TA Meets With Arizona State Land Department & Marana
- Tortolita Alliance
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Tortolita Alliance (TA) Board members met with representatives from the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) and the Town of Marana (Marana) this morning (11/14/25) at the Marana Municipal Complex. The purpose of the meeting was to: (1) inform ASLD about TA and all we have done to support the Tortolita Preserve, (2) learn more about the ASLD land lease and sale process, (3) learn more about the potential sale of the Tortolita Preserve to Marana and the potential sale/use of other ASLD land within the Tortolita Fan, and (4) find ways that TA, ASLD, and Marana can collaborate going forward.
This meeting was long in the making and monumental, not only because of the topics discussed, but it was the first time that we could remember that a local land conservation group had the opportunity to meet with ASLD senior management and Marana together.
Attending:
TA
Mark Johnson, President
Thom Rossa, Director
Joseph Thomas, Director
ASLD
Jim Perry, Deputy Commissioner (via Teams)
Karen Dada, Real Estate Director
Marana
Terry Rozema, Town Manager
Erik Montague, Assistant Town Manager
Jason Angell, Development Services Director
Agenda:
PowerPoint Slides:
Meeting Summary:
Tortolita Preserve 99-Year Lease has total lease payments of $121.1 million, of which $13.9 million has already been paid, with $107.2 million to be paid over the 73 years remaining.
Marana intends to purchase the Tortolita Preserve (2,400 acres) for open space and outdoor recreational purposes, and to avoid the future large lease payments.
Marana and ASLD are working on a program whereby a total of 8,000 acres will become part of a new Specific Plan and Zoning. Tortolita Preserve (2,400 acres) will be zoned as Open Space, and the other 5,600 acres of ASLD land to the south of the Tortolita Preserve (blue-hatched area north and south of Tangerine Road) and due west of the Tortolita Preserve (solid blue areas) will be zoned for appropriate uses. See the lead map.
Marana has engaged consultants to study the possible uses for the 5,600 acres, including review and analysis of critical items, such as hydrology, utilities, cultural, wildlife, etc.
The Specific Plan and Zoning will take up to two years, and then the process and procedures so that Marana can acquire ownership of the Tortolita Preserve from ASLD should take several more years.
TA is supportive of this program as it; (1) is aligned with the TA mission as it preserves and protects 2,400 acres of pristine Sonoran Desert, (3) avoids future large lease payments by Marana and (4) allows ASLD to fullfill its mission "to responsibly manage the assets of a multi-generational perpetual Trust in alignment with the interests of the beneficiaries (primarily K-12 schools) and Arizona’s future."
TA, ASLD, and Marana agreed to work collaboratively and keep each other informed in the months and years ahead.