Cactus Rescue Crew

Rescue at SaddleBrooke The Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society Cactus Rescue Crew saves cacti and other native plants that would otherwise be destroyed during the development of Arizona real estate. We do not remove plants from private residences.

Typically, many transplantable native plants are simply cleared away with other desert vegetation. Since 1999, we accomplished 202 rescues, and over 40,593 native plants have been salvaged and provided with new homes throughout Southern Arizona. Plants are sold to our club members, donated to institutions such as the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Tohono Chul Park, and sold to the public at Pima County Plant Fairs and Tucson Botanical Garden sales (see our Cactus Rescue Sales page). These sales help recover the costs of Arizona Department of Agriculture permits and tags and raise funds to further our educational efforts.

Selling plants at Pima County Fair Our efforts are supplemental to the on-site retention or other salvage that may be required by the development permits. Through our alliance with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, we are able to assist with issues associated with Specially Protected and Endangered Species of cacti and succulents as well as routine salvaging of the more traditional barrels, hedgehogs, pincushions, ocotillo, small saguaros, etc. that may occur.

By providing these plants at minimal cost to homeowners and institutions in Tucson, we not only save these plants, but reduce the demand that might result in illegal collection of established plants. To see a list of the plants currently available, visit our Rescued Plants page.

To learn more about our cactus rescue program:

We have Windows Media File movies with details and lots of visuals. These are large files, so only download if you have a broadband connection:
- Our 2007 informational movie, about 12 minutes, 16 M file
- Our 2003 informational movie, about 9 minute, 21 M file
Chris Monrad, our Cactus Rescue chairman, recently had an article on our project published in the Arizona Society of Civil Engineers monthly magazine, The Arizona Civil Engineer. Follow this link to read his Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society article.
We have a PDF file with details on our efforts.
Visit our FAQ page for common questions.

For information about the legal aspects of cactus rescues:

To learn about the Statues regarding the protection and enforcement of Arizona Native Plant Laws (see Chapter 7) go to the following site: www.azleg.state.az.us/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=3
For forms for file permits and applications to be able to legally remove native plants go the this web site: www.azda.gov/esd/applicat.htm
"Letter from Arizona Dept of Agriculture regarding non-tagged Arizona Native Plants"
"Arizona Department of Agriculture Changes to Native Plant Law when moving cacti a second time"
Permits can be filled and tags purchased from the Tucson, Arizona Department of Agriculture office, located downtown at 400 W. Congress, Rm 124, phone 628-6317, Monday and Friday from 8 am to noon

Anyone who is interested in purchasing rescued cacti can request their email be placed on a sale notification list by emailing cactusrescue@tucsoncactus.org.

We will notify you as to the type of cacti for sale and location. We no longer maintain wait lists for Ocotillo and Saguaros as we seldom acquire them and have a huge demand for them when we do get them (we usually limit one or two per family)

Please note that we do not ship or take orders for rescued cacti. Contact our Member Nurseries for such services.

TCSS Members who would like to be notified weekly (Thursdays) about Cactus Rescues can email cactusrescue@tucsoncactus.org and ask to be put on the Rescue Crew notification list. You must be a paid up TCSS member to participate.

We have two downloadable PDF publications to help you plant and care for your rescued plants:

How to Plant & Care for Your New Ocotillo

How to Plant & Care for Saguaro, Barrel or Hedgehog Cactus