Las Cienegas National Conservation Area
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The Las Cienegas National Conservation Area is a
National Conservation Area National Conservation Area is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States. They are nature conservation areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the National Landscape Conservation System. Restrictions vary b ...
of
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, located in the transitional zone between the
Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...
and the
Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower P ...
.


Description

Facing housing and commercial development, more than of rolling
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...
s and
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
s in Arizona’s
Pima Pima or PIMA may refer to: People * Pima people, the Akimel O'odham, Indigenous peoples in Arizona (U.S.) and Sonora (Mexico) Places * Pima, Arizona, a town in Graham County * Pima County, Arizona * Pima Canyon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains ...
and Santa Cruz counties was protected as a National Conservation Area. The region’s rolling grasslands,
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
-studded hills that connect several "sky island" mountain ranges, and lush riparian corridors attract both people and wildlife. Ciénega Creek, with its perennial flow and riparian corridor, supports a diverse plant and animal community. The Empire and Cienega
ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
es, along with portions of the adjacent Rose Tree and Vera Earl ranches, were put under public ownership and managed by
Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
(BLM) under the principles of multiple-use and
ecosystem management Ecosystem management is an approach to natural resource management that aims to ensure the long-term sustainability and persistence of an ecosystems function and ecosystem service, services while meeting socioeconomic, political, and cultural need ...
for future generations to use and enjoy. The BLM has formed a partnership with the nonprofit Empire Ranch Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving the historic buildings and surrounding landscapes.


Gallery

File:Empire_Ranch_Arizona_Cienega_Creek_Cottonwoods_September_2007.jpg, Cottonwood trees along Cienega Creek. File:Old_Shack_Las_Cienegas_National_Conservation_Area_2007.jpg, An old shack along Cienega Creek. File:Bracket_Fungus_Las_Cienegas_National_Conservation_Area_September_2007.jpg,
Bracket fungus A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
in the NCA.


See also

*
Empire Ranch Empire Ranch is a working cattle ranch in southeastern Pima County, Arizona, that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In its heyday, Empire Ranch was one of the largest in Arizona, with a range spanning over , and it ...
*
List of protected grasslands of North America The protected grasslands of North America consist of prairies, with a dominant vegetation type of herbaceous plants like grasses, sedges, and other prairie plants, rather than woody vegetation like trees. This ecosystem was generally dominant w ...


References


External links

*
Las Cienegas National Conservation Area
- official site {{authority control Santa Cruz River (Arizona) National Conservation Areas of the United States Protected areas of Arizona Grasslands of Arizona Protected areas established in 2000 Protected areas of Pima County, Arizona Protected areas of Santa Cruz County, Arizona Bureau of Land Management areas in Arizona Units of the National Landscape Conservation System Protected areas of the Sonoran Desert Protected areas of the Chihuahuan Desert Geography of Pima County, Arizona Geography of Santa Cruz County, Arizona 2000 establishments in Arizona