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The latest and most crucial draft of Pima County's proposed plan to conserve habitat for many rare or endangered species has been submitted to a federal agency for review.

The key document is aimed at turning much of the broader Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan into reality.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry first proposed his ambitious plan to start saving Sonoran Desert land around Tucson on Oct. 21, 1998, through a massive blueprint to buy mountain parkland and ranch land with tougher land-use restrictions.

Federal law allows local governments to do these plans as a way to balance urban development and protection of dwindling wildlife species in rapidly growing areas.

The conservation plan is supposed to remove many legal obstacles to development of land not formally set aside and preserved as open space.

The latest details of the Pima County habitat-conservation plan, at a glance:

• To ensure the long-term survival of the spectrum of animals and plants native to Pima County, by maintaining habitats and ecosystems they need to survive.

• To allow harm, killing or harassment of federally protected species in some areas of the county while ensuring their survival elsewhere.

• To promote long-term conservation of protected species and their habitats.

• To reduce conflicts between endangered species and economic activities.

• To develop creative, public-private-sector partnerships.

• The proposed plan covers an area spanning about 608,000 acres of mainly private, unincorporated lands within Pima County in the Tucson metro area. It calls for conservation of about 243,000 acres through purchase or leasing over the next 30 years. Purchase of development rights could also occur.

• The plan predicts that 66,701 acres of the remaining land will be developed over the same period, out of 157,000 acres of total land that would be available for development.

• Developers receiving rezonings of sensitive land within the plan area would also set aside 66 percent to 95 percent of that property as open space.

• Fifth draft, just released.

• Will be the subject of public meetings and comments early this year and get an informal review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

• Once the county Board of Supervisors approves this draft, it will go to the service for a formal review. The service will also review an environmental-impact statement and a formal agreement with the county for carrying out the plan. The service will hold its own public meetings, accept written comments and make a final decision on this plan by the end of 2009.

• Since voters approved a 2004 open space bond issue, the county has spent $118.5 million to buy and lease lands for this plan. That includes of 36,236 acres of purchased land in 44 parcels, and 127,280 acres in grazing leases.

• The county has spent about $3,200 an acre to buy land and pays about $616 an acre combined to lease and buy land.

• The costs of future acquisitions aren't known.

• Management, monitoring and other annual operating costs are about $40 million during the plan's first 10 years.

• The $174 million 2004 open-space bonds, including $112 million for habitat protection, and future bonds. The county also has $5 million in Regional Flood Control District money and $4 million in bonds for cultural resources to buy open space.

• $45 million approved by voters in 2006 as part of the Regional Transportation Authority plan to protect wildlife corridors over and under roads.

• The county general fund, to pay for 12 staff members in the county's Natural Resources Division to manage the open-space reserve, two staffers in the Flood Control District for management and five Sheriff's Department officers to enforce laws in parks and preserves.

• Agreements with developers have provided money or other forms of open-space protection from revenues at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort, as well as a Southwest Side Wal-Mart, a possible resort in the Oro Valley Arroyo Grande development, and the Stone Canyon development in Rancho Vistoso.

• Potential future sources include a possible county sales tax, developer impact fees for open-space purchase, an interest-bearing endowment fund, a possible county-by-county lottery program giving counties the money to spend within their boundaries, and state and federal grants, among others.

• Species to be monitored include the Huachuca water umbel, the lesser long-nosed bat, the Southwestern willow flycatcher, the Western yellow-billed cuckoo, the Gila chub, the Mexican garter snake and six others.

• All are rare in Pima County and many are listed by the federal government as endangered or threatened.

• Habitats to be monitored include Sonoran Desert uplands, semi-desert and sacaton grasslands, riparian areas, seeps, springs and talus slopes.