Mark L. JohnsonJun 151 minWater Woes XVII-Disaster LoomingThe Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) issued a press release in response to yesterday's Senate Committee on Energy and Natural...
Mark L. JohnsonJun 51 minTortolita Wild Horses & MoreTA Members Kit Nidever and Joe Thomas hiked the Ridgeline Trail on May 31 and saw a herd of wild horses. See photo by Kit above. A herd...
Mark L. JohnsonJun 11 minTA Tidbits # 38-Strong Arm & TP UpdateThe Mighty Strong-Arm Strong-Arm was host to another Great Horned Owlet this Spring which has now fledged the nest and is hopefully doing...
Mark L. JohnsonMay 11 minMay Day! May Day! May Day!The Conjunction Moon, Jupiter & Venus line up early Wednesday (4/27/22) morning over the Tortolita Preserve. Good things come in...
Mark L. JohnsonApr 171 minSunrise ServiceHiked the Upper Javelina to Wild Mustang to Wild Burro to Alamo Springs Spur Loop Trails early this morning. A nice 9-mile, peaceful...
Mark L. JohnsonApr 61 minTA Tidbits # 36-Tortolita Red & TP UpdateTortolita Red Ocotillo Blooming & Pyrruloxia (Desert Cardinal) TA has been working closely with Marana Parks & Recreation (MPR) and...
Mark L. JohnsonMar 271 minTrail Sights & SoundsHiked the Wild Burro to Alamo Springs Loop Trail this morning. Stopped for a rest at the top of the Wild Burro Trail and quietly listened...
Mark L. JohnsonMar 131 minZoom Or Bloom?Coulter's Lupine-Upper Javelina Trail Tired of COVID-19 Zoom calls? Time to get out for a hike and see the wildflowers. The Bloom has...
Mark L. JohnsonMar 61 minFreedom!Strong-Arm Saguaro At Daylight Went for a 7.5 mile hike in the Tortolita Preserve (TP) this morning. I had to. The events in Europe are...
Mark L. JohnsonFeb 262 minTA Tidbits #35 Petitions, Owls & New Water AgencyTown Council Candidates Need More Signed Petitions Thanks to everyone who have signed the Non-Partisan Nomination Petitions for Patrick...
Tortolita AllianceFeb 162 minTA Tidbits #34 Petitions & MoreMeet The Change4Marana Candidates-Sign Petitions Patrick Cavanaugh, Mark Johnson and Tim Kosse are running for Marana Town Council as the...
Mark L. JohnsonFeb 62 minMark 4 Marana Town Council CampaignI first came to Marana in 1976 on a cross county RV adventure during my senior year in college. Having grown up in a coastal environment...
Mark L. JohnsonFeb 22 minWater Woes XIV-Pause On DAWS The following serves as an update to the previously reported Marana Water Designated Assured Water Supply (DAWS) analysis. Remember DAWS...
Mark L. JohnsonJan 301 minTA Tidbits #33 Elections & ReflectionsWild Burro-Alamo Springs Spur Hike (1/30/22) Wild Burro Upper Valley At Dawn Desert Spoon Making A Comeback Chuparosa-First Spring Wild...
Mark L. JohnsonJan 121 minTP West & The MoundTortolita Preserve West Looking North & East Toward Dove Mountain From The Mound Happy New Year! Hiked the western portion of the...
Mark L. JohnsonDec 18, 20212 minTA Tidbits #32-2021 Wrap UpNight Watch Great Horned Owl keeps watch over the Tortolita Preserve! Tortolita Preserve-Trail Counter Update The Marana Parks &...
Mark L. JohnsonDec 4, 20212 minTA Tidbits #31 BioBlitz & MoreTortolita Preserve-Natural Resource Survey (BioBlitz) TA met with representatives from Marana Parks & Recreation (MPR), Arizona Game &...
Mark L. JohnsonNov 17, 20213 minDove Mountain Development Status November 2021Tortolita Preserve At Sunrise Dove Mountain Development 101 In June 2021, TA published a Dove Mountain Development Status blog that...
Mark L. JohnsonNov 14, 20213 minThe Case Of The Missing HCPAnother Marana mystery is solved! This time its about wildlife and habitat. What the heck is an HCP? HCP is the acronym for Habitat...
Mark L. JohnsonNov 10, 20213 minWater Woes X No Status Quo Drought Status Tortolita Alliance (TA) attended the Local Drought Impact Group (LDIG) Meeting via Microsoft Team on 11/10/21. LDIG is a...
Mark L. JohnsonNov 4, 20212 minTA Tidbits #30 Grass, Planes & Trails"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I---I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."--Robert Frost Just back...
Mark L. JohnsonOct 21, 20211 minTA Alert! Night FlightTortolita Alliance (TA) has heard recently from several residents in the Dove Mountain area about planes circling and buzzing at very...
Mark L. JohnsonOct 21, 20211 minTrailblazers!(L to R) Thom Rossa (TA Director), Dave Barker (TA Secretary), Chris Garrow (Trail Maintenance Crew Member), Mary Grodman (Natural...
Mark L. JohnsonOct 17, 20212 minTA Tidbits # 29 Gone-SoonMonsoon 2021 Remnants-Wild Burro Wash Monsoon season is gone ("Gone-Soon"). If Marana passes the half-cent sales tax, some of your hard...
Mark L. JohnsonOct 12, 20211 minTA Alert! Santa Cruz River Cleanup No. 2 At Ina Road Bridge CanceledTortolita Alliance and Tucson Clean & Beautiful have canceled the Santa Cruz River Cleanup at the Ina Road Bridge Location on October 23,...
Mark L. JohnsonOct 10, 20212 minTA Tidbits # 28 Save The Happy HabitatTortolita Mountains Photo by Nancy Major Huge Sonoran Desert Tortoise Found In Tortolita Preserve Marenis Kansfield (TA member) came upon...
Mark L. JohnsonOct 2, 20211 minSanta Cruz River Clean Up No. 2Tucson Clean & Beautiful and other agencies/groups are sponsoring a Santa Cruz River Cleanup on October 23. For the second time this...
Mark L. JohnsonSep 26, 20211 minSaguaro Destruction-Part 2Bulldozer Topples Beautiful Saguaro Saguaro Reserve-Dove Mountain Photograph published with photographer's permission Marana Response To...
Mark L. JohnsonSep 25, 20211 minTA Alert! Chopper Activity Dove MountainYou may have heard a helicopter buzzing Dove Mountain early this morning (midnight to 1 AM) and again currently (7:30 AM). Marana PD...
Mark L. JohnsonSep 19, 20211 minSaguaro DestructionSeveral TA Members have reported the destruction of older saguaros at the Saguaro Reserve Subdivision (173 homes) now being mass graded...
Mark L. JohnsonSep 12, 20211 minGreen Going BrownHiked the Tortolita Preserve (TP) Big Loop early this morning. Only a few weeks after the end of the monsoonal rains and the undergrowth...
Mark L. JohnsonSep 3, 20212 minMarana Sales Tax Increase ConsiderationsMarana has two remaining Sales Tax Increase Public Meetings on Thursday, 9/9/21 at 6:00 PM at the Dove Mountain Stem School and on...
Mark L. JohnsonSep 1, 20211 minTA Alert! Marana Town Council-Call For CandidatesMarana 2022 Town Council Election-Call For Candidates The Marana Town Council will have four openings for the August 2022 election with...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 28, 20213 minWater Woes IX-Water Study Session Report Part BWater Is The Sustenance Of Life In Part A we reported that Marana Water has 2,804 acre-feet (AF) of water remaining in its Designated...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 26, 20212 minWater Woes VIII-Water Study Session Report Part AHope you had the opportunity to attend or watch (video stream) the Water Study Session on Tuesday. Jing Luo, Marana's new Water...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 22, 20211 minWater & Flower PowerAlamo Springs Trail-Chest High Grass Hiked the Wild Burro & Alamo Springs Trail this morning. The Wild Burro Wash was flowing strong...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 19, 20212 minTA Alert! Water Study SessionMarana Water Study Session Marana will be holding a Water Study Session in the Town Council Chambers on Tuesday, August 24 at 6:00 PM. ...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 18, 20211 minAye-R-LandUpper Javelina Trail Looking East Hiked the Upper Javelina Trail on Sunday and it looks like Ireland up there--emerald green! Below is a...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 17, 20211 minLush-UsTortolita Preserve Wash After Summer Monsoonal Rains August 2021 On Sunday, I hiked the Tortolita Preserve (TP) with three TA members who...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 13, 20211 minTA Alert! Interstate 11 Opposition To West OptionTortolita Alliance (TA) received word yesterday that the comment period for the Interstate 11 (I-11) Final Environmental Impact Statement...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 11, 20213 minMarana Housing ChatTA attended the Marana Town Council Housing Study Session (8/10/21). Click on the Button to View the Study Session PowerPoint. The...
Mark L. JohnsonAug 6, 20211 minTA Alert! Study UpSunset-West Hyannisport, MA I took this photo a few days ago a short distance from my boyhood home on Cape Cod, MA. This is a beautiful...
Mark L. JohnsonJul 29, 20212 minWater Woes VII-Water PokerThanks to the many Tortolita Alliance (TA) members who wrote letters and attended last night's Marana Planning Commission meeting...
Mark L. JohnsonJul 27, 20212 minTA Alert! Road Noise! I-11The Tortolita Alliance (TA) is collaborating with the Coalition For Sonoran Desert Protection (CSDP) and other environmental groups in...
Mark L. JohnsonJul 25, 20213 minWater Woes VI-ARIDIFICATIONAridification is the process whereby a region becomes increasingly drier (arid) over a long period of time. Climate change and the...
Mark L. JohnsonJul 22, 20211 minTA Alert! More Rooftops & H2O?Camino De Oeste 34 Marana Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, July 28 at 6:30 in the Town Council Chambers...
Mark L. JohnsonJul 12, 20212 minWater Woes V-Tidal WaveThere has been a tidal wave of significant news in the Arizona water world. Here is the skinny. ADWR Tells Pinal County No More...
Mark L. JohnsonJul 8, 20212 minSwimming In TaxesMarana is planning to raise the sales tax to fund a proposed Community Center and Aquatic Center. TA has remained neutral regarding the...
Mark L. JohnsonJun 27, 20211 minTA Tidbits #24 Julio & MoreHiked the Wild Burro Trail very early this morning and ran into Julio the Gila Monster. Click on the video below to see him moving out!...
Mark L. JohnsonJun 25, 20214 minWater Woes IV-Plan For Worst CaseSalton Sea-Imperial County, California-2018 Over the last four months there have been at least three studies released regarding the...