[Source: Arizona Republic] -- Arizona's cowboy-and-cattle heritage is vanishing as subdivisions and "ranchettes" take over grazing land. Fortunately, there's a growing push to save some remnant of ranching. And a growing understanding that this open space is more than a picturesque backdrop. The grasslands are vital to maintaining our wildlife habitat and water supplies. Sunset magazine recently included Pima County and Arizona Open Land Trust among its "champions of the West," an annual environmental award, for their work in preserving a pair of ranches. The non-profit land trust helped in negotiations with the family that owned the Santa Lucia Ranch and Rancho Seco, which lie southwest of Tucson in the mesquite-dotted Altar Valley. Pima County supervisors in 2005 approved $18.5 million to buy 9,500 acres at the ranches, plus acquire grazing rights on 27,000 acres of federal and state trust land. Family members have a lease to continue running cattle there, while the county will monitor the health of the rangeland. What's the alternative? Consider the nearby Sopori Ranch. It was sold just a year earlier - to Phoenix-based First United Realty, which is now selling lots in a subdivision there. It's a question of math. A long-term drought is pinching cattle operations. Developers, meanwhile, are offering big bucks for ranchland, which they turn around and sell as "ranchettes" in parcels of 5 acres to 40 acres. Inheritance taxes can add to the pressure. Families may be divided on whether to cash in, and those who want to keep the land often lack the money to buy out the others. Splitting up ranches can impose costs on everyone else. Fragmenting the landscape makes life harder for wildlife. Building homes in these rural areas means more wells, contributing to a drop in water tables, and more septic systems, which can threaten water quality. Serving far-flung residents puts a strain on county resources. Hanging onto ranches isn't a fuzzy sentimental notion but a practical strategy in the nation's fastest-growing state. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
