Drought improves in some areas of Southern Arizona but not all

Teaching people about Arizona’s native plants isn’t just Amy Belk’s job; it’s her passion.She’s a part of the restoration section of Pima County’s natural resource division and knows saving water is important to the environment and the future of Arizona.“It’s just becoming more and more important that we consider it,” Belk said.Belk is doing more than just considering it though. She was at the Sustainable Plants Expo on Saturday explaining to Tucsonans that plants which are native to Arizona don’t need to be watered as often.“The plants that grow here in the desert have adapted to the amount of water and the rainfall that we get here,” Belk said.She suggests using a xeriscape landscape to help preserve water. It’s a type of landscaping that uses plants like succulents that don’t need a lot of water.“They don’t have very deep roots, so those roots are able to take up that water and they store the water through the summer and through the dry parts of the year,” she said.Southern Arizona has gotten some rain in recent weeks and even some snow, which is helping the drought conditions in some areas, but not all.According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, over half of Cochise County is in a “yellow zone” which means that their soil is dry and the risk for fires goes up.Pima County is a much different story with only about 12 percent of the county in the yellow zone, which includes Green Valley. The rest of it is in the “white zone” which means it’s not in jeopardy of abnormally dry conditions.They said just last month in February, the amount of precipitation throughout Arizona was almost above average.No matter what the rain levels are throughout Arizona, the Tucson Mountains Association is also promoting using plants native to Arizona to preserve water.Denise Baldwin, their president, is passionate about the environment and serving the local ecosystem.She uses a passive water system, which uses shallow basins in the ground to hold water.“They naturally will water your plants when it does rain,” Baldwin said.However, even succulent plants need the right kind of soil to thrive.Kelsey Landreville with Pima County Natural Resources Parks and Rec said Arizona has a lot of caliche, a layer of soil. She said it sometimes creates pockets of water.She said soils with clays and silts hold more moisture and said plants that are in soil build up carbon, which helps them keep in moisture.“So that’s another thing that helps plants be more resilient to drought,” Landreville said.