Park History

Proclaimed national monument:
March 1, 1933.

Transferred from USFS to USDA:
Aug. 10, 1933

Boundary changes:
Nov. 15, 1961; Oct. 21, 1976; June 19, 1991; Oct.  4, 1994.

Designated Wilderness Area:
Oct. 20, 1976.

Established as a national park:
Oct. 4, 1994.

Exploration & Settlement

Hispanic, Mexican, and Anglo settler sporadically arrived in the Tucson Basin and from the 1600s on, but in the mid-1800s, overgrazing of grasslands, mining for copper and large-scale clearing of land for homes destroyed the habitat of many desert plants and animals. Subsequent flooding and erosion killed many native species and allowed scrub to take over. With the designation of the Monument and elimination of grazing, these habitats have begun to restore themselves, but urbanization of Tucson remains a threat to this wilderness.