Annual NLCD animation showing the Tucson, Arizona, area from 1985-2023

In this animation produced from Annual NLCD data, the Coronado National Forest is shown in dark green to the northeast of Tucson, Arizona, which is the larger area shown in red. Saguaro National Park has two units, one on either side of Tucson, and the San Xavier Indian Reservation lies to the south of Tucson. At bottom center, note the red area indicating the narrow vertical Sahuarita-Green Valley area. The animation shows Tucson and the Sahuarita-Green Valley footprints gradually increasing in size from 1985 to 2023. Meanwhile, you can also note that the Coronado National Forest had significant fires back to back during the early 2000s, shown by the reduction in dark green area: The Bullock Fire burned 30,000 acres in 2002, and the Aspen Fire burned 84,000 acres in 2003. Then in 2020, after the area had experienced some recovery, the Bighorn Fire burned 119,000 acres.