Villages at Vigneto

2019 Updates: The Clean Water Permit has been suspended and now re-issues again as of August 2019.

Tucson Audubon will continue to press for a full Environmental Impact Statement and analysis of impacts of threatened and endgageered species.

November 2018 update: The Army Corps of Engineers has re-issued El Dorado Benson LLC their Clean Water 404 permit with revisions. Tucson Audubon is working with our partners to determine next steps to protect the San Pedro River Valley.

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LATEST UPDATE: Extensive efforts by Tucson Audubon and our partners resulted in the Army Corps of Engineers suspending the proposed Villages at Vigneto’s inadequate, outdated 2006 Clean Water Act 404 Permit in July 2016. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now seeking Public Comments to determine whether to revoke, modify or reinstate the Villages at Vigneto’s outdated 2006 permit.

Originally proposed in 2003 as Whetstone Ranch on 8200 acres, Villages at Vigneto would fragment 12,817 acres (almost 20 square miles) of high desert grasslands and inter-braided washes southwest of Benson, AZ, current population 5,100. El Dorado Benson LLC proposes 29,400 new homes, golf courses, artificial lakes, Italianate non-native vegetation, shopping and recreation centers, and is intended to attract up to 70,000 new residents with a Tuscany in the desert theme. This population explosion would dramatically impact the environment surrounding Benson and significantly alter the San Pedro River watershed.