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How To Handle A Fallen Saguaro Cactus

Have you ever seen a fallen saguaro or had one fall at your home?  Saguaro cactus are protected by the State of Arizona through the Native Protective Act with the AZ Department of Agriculture.  I was able to speak to someone on the phone this past week to confirm that if you have a saguaro that goes down on your private property you DO NOT need a permit to remove it.  However, if you no longer want to have a living/standing saguaro at your property you must have a permit to have it moved.  Because it is protected you cannot cut it down and/or kill the cactus.  The good news is that if you have a saguaro that you want to have removed from your home you will not have any problem finding someone that will likely take it off your property for free.  Meaning you can advertise on Craigslist or OfferUp and you can easily find someone that would pay to have it moved over to their property.  In fact, you can sometimes sell the cactus if it is large enough with arms since they are even rarer and more in demand.

These saguaros live to be 150-200 years old and take 50 years to get 4 feet tall with average roots only 6” deep at maturity.  Because these are protected by the state it is a Class 4 felony to have one removed without a permit unless it has already fallen.   Here is a link to a blog that talks about the legal ramifications of removing a saguaro;

https://cronkitezine.asu.edu/spring2010/arizonalaws/nativeplants.html

If you want to get a permit you can contact the AZ Department of Agriculture at this link;

https://agriculture.az.gov/plantsproduce/native-plants

Here is a link to a local contractor that specializes in selling or moving saguaros;

https://www.roadrunnercactus.com/

Native Protective Act of AZ, plants protected by AZ law

https://agriculture.az.gov/sites/default/files/Native%20Plant%20Rules%20-%20AZ%20Dept%20of%20Ag.pdf

Here is a link to a blog from the National Parks Service that explains the threats to saguaros;

https://www.nps.gov/sagu/learn/nature/saguaro_threats.htm#:~:text=Other%20threats%20to%20the%20saguaro,of%20any%20plant%20is%20illegal

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