns most of the big, "sky island" mountain ranges. It's supposed to manage them for the benefit of the whole country.

The state government in Phoenix owns a big part of the area, too. It's supposed to sell some of that to private citizens and to use the money to help public schools.

The Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui nations also own big pieces of property, as do other forms of government, such as the city of Tucson, the town of Oro Valley and Pima County.

Your parents might own some land, near your house. That private property plays a big role, too.

IN MEXICO

People in Mexico are also working hard to save the Sonoran Desert there. In many ways, they have a tougher time because the environmental laws in that country usually are weaker than they are here.

On the coast of the Gulf of California, the Intercultural Center for Study of Deserts and Oceans - known as CEDO - works to protect the ecosystem near the tourist town of Rocky Point. Researchers there are studying the endangered vaquita and totoaba.

Last year, American and Mexican environmental groups announced a plan to protect habitat for thick-billed parrots in Mexico. The plan will stop logging on 6,000 acres of ancient forest in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains of northern Chihuahua, 150 miles south of the U.S. border.

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