The Nature Conservancy is donating 151 acres of scenic land in Bear Canyon to Pima County for conservation.
The land is immediately south of the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area at the north end of Bear Canyon Road.
Bear Creek runs through the property and there are springs and shallow groundwater on site. The land slopes up to a cliff that offers views of the cottonwood-lined creek and saguaro-dotted foothills.
In 2008, an appraiser valued the land at $3.9 million. Pima County will pay about $8,000 in title insurance, closing costs and escrow fees to acquire the property. The Board of Supervisors is expected to give the final OK on Tuesday.
Suzanne Shields, director of the Pima County Regional Flood Control District, said preserving this upland area will help protect the watershed and important riparian habitat.
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The property is about a half-mile upstream from where Bear Canyon meets Sabino Canyon, and about two miles downstream from Seven Falls, a popular recreation spot.
There won't be much cost associated with maintaining the land as a natural area, Shields said. The county will need to maintain the wildlife-friendly fence on the Coronado National Forest boundary, she said.
The land was donated originally to The Nature Conservancy by Jack Segurson, who died in 2008. He was a Navy veteran, a longtime teacher at Catalina and Amphitheater high schools, a wrestling and swimming coach and a nature enthusiast.
In the time he owned and lived on the land, he built a house, a rock staircase, rock terraces and a cactus garden.
The county already owns about 44 acres nearby on the east side of Bear Canyon Road.
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Contact reporter Becky Pallack at bpallack@azstarnet.com or 573-4346.
