Showing ordinances that apply to Ajo, AZ
Ajo is an unincorporated community (population 3,039) in Pima County, Arizona. Because Ajo is not an incorporated city, it does not have its own municipal code. Instead, Pima County ordinances apply directly to properties here. The heritage & protected trees rules below are the ones that govern your area.
Saguaro cactus is Highly Safeguarded under ARS 3-904. Destroying one without an AZ Dept of Agriculture permit is a Class 4 felony punishable by up to 3.75 years in prison.
The saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) is Arizonas most aggressively protected native plant. Under ARS 3-904 and the Arizona Native Plant Law, the saguaro appears on the Highly Safeguarded list, meaning any harvest, collection, or destruction requires written permission from the landowner and notification tags from the Arizona Department of Agriculture. Other highly safeguarded Sonoran Desert species in Pima County include Arizona ironwood (Olneya tesota), desert willow, and numerous cactus species. Pima County Code Chapter 18.72 supplements state law by requiring native plant surveys and preservation plans for all development projects. The county maintains a list of salvage-priority species that must be transplanted when development cannot avoid them. Saguaro arms take decades to grow, and large specimens may be several hundred years old, making them irreplaceable. Even dead saguaro skeletons (ribs) are protected from commercial collection on state land.
Destroying a highly safeguarded plant: Class 4 felony under ARS 3-904 (up to 3.75 years imprisonment). Theft of saguaro: Class 4 felony. County development violations: project shutdown, mandatory replacement at 2:1 ratio or greater.
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