Adding to 290 acres protected back in 2008 in partnership with the Trust, an additional 27 acres in Cochie Canyon located in the Tortolita Mountains was purchased by Pima County in 2015 as part of its Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. …
Sandhill Farm
Each winter, along Southern Arizona’s Whitewater Draw, approximately 20 miles southeast of Tombstone, thousands of sandhill cranes arrive at Sandhill Farm to feed, loaf and prepare to migrate. In partnership with landowners Blanton and Betty Belk and utilizing U.S. Fish …
Circle Z Ranch
As the oldest continuously operating dude ranch in Arizona, the Trust partnered with the ranch owners to protect 3,200 acres and a 2-mile stretch of Sonoita Creek that flows through the property. The creek includes sections of perennial flow, a …
Sands Ranch
As the most significant grasslands habitat acquisition in Pima County’s history, protection of the Sands Ranch, in partnership with the Trust, permanently protects this longtime working ranch. The project also secures a critical link between the Las Cienegas National Conservation …
Clyne Ranch
Expanding an interconnected system of conserved lands stretching from the Santa Rita to the Whetsone Mountains in the Sonoita region south of Tucson, protection of the Clyne Ranch was made possible through the Trust’s partnership with Pima County. The project …
Waterman Property
In partnership with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Trust assisted in expanding protected areas within the Ironwood Forest National Monument. Previously a privately owned inholding, this property is now permanently incorporated …
Pat P. Lopez, III
A sixth-generation Tucsonan, Pat is a real estate and business attorney whose clients include homebuilders, commercial developers, ranchers, and businesses of all types. He is a partner in Rusing & Lopez, P.L.L.C. which he formed in 1992 with fellow Stanford …
Diana Freshwater, President
Diana is a conservationist, land planner, and formerly a partner at The Planning Center, a west coast based planning consulting firm. Diana was the Trust’s first full-time Executive Director, leading the organization to six full-time staff and establishing the Trust …
Ben Brophy, Vice President
Ben comes from a third generation ranching family and is the Managing Partner of the Babacomari Ranch Company in southeast Arizona, the largest contiguous private land parcel in Arizona. Ben has been with Cargill, based in Wichita, Kansas, for over …