Hiked the Wild Burro-Alamo Springs & Spur Loop yesterday and found many beautiful wildflowers. The poor wildflower bloom this spring has been redeemed! See collage of wildflowers observed below (click on photos to enlarge). From left to right and down: Trailing Windmills, Tripleleaf Morning-Glory, Trans-pecos Morning-Glory, Slender Goldenweed, Snapdragon Vine, Double Claw, Desert Thornapple, Spreading Fleabane, Slender Janusia, Pink Fairy Duster, Mesa Tansyaster, Chinchwee

Marana Parks & Recreation (MPR) will be holding a Community Meeting on 10/8/26 at 6:00 PM at the MARC to discuss the Parks & Recreation Master Plan Update. Click on the link below to get more of the details and/or see the announcement below. Please note that the Tortolita Alliance Board will be meeting with MPR and their consultant at a future date to have a focused discussion on Natural Resources/Outdoor Recreation/Trails.

Monsoon Storm (8/19/26) Tortolita Preserve (North Side) This video records a monsoon storm that came through the Tortolita Preserve on August 19, 2026. Wind-Lighting-Rain! The 2026 Monsoon Season started on 6/15/26 and ended on 9/30/26. The data shows there is much monsoon precipitation variability across Southern Arizona. Tucson Airport precipitation data is sometimes referred to as the "official" precipitation/monsoon data for the region. The Haywood Plot below shows the

This summer (June, July & August, 2026) was very warm: The average low temperature this summer was 75.47 F compared to the normal (1991-2020) low temperature of 72.7 F (+2.77 F). The average high temperature this summer was 100.00 compared to the normal high temperature of 98.82 F (+1.17 F). There was reduced wildlife activity in the Tortolita Preserve (TP) this summer with some animals moving up to cooler, higher elevations. However, despite the heat, there was wildlife act

Tortolita Preserve and Fan-From Upper Javelina Trail On November 14, 2025, the Tortolita Alliance (TA), Town of Marana (Marana) and the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) met at the Municipal Complex to discuss the Tortolita Preserve and surrounding lands. See TA Meets With Arizona State Land Department & Marana for more details. Since that meeting, Marana and ASLD have been working together to develop a Land Use Plan (aka Tortolita Land Use Plan) for the Tortolita Preserv

Lone Rock Beach-Lake Powell Near Page, AZ (3/27/26)-Photo by Mark Henle (The Republic) Record of Decision for the Decision Framework for Colorado River Guidelines: Coordinated Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead (2027–2036) The United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) issued the above captioned Record of Decision on 8/21/26 (click on link below). It mirrors what was described in Water Woes XLVII-USBR Kicks The Can. The Record of Decision incorporates; "the operational

Marana Parks & Recreation Department (MPR) is updating the the 2020-2030 Parks & Recreation Master Plan (click on link below). Tortolita Alliance (TA) participated in this plan and many of our suggested Tortolita Preserve improvements were implemented. Now is the time to provide input to the Parks & Recreation Master Plan Update (Master Plan Update). Click on the button below and you will be directed to the Master Plan Update Website page where you can learn more about the

The United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Weekly Hydrologic Update (8/2/26) shown above indicates Lake Powell is 23% full, Lake Mead is 27% full and the Colorado River System as a whole is at 32% capacity. This is the lowest capacity in 70 years! Not only is this a water supply emergency but also a power supply emergency. Lake Powell is only 22' from Minimum Power Pool Elevation-Adjusted (3,500') and Lake Mead is only 6' from Minimum Power Pool Elevation (1,035'). Min

Colorado River Talks Stalled-Post 2026 Operational Guidelines In May, the Lower Basin States (Arizona, California & Nevada) submitted a bridge proposal that will support the entire Colorado River system through 2028. This comprehensive package commits a minimum of 3.2 million acre-feet of Lower Basin States water savings in Lake Mead by 2028. The Upper Basin States (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming) have suggested that mediation take place. Since these two proposals

The National Weather Service (NWS) has produced a very informative video presentation on monsoons and the precipitation prediction for the 2026 Monsoon Season (June 15-September 30). NWS is forecasting an above normal precipation for the 2026 Monsoon Season with the possibility of El Niño impacts from Pacific storms. Get those stormwater channels cleaned out and ready for action! Click on the link below to view the video:

Hiked the Wild Burro-Alamo Springs & Spur Loop early this morning. Have not been up there in a few months, as we had a poor wildflower bloom. However, despite the dryness, there are lots of great sights and sounds. Play the audio recording as you take a look at the photos: Panorama Looking Towards Marana, Desert Spoon in bloom, Saguaro flowers galore, but no fruit yet, Black-tailed Jackrabbit, and Red-tailed Hawk (click on photo to enlarge).

Dave and Ethan (authors of Animals & Plants of the Tortolita Preserve) let me know on 5/13/26 that one of the Queen of the Night cacti on the south side of the Tortolita Preserve (TP) was about ready to bloom. We all visited the Queen to try to catch the bloom, but we could not be there every night, and, unfortunately, we just missed it. Below are photos from the early morning of 5/17/26 showing the spent bloom, which is now forming the bright red fruit. Note how the Queen o

Happy Mother's Day from the Tortolita Preserve. About 2 weeks ago, the Tortolita Alliance (TA) North Camera picked up Mrs. Mule Deer on video and photo. She appears to be quite pregnant and may have given birth in time for Mother's Day 2026! Mrs. Mule Deer Expecting Fawn-Photo A-Tortolita Preserve-TA North Camera Mrs. Mule Deer Expecting Fawn-Photo B-Tortolita Preserve-TA North Camera Mrs. Mule Deer Expecting Fawn-Video-Tortolita Preserve-TA North Camera

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

Tortolita Alliance has placed a new wildlife camera at an unknown wash on the north side of the Tortolita Preserve. There is plenty of wildlife activity, especially at night. These photos and videos demonstrate how wonderfully the Tortolita Preserve serves as pristine wildlife habitat and a wildlife corridor for movement to and from the Catalina Mountains, Tortolita Mountains and Tucson Mountains. Coyote Coyotes Do Sleep At Night! Javelina Family Outing Big Boy! Mule Deer

The hydrologic conditions on the Colorado River are perilous. As of March 1, 2026, the Colorado River watershed snow accululation was 67% of normal and the reservoirs are very low--Lake Powell (25%) and Lake Mead (34%). As reported in Water Woes XLII-Colorado River EIS Comment Letter & CUT20 , the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) issued a Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) . Apparent

Shirley and I have been gone for a month on our annual visit to the Big Island (Hawaii). So I hiked the Upper Javelina Trail early this morning to catch up. The Tortolitas are dry, and very few wildflowers are observed. This, despite a normal monsoon and some good winter rain. The warm weather has stunted the wildflowers--so far. With nothing else to report regarding the Tortolitas, I will provide some interesting experiences on the Big Island. Big Island (Hawaii) We had