Hot off the press! The Regional Open Space Strategy (ROSS) has been updated and released! The ROSS, originally published in 2017, was our guiding document for the past 8 years. The core goals (Protect & Connect, Sustain & Restore, Love & Support, and Coordinate & Elevate) have remained, but some updates were made to help us face new challenges together.
From March 2023 to December 2024, CAZCA and over 70 partner organizations worked to update the ROSS so that the Objectives and Action Items under the four goals would better reflect the ever-increasing conservation challenges Arizona faces. After feedback from CAZCA, the steering committee, partners, and the community, it was agreed that the ROSS, especially the four main goals, are largely evergreen. The newly updated ROSS now better reflects the challenges we must address in the face of climate change to conserve parks, open spaces, and natural areas for future generations. Moreover, more work needs to be done to acknowledge and connect those areas back to those indigenous people and tribes who inhabited and worked the land from time immemorial. The updates also include objectives and action items to help us better understand the history of the land and how it has changed over time to give us a more well-rounded understanding of how to protect the land from climate and other anthropogenic threats.
Some of the updates to the 2025 ROSS include:
Under Goal 1, additional objectives and action items were added that focus on biodiversity and habitat protection. For example, the objective: Maintain biodiversity in the Sonoran Desert by documenting, monitoring, and managing plant and animal species and advocating for improved human-wildlife interactions.
Under Goal 2, targeted adding waterways and a focus on biodiversity loss.
Under Goal 3, action items were added that focus on accessibility and safe spaces to engage more people in the outdoors. Specific action items added to increase education about ancestral lands and the tribal communities that call this area home.
Under Goal 4, action items were added to identify overlap between partner plans and ROSS goals, create linkages, and identify partnership opportunities to leverage resources and maximize benefits.
This updated ROSS strategic plan delivers a connected, well-managed strategy that realizes the benefits of open space for people, environment, and economy to ultimately ensure that our beautiful, diverse and incredibly unique Sonoran Desert endures and thrives!
