Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area
Protected area in Pima County, Arizona
The Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area is the longest continuously active rangeland research facility and among the five oldest biological field stations in the United States. Located south of Tucson in Pima County, Arizona, the 52,000 acre Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) was founded in 1903 and administered by the United States Forest Service until 1987, when the University of Arizona College of Agriculture took over administration of the site. The mission at the SRER is "to advance research and education on the ecology and management of desert rangelands through the secure, long-term access to research areas, state-of-the-art facilities, new discoveries, and research legacies."
Environmental data
The SRER makes available several spatial and time series data sets for research purposes including monthly resolution precipitation data from 1922 to present, long term vegetation response studies, and livestock grazing histories. Additionally, the SRER maintains a repeat photography archive, allowing researchers to visually inspect land cover and landscape changes for 117 locations from as early as 1902 to present. The National Ecological Observatory Network also publicly publishes data collected on the range.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area” is protected area in Pima County, Arizona. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Santa, Rita and Experimental, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “protected area in Pima County, Arizona” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16899775. The Library of Congress control number is sh96010284. Authority coordinates are 31.833, -110.853. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1903, 1987, 1922 and 1902.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area primary sources, Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area archive and Santa research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.