Southern Arizona Forest Fund
Field Reflections: Saguaro to Spruce 2024: Vol 1
Southern Arizona Forest Fund
Southern Arizona is home to stunning Sonoran Desert, unique sky island mountains, and borderland landscapes. This is where the biggest cactus in the country grow, rare birds and wildlife roam, and awesome outdoor recreation experiences are abundant. But this special landscape faces wildfire risk, overgrown woodlands, invasive plants, eroded trails, and heavily visited recreation sites.
The Southern Arizona Forest Fund (SAFF) protects and restores the landscape by reducing wildfire risk to communities and habitat, managing treatment of invasive plants, and improving trails and recreation areas so this treasured place can be enjoyed for many years to come.
The landscape and culture of Southern Arizona has changed my life in countless ways for the better, and I know it has done the same for so many others.
Thank you for your support and for sharing your love for this place.
See you out there,
John Goraj Southern Arizona Program Coordinator
The Southern Arizona Forest Fund (SAFF) was established in 2020 as a way to engage local communities and partners in recognizing and restoring the awesome landscapes that define the culture and quality of life in southern Arizona. For over five years, the National Forest Foundation (NFF) has been building partnerships, getting projects done on the ground, and working hand-in-hand with the Coronado National Forest to build resilience across National Forest Lands and in the communities that depend on them.
Southern Arizona is a rare gem worth protecting, from the Santa Catalina Mountains of Tucson, to the borderlands near Sierra Vista, and from the iconic rock formations of the Chiricahuas to the alpine forests of the Pinaleño Mountains. These are the places we love to hike and explore, that we depend on and that add value to our homes and businesses, the places that define who we are personally and as a community.
Conservation thrives on relationships and the power of partnerships. Caring for these special places isn't just the responsibility of conservation and recreation groups; it's something we can all be part of. Whether you are a local business, a corporate entity, local government, or are involved in the arts, tourism, culture, culinary scene, and beyond, it takes people from all walks of life to help these places flourish and remain enjoyable for everyone.
We are excited to share highlights of our growth and on-the-ground impact in 2024. Join us in celebrating and learning about our efforts to restore and enhance these amazing landscapes!
2024 SAFF Project Map
Coronado
National Forest
Santa Catalina Ranger District
Cobblestone Invasives
Nogales Ranger District
Pinaleno Mexican Spotted Owl Surveys
Santa Catalina Trails & Rec Santa Catalina Trails & Rec
Cobblestone Invasives Forest Restoration & Wildfire
Sabino Creek Riparian Restoration
Sabino Creek Riparian Restoration
Finger Rock & Pontotoc Canyon Invasives
Finger Rock & Pontotoc Canyon Invasives
Sabino Canyon Invasives
Sabino Canyon Invasives
Bear Canyon Invasives Bear Canyon Invasives
Projects
$1.4 Million
861
26,216 acres
652 acres
Cumulative Results 2018 to 2024
$3.3 Million
9,608
1,1000
8,250
2024 Project Highlights
Sacred Springs Watershed Restoration
Since May 2024, the NFF secured has $90,000 in grant funding to support the work of Taproot Collaborative in the Pinaleno Mountains. In October 2024, Taproot completed the construction of over 70 erosion control and water retention structures in Highwater Cienega, a critical spring and wet meadow in the high alpine regions of this landscape. This project serves multiple objectives including retaining critical water recharge in the event of fire and safeguarding critical habitat for the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel along with a wide range of wildlife, including 17 species and subspecies of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.
Finger Rock Canyon Invasives Treatment
In Summer 2023, the NFF began treating this much-loved canyon of the Santa Catalina Mountains for the highly invasive and fire-prone, buffelgrass. We have partnered with Rocky Mountain Ecology who treated around 100 acres that first season and followed up with an impressive 190 acres in Spring 2024, after a wet winter. Crews ultimately traversed over 500 acres to effectively eradicate large patches of buffelgrass. In Summer 2024, following nearly two inches of rain in Finger Rock, buffelgrass showed no signs of green up and large infestations did not repopulate. This was great to see this success and suggests that efforts are having a lasting impact! The first photo is the first day of treatment in August 2023 and the second photo is large patch of dead buffelgrass taken in July 2024 after two consecutive treatments. These treatments are essential to reducing high fire-risk in this landscape, sustaining native plant and wildlife populations, and overall protecting this beloved landscape.
Looking Ahead
As we move into 2025 and beyond, our work is expanding meaningfully across Coronado National Forest. It is our hope and intent to achieve holistic landscape-level restoration throughout the Sky Islands Region. In Spring 2025, we launched a large-scale grassland restoration project in the Canelo Hills near Sonoita. This project aims to reduce excessive fuels, enhance pronghorn habitat and protect the rural economies of the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape. Looking ahead to Fall 2025, we plan to implement 400 acres of fuels reduction in the Pinaleños Mountains, as well as the continued construction of water retention structures throughout the alpine meadows and springs of these biodiverse mountains.
Finger Rock Connector Trail
This trails project, a collaboration between the NFF, US Forest Service, Outslope Trail Solutions, Tucson Electric Power, Southern Arizona Hiking Club, and Arizona State Parks and Trails, has been a wonderful success for the trails and recreation community in the Tucson area and was completed in early 2025. From October 2024 through February 2025, Outslope Trail Solutions completed a beautiful new 2- mile trail that cuts through a high ridge in the Santa Catalina Mountains and connects the existing Finger Rock Canyon Trail to the Pontatoc Canyon Trail to form a challenging and scenic 7 mile loop.
One of the major challenges of this project was a lack of a backcountry water supply for the crews who were camping while building the trails. Over the course of four volunteer events, dedicated community members brought several hundreds of gallons of water to the campsite to cache water for the trail crews. Since the new trail has been built, we have received many messages of support on social media including a favorite message: “It's a wonderful new addition to the lower Catalina trail portfolio. I appreciate the option to have a shorter route that still incorporates some iconic Tucson trails! It's well built and provides some breathtaking views. Thank you for all your hard work!”
