County supervisors declared a drought emergency at their meeting on Nov. 25, after ranchers testified about the bone-dry range areas where their cattle forage.

Parched land is the result of water levels being critically low and: rainfall being one-third to one-half the normal amount.

The declaration won’t bring moisture to the grasslands, but it will enable ranchers who bought drought insurance to collect for their losses, said Dan Bell, chair of the Santa Cruz Natural Resource Conservation District (NRCD).

Water levels are critically low and forage for animals has decreased 20 percent to 90 percent from last year, said Dean Fish, area extension agent for the Arizona Cooperative Extension in Santa Cruz County.

Bill Schock, a board member of the NRCD, brought a dry report from the weather stations he manages: “We’ve received from one-third to one-half the normal amount of rain,” Schock said. “Very little grass is growing.”

It’s not just grasses that are stifled, said Kurt Bahti, a retired employee of the state Game and Fish Department. “We’ve had a tremendous loss of native trees, especially oaks,” while noxious weeds are proliferating, he said.

Marcelino Varona Jr., a member of the county planning and zoning commission, said the state was sending a contradictory message. “On one hand, the state is telling us there’s a drought,” he said. But the Arizona Department of Water Resources continues to issue permits to developers for 100-year assured water supply.

In their drought resolution, the supervisors said the fire risk had increased and requested “all available aid from appropriate state and federal agencies.”

In other action, supervisors:

• Voted to wait one year before implementing a state Historic Preservation Heritage Grant of $117,500 for renovations to the 1904 Courthouse. It requires a county match of 50 percent, but the county can’t spend the money in its current situation, said Finance Director Jennifer St. John.

The grant was awarded in 2007, but early this year, the state “swept” the funds to balance the budget, said Community Development Director Mary Dahl. In September, the state parks board reinstated grants where some expenses had already been billed. It also extended the time limit to spend the funds.

• Voted to send letters asking U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords to support the Water Resources Development Act of 2010. One provision would raise the spending limit on certain Army Corps of Engineers projects and allow up to $56 million for the Chula Vista Flood Control Project, instead of the current $36 million.

But Congress must still appropriate the funds, said County Manager Lucero in an interview.

• Authorized the Sheriff’s Office to buy five Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs from Cropper’s Nogales Auto Center for joint operations with the Border Patrol. A grant of $239,813.25 from the federal Operation Stonegarden will reimburse the expense.

• Waived the hiring freeze to allow County Attorney George Silva to hire a temporary chief deputy to replace Thomas O’Sullivan, who was called to military duty for one year.

• Approved a line extension agreement with UniSource Energy Services (UES) to extend underground utilities to 2160 N. Congress Drive, the new courthouse and jail.

• Approved a utility right-of-way with UES for an electric power line and gas line to serve the courthouse and jail.

• Approved a resolution to recognize the Telecare program for 30 years of daily phone calls to homebound elders. Supervisor Manuel Ruiz recognized Telecare founder Frances Smith and volunteer Lina Amado, who both died in the past year.

• Listened to a presentation about using inmate labor to perform county maintenance work.