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Sky Island Alliance work in the region:
Special Management Areas
As a part of the forest planning process that has been undertaken by the Coronado National Forest under the 2008 Forest Planning Rule, our fieldwork has also identified Special Management Areas and delineating their boundaries. These Special Management Areas would have enhanced management that would provide an additional layer of protection of their biological and cultural values. Based on our fieldwork, we are recommending that the Forest Service create a Southern Peloncillo Mountains Zoological and Botanical Area (ZBA). This protected area would be established for the benefit of the Threatened Chiricahua leopard frog and rare plants, and would span 17,142 acres. This includes the existing Guadalupe Canyon Zoological and Botanical Area (3,435 acres); the Cloverdale Watershed (9,923 acres); and additions to the existing Guadalupe Canyon ZBA (3,784 acres) to incorporate the entire watershed.
We are also proposing two Special Management Areas in the Chiricahua Mountains. The Cave Creek Canyon Zoological and Botanical Area has the greatest density of breeding raptors in the country, exceeding that of the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in Idaho. This proposed ZBA would protect approximately 32,000 acres. The Barfoot Park Zoological Area is located in the upper elevations of the Chiricahuas and supports the largest known population of the rare Twin-spotted rattlesnake. One can also find here many bird species that are uncommon in the United States, such as olive warblers, Grace’s warblers, red-faced warblers, zone-tailed hawks, short-tailed hawks, yellow-eyed juncos, and Mexican chickadees. The proposed ZA would protect an additional 395 acres of high quality habitat.
Coronado Planning Campaign
The Coronado National Forest of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico is a global treasure. The Forest sits at the heart of region the Sky Island region, and is a bridge between wild realms, where the temperate Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau meet the subtropics of the Sierra Madre Occidental. These landscapes harbor a huge slice of our nation's natural heritage, including many native species found nowhere else. The region is also rich in human culture—contemporary, historic, and prehistoric.
But the Coronado is in peril. Signs are everywhere on the landscape: habitat fragmentation, the legacy of fire suppression, invasive and exotic species, water withdrawals, disturbance of cultural sites, and encroachment from Arizona's population explosion, among others. The Coronado is home to more threatened and endangered species than any other National Forest in the United States. Without stewardship that challenges these threats, more will join their ranks.
In 2006 the U.S. Forest Service initiated a planning processes that will guide forest and grassland management for the next twenty years or more. In response to this rare opportunity, Sky Island Alliance launched the Coronado Planning Campaign to work for conservation-based stewardship of the Forest. The Campaign seeks to unite the voices of diverse stakeholders with a shared vision for the future of the Coronado. The campaign is a collaboration that puts scientific information to work for the Forest, and informs the protection of National Forests throughout our state.
We have completed identification of a minimal transportation system on National Forest lands in the region, as well as roads that could be closed to de-fragment the forest landscapes. This work has resulted in the submission of recommendations to the Coronado Forest as a part of their travel management process analysis, as mandated by the 2005 US Forest Service Travel Management Rule. We have submitted recommendations for the Peloncillo Ecosystem Management Area and will submit recommendations for the Chiricahuas prior to the end of 2008.
The Coronado Planning Partnership formed in 2006 in response to the Coronado National Forest initiating revision of its Land and Resource Management Plan. Individuals and groups who care about the future integrity of the Coronado have seen forest plan revision as an exceptional opportunity to call for changes that will strengthen the conservation content of Forest management. Collectively we released State of the Coronado National Forest: An Assessment and Recommendations for the 21st Century, a tool to channel a wealth of site-specific information into conservation of the Coronado's ecosystems. This report examines history, natural history, current conditions, and threats on the Coronado National Forest and provides management recommendations.
Rural Planning Areas
We work with local government, private property owners, and land trusts to establish Rural Planning Areas (RPAs). Rural Planning Areas provide the framework for conservation easements (many already exist in these areas) and transfer of development rights (TDR) which can be transferred to the county under state statute since 2005. RPAs typically involve private lands and any associated federal and state lands used for permitted livestock grazing. Through this process it is possible to develop conservation and economic opportunities through a collaborative, public process. Arizona state law (ARS 11.806.D) allows for the establishment of a “rural planning area” in order to prepare a plan that emphasizes voluntary, non-regulatory incentives for accommodating the continuation of traditional rural and agricultural enterprises.
RPAs create a range of economic opportunities while preserving open spaces and integrate economy, ecology, and community. Two ranches worked with a broad coalition called the Diablo Canyon Trust in Coconino County. Their plan was adopted by the County Board of Supervisors and incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan. The plan area included the private lands and associated grazing leases and allotments. The Diablo Canyon RPA vision statement includes continuation of traditional working ranches as long-term, economically-viable enterprises while maintaining unfragmented landscapes and restoring native ecosystems. More information on the Diablo Canyon RPA available at:
http://www.diablotrust.org/rpa.htm
Cloverdale Restoration Project
The Cloverdale Restoration project will restore the regionally significant Cloverdale Cienega to historic conditions, enhancing habitat of the Threatened Chiricahua leopard frog, as well as other wildlife and plants found in the area. We have conducted a series of expert visits with hydrologists and restoration specialists, paleoecologists, the Forest Service, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the New Mexico Environment Department. Design work commenced in January 2008 with a series of site visits with our consulting experts and a valley bottom survey to capture baseline information on the creek channel and produce a detailed topographic map. Our initial site design was modified at the landowners request in July and we then re-visited the site with our experts to analyze the requested changes. A final site design will be finished in November 2008 and on-the ground work will commence in the spring of 2009. Read more about Sky Island Alliance's Landscape Restoration Program.
Wildlife Linkages
Wildlife linkages efforts have been focused in Granite Gap with a team of trackers collecting data on wildlife presence since 2004. Though tracking is often compromised by impacts to the soil from cattle grazing, although tracking volunteers have been able to document the presence of bobcat, fox, bighorn sheep, deer, javelina, and various small animals such as skunk. The tracking team is comprised of local residents from nearby Portal, who not only take an interest in wildlife tracking, but in addition are strong conservation advocates for the region's biodiversity. With volunteers from the recently completed training workshop, we are now able to expand our tracking search to the southern Peloncillos and contribute information to cross-border wildlife movement. Read more about Sky Island Alliance's Wildlife Linkages Program.
