Queen-Of-The-Night (Peniocereus greggii) The famous Queen-Of-The-Night (Peniocereus greggii) cactus (Queen) is native to the Sonoran Desert and several plants have been identified in the Tortolita Preserve (TP). The stems (few in number) emanate from a large underground tuber. The stems look like a dead stick and are very hard to locate and identify. In late May to early June, the Queen will flower at night for just one night. The flowers are white and about 3" in diameter

Lake Powell-Utah (Arizona Border)-Apple Maps The United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) issued a press release (click link below) on Friday (4/17/26) describing emergency measures to protect Lake Powell water level from declining to dangerously low elevations. The two primary measures are: Moving 2.48 million acre-feet (maf) of water from the upstream Flaming Gorge Reservoir into Lake Powell Reducing downstream releases by from Lake Powell from the planned 7.48 maf to 6

Ann Day Memorial Widlife Bridge-Photo by Coalition For Sonoran Protection Tortolita Alliance (TA) attended the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Ann Day Memorial Wildlife Bridge [N. Oracle Road (Rt. 77) near Santa Catalina Catholic Church] on 4/17/26. Ann Day is the late Pima County Supervisor who was an ardent wildlife preservationist. This wildlife bridge was the first to be constructed in Pima County and the first in the nation to be funded by voter-approved sales-t

Tortolita Alliance (TA) had a nice conversation with Wayne Barnett [Marana Parks & Recreation (MPR) Director] on 4/8/26. We discussed some of the key TA Strategic Plan items, with this important update: Tortolita Preserve (TP) Convert Barbed Wire Fence (north side) With Wildlife Friendly Wire -MPR will do conversions in conjunction with other projects on the north side. TP Trail Expansion -MPR has proposed $70,000 in the FY 26/27 Budget (starts July 2026), for designing and