Mark L. Johnson
Fruitful Hike
Hiked the Upper Javelina Trail early this morning. First time on the new section near Boulder Canyon Pass (see photos in collage). The...
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Mark L. Johnson
- May 14
- 2 min
Water Woes XXII-Cautious & Frugal
The water situation in the West has improved but it is only one year in a 24-year period whereby the Colorado River reservoir system has...
339 views
Mark L. Johnson
- May 10
- 2 min
Dave DeGroot-Trailblazer
Dave DeGroot-Grand Canyon One of the great benefits of the Tortolita Alliance (TA) is meeting and working with wonderfully talented...
259 views
Mark L. Johnson
- May 7
- 1 min
Dry But Colorful
Hedgehog Cactus Tortolita Preserve (4/23/23) Hiked the Wild Burro-Alamo Springs-Spur Trail early this morning. The lower trail potions...
205 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Apr 22
- 2 min
TA Tidbits #43-Blitz & Bitz
The following serves to update some important activities at the Tortolita Preserve (TP) and Upper Javelina Trail. TP Spring Bioblitz The...
316 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Apr 10
- 4 min
Saguaro Facts & Status
It has not been a good year for our treasured saguaros. Strong-Arm passed after a wonderful 160-year life in the Tortolita Preserve. We...
475 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Mar 26
- 1 min
March Gladness
Most likely your favorite team(s) have been eliminated from the NCAA basketball tournament. So its time for a little March Gladness to...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Mar 4
- 1 min
Snowscapes
Tortolita Preserve-Snow Bound (3/2/23) The rare Sonoran Desert snow event on Thursday, March 2, 2023 was beautiful and captured for...
279 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Feb 25
- 2 min
TA Tidbits # 41-Tortolita Preserve Project Updates
Tortolita Dawn (TP-9/25/22) Tortolita Alliance (TA ) attended a presentation by Marana Parks & Recreation (MPR) on 2/23/23 at the...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Feb 12
- 1 min
A Wild Mustang Valentine
Happy Valentine's Day From The Wild Mustang Trail! Hiked the Wild Mustang Trail (9 miles) last Sunday. See 3-D video of the hike and...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Feb 5
- 1 min
TP Naturalists
Tortolita Preserve-Cool & Captivating (Mark & Shirley-2/1/23) The Arizona Master Naturalist Association (AZMNA) held their annual meeting...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Jan 22
- 3 min
Marana Water DAWS Modification-Part I Introduction & DAWS Basics
Introduction Marana Water (MW) applied to modify its Designated Assured Water Supply (DAWS) with the Arizona Department of Water...
351 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Jan 15
- 1 min
Shades of Gray Make The Day
Wild Burro Wash & Trail 1/15/23 Hiking the Tortolita Preserve or the Tortolita Mountain Trails on a cloudy, pre-storm day is just as...
238 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Dec 17, 2022
- 2 min
TP Holiday Cheer!
Tortolita Preserve (12/10/22) Mule Deer Jumping For Joy Good news from Marana Parks & Recreation (MPR) on three Tortolita Preserve (TP)...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Dec 4, 2022
- 2 min
TA Reflections & Future
The Beginning The Tortolita Alliance (TA) was formed three years ago in response to efforts by the Town of Marana (Marana) and the...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Nov 26, 2022
- 2 min
TA Tidbits # 40-Water, BioBlitz and Crime & Planes
Water Year 2022 Update Tortolita Alliance (TA) attended the Local Drought Impact Group (LDIG) Meeting via Microsoft Team on November 8,...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Nov 19, 2022
- 1 min
BioBlitz Bonanza!
The first ever Tortolita Preserve Fall BioBlitz was a huge success with 683 observations by 46 observers and 73 identifiers with 136...
264 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Nov 12, 2022
- 1 min
TP BioBlitz (11/19) Sign-Up Reminder
A BioBlitz is an event to inventory as many species as possible in a specific area during a specific time frame. Using the smartphone app...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Oct 29, 2022
- 2 min
TP BioBlitz Sign-Up
A BioBlitz is an event to inventory as many species as possible in a specific area during a specific time frame. Using the smartphone app...
240 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Oct 20, 2022
- 3 min
TA Tidbits #39-Saguaros, BioBlitz & H2O
Tortolita Preserve-Fiery Monsoon Skies Old Growth Sagauro Deaths-Bacterial Infection & Climate Change Strong-arm passed on 8/4/22 and is...
314 views
Jill Kismet
- Aug 28, 2022
- 4 min
A Keystone Of The Sonoran Desert: Why Old Saguaros Matter
When I stand beside a truly massive saguaro, I am in constant awe of their magnificence – as I’m sure you are. I reflect on its...
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Jill Kismet
- Aug 21, 2022
- 4 min
Sky Ranch Reserve: A Critical Home To Marana’s Wildlife Is Under Threat
Did you know the residential community of Sky Ranch, near Tangerine Road and Camino de Manana, is home to a 409-acre Reserve? Yep, for...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Jun 1, 2022
- 1 min
TA Tidbits # 38-Strong Arm & TP Update
The Mighty Strong-Arm Strong-Arm was host to another Great Horned Owlet this Spring which has now fledged the nest and is hopefully doing...
290 views
Mark L. Johnson
- May 15, 2022
- 1 min
Iron-would Bloom?
Tortolita Preserve (5/15/22) Old Timer (left) and Youngster (right) Ironwood Trees No Bloom Recently I have seen ironwood trees in...
268 views
Mark L. Johnson
- May 1, 2022
- 1 min
May 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...
187 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Apr 24, 2022
- 1 min
TA Tidbits #37- Ridgeline Revival & More
Recovery From 2020 Wildfire-Ridgeline Trail Ridgeline Revival TA Members Joe Thomas and Kit Nidever hiked the Ridgeline Trail on April 5...
236 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Apr 6, 2022
- 1 min
TA Tidbits # 36-Tortolita Red & TP Update
Tortolita Red Ocotillo Blooming & Pyrruloxia (Desert Cardinal) TA has been working closely with Marana Parks & Recreation (MPR) and...
364 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Mar 13, 2022
- 1 min
Zoom 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...
196 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Mar 6, 2022
- 1 min
Freedom!
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...
272 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Feb 26, 2022
- 2 min
TA Tidbits #35 Petitions, Owls & New Water Agency
Town Council Candidates Need More Signed Petitions Thanks to everyone who have signed the Non-Partisan Nomination Petitions for Patrick...
366 views
Tortolita Alliance
- Feb 16, 2022
- 2 min
TA Tidbits #34 Petitions & More
Meet The Change4Marana Candidates-Sign Petitions Patrick Cavanaugh, Mark Johnson and Tim Kosse are running for Marana Town Council as the...
288 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Feb 6, 2022
- 2 min
Mark 4 Marana Town Council Campaign
I 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...
1,329 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Jan 30, 2022
- 1 min
TA Tidbits #33 Elections & Reflections
Wild Burro-Alamo Springs Spur Hike (1/30/22) Wild Burro Upper Valley At Dawn Desert Spoon Making A Comeback Chuparosa-First Spring Wild...
297 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Jan 11, 2022
- 1 min
TP West & The Mound
Tortolita Preserve West Looking North & East Toward Dove Mountain From The Mound Happy New Year! Hiked the western portion of the...
337 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Dec 18, 2021
- 2 min
TA Tidbits #32-2021 Wrap Up
Night Watch Great Horned Owl keeps watch over the Tortolita Preserve! Tortolita Preserve-Trail Counter Update The Marana Parks &...
315 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Dec 4, 2021
- 2 min
TA Tidbits #31 BioBlitz & More
Tortolita Preserve-Natural Resource Survey (BioBlitz) TA met with representatives from Marana Parks & Recreation (MPR), Arizona Game &...
279 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Nov 17, 2021
- 3 min
Dove Mountain Development Status November 2021
Tortolita Preserve At Sunrise Dove Mountain Development 101 In June 2021, TA published a Dove Mountain Development Status blog that...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Nov 14, 2021
- 3 min
The Case Of The Missing HCP
Another Marana mystery is solved! This time its about wildlife and habitat. What the heck is an HCP? HCP is the acronym for Habitat...
347 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Oct 21, 2021
- 1 min
Trailblazers!
(L to R) Thom Rossa (TA Director), Dave Barker (TA Secretary), Chris Garrow (Trail Maintenance Crew Member), Mary Grodman (Natural...
247 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Oct 10, 2021
- 2 min
TA Tidbits # 28 Save The Happy Habitat
Tortolita Mountains Photo by Nancy Major Huge Sonoran Desert Tortoise Found In Tortolita Preserve Marenis Kansfield (TA member) came upon...
280 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Sep 26, 2021
- 1 min
Saguaro Destruction-Part 2
Bulldozer Topples Beautiful Saguaro Saguaro Reserve-Dove Mountain Photograph published with photographer's permission Marana Response To...
517 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Sep 25, 2021
- 1 min
TA Alert! Chopper Activity Dove Mountain
You may have heard a helicopter buzzing Dove Mountain early this morning (midnight to 1 AM) and again currently (7:30 AM). Marana PD...
657 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Sep 19, 2021
- 1 min
Saguaro Destruction
Several TA Members have reported the destruction of older saguaros at the Saguaro Reserve Subdivision (173 homes) now being mass graded...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Sep 12, 2021
- 1 min
Green Going Brown
Hiked the Tortolita Preserve (TP) Big Loop early this morning. Only a few weeks after the end of the monsoonal rains and the undergrowth...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Sep 3, 2021
- 2 min
Marana Sales Tax Increase Considerations
Marana 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...
202 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Aug 30, 2021
- 2 min
TA Tidbits # 26 I-11, Land & Water
Tortolita Preserve (8/28/21)-Four Pots Of Gold Interstate 11 (I-11) Update Thanks to all the Tortolita Alliance (TA) members that wrote...
187 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Aug 17, 2021
- 1 min
Lush-Us
Tortolita Preserve Wash After Summer Monsoonal Rains August 2021 On Sunday, I hiked the Tortolita Preserve (TP) with three TA members who...
281 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Jul 18, 2021
- 1 min
Green Acres
Last week there were two nice rain events in the Tortolita Preserve (TP) with 0.7 inch on Wednesday and 0.3 inch on Friday for a total of...
277 views
Mark L. Johnson
- Jul 11, 2021
- 2 min
TA Tidbits #25-TA Logo-Patches, Website Improvements & Something Called Rain
TA Logo & Patches We are happy to announce that the beautiful Tortolita Alliance (TA) logo has received official Trade Mark (TM) status...
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Mark L. Johnson
- Jun 29, 2021
- 1 min
Alert! Tortolita Preserve Now Open
Good Afternoon. Marana Park & Recreation just contacted the Tortolita Alliance (TA) to let us know that the Arizona State Land...
228 views
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