PROPOSED CAVE CREEK CANYON SPECIAL DESIGNATION AS A ZOOLOGICAL-BOTANICAL AREA

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1 PROPOSED CAVE CREEK CANYON SPECIAL DESIGNATION AS A ZOOLOGICAL-BOTANICAL AREA Proposed Name: Cave Creek Canyon Bird of Prey Zoological Botanical Area (ZBA). Size: Approximately 130 km 2 Boundaries: The Cave Creek Canyon Bird of Prey ZBA will overlie the Cave Creek watershed, including its tributary Silver Creek (Figure 1, map). It is also defined administratively as the Cave Creek grazing allotment. Elevation range: Approximately 1400 to 2950 meters General description of area: Located in the northeast corner of the Chiricahua Mountains, Cave Creek Canyon lies in eastern Cochise County in southeast Arizona, approximately 16 km west of the New Mexico line and 80 km north of the Mexican border. The Cave Creek drainage is one of the longest in the Chiricahuas. It is world famous for its biodiversity and as a birding area is renowned and the abundance and variety of its bird life. The area includes some designated Wilderness and the existing South Fork Zoological Botanical area. Apart from a 65-hectare private inholding divided between 9 owners, including the American Museum s Southwest Research Station, the proposed area lies within the Coronado s Chiricahua Ecosystem Management Area in the Douglas Ranger District. The town of Portal has about 150 residents and is situated in and northeast of the canyon entrance. Portal is primarily a retirement community, many of whose residents use the forest on a daily basis. Current uses: Cave Creek Canyon is currently used for biological research, bird watching, education, ecotourism-based and private wildlife viewing, grazing, hiking, camping, and hunting. There are 11 USFS leased summer recreation residences in the watershed. Justification for designation: In recent years, a singular fact has emerged from research I and others have done in the area: the Cave Creek area supports the US s densest known population of nesting raptors. This single fact makes it of global biological significance. Owls are particularly abundant in this important refugium. This area may well have the world s densest nesting population of owls. In an approximately 50 km 2 study area (Figure 1) through the 2008 season I found 305 nesting pairs of hawks, falcons, owls, falcons, eagles, ravens and vultures. At 6.1 pr/ km 2, the concentration of breeding raptors is over 5 times that of Idaho s famous Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, managed by the BLM, where 16 species of raptors are found nesting at a density of 1 pr/km 2. A total of 24 species of birds of prey breed in the Cave Creek study area and 6 more species have nested within 16 km of the proposed ZBA. An additional 6 winter or regularly pass by on migration, for a total of 36 species of birds of prey using this area in southeast Arizona (Table 1). Five species of small owl comprise 80% of the nesting pairs of raptors, some nesting as close as 30 m from conspecifics. Arizona s first nesting record for Short-tailed Hawks was documented just off the proposed Cave Creek ZBA in

2 Habitats: The Chiricahuas are the largest of the 11 sky island mountain systems on the Coronado, and along the 40 km of Cave Creek and its major tributaries the mix of sycamores and oaks supports dense populations of Acorn Woodpeckers, an important source of nest cavities used by small owls. Other habitats within the proposed area include spruce-fir and mixed conifer, pine and Madrean evergreen oak woodlands, sycamore riparian associations, mesquite, desert scrub and pinon-juniper. Rhyolite cliffs provide structural diversity plus nesting sites, roosting and foraging habitat for several species of raptors. The tall canyon walls and generally southwest to northeast aspect of the drainage mean the riparian area is somewhat sheltered from summer extremes and is more mesic than other similar-sized canyons. Cave Creek has surface water down to about the 1600 m level in summer, lower in winter. Other important facts: Ecotourism and research are the most significant economic activities and 95% of the local businesses in and around Portal are related to or dependent in one way or another on the famed biotic richness of this area. The National Audubon Society has designated all of the Chiricahuas as an Important Bird Area IBA) at the Continental level, and it just awarded the Chiricahuas a Global level IBA this year due to the numbers of Mexican Spotted Owls. The Chiricahua Regional Council and Tucson Audubon Society have endorsed the idea of a Special Designation for the Cave Creek Canyon area. The American Museum of Natural History s Southwest Research Station (SWRS) has been based in the canyon since Hundreds of research projects have been conducted on and around the SWRS grounds, including long-term studies stretching over decades. The South Fork Zoological Botanical Area was established to protect the South Fork ecosystem. This area is heavily visited by birders in search of the Elegant Trogon, a highly sought-after bird with a mainly Mexican distribution, and several species of owl including Whiskered Screech Owl, Spotted Owl and Flammulated Owl. The USFS has a historic ranger station near Portal now operated intermittently as a Visitor Information Center. A local Friends of Cave Creek Canyon group and the Chiricahua Desert Museum are potential partners for interpretive activities. The Nature Conservancy has a small preserve created by easements on private land below the USFS boundary above Portal. There are five developed UDSA Forest Service campgrounds and a picnic area in the canyon. Campgrounds are used year-round by birders, hunters, and others seeking recreation. Hiking trails follow the larger drainages, several other trails offer routes to high country and the Crest Trail traverses the upper end of the watershed. Hunting is an important use in fall and winter months, with little conflict with peak birding season in spring and summer. The area along the canyon bottom is off limits to weapons discharge in a km-wide wide strip from the Forest boundary to above the Southwest Research Station. Rhyolite is not suitable for climbing and rock-climbing is not often practiced in the canyon so disturbance to birds of prey from climbing is not an issue. 2

3 One grazing lease is in current use in the proposed ZBA; its boundaries are the same as the proposed special designation area, i.e. the Cave Creek watershed. The raptor censuses were done under current and historic levels of grazing and grazing appears to be compatible with the raptor populations. 13,000 acres at the scenic mouth of the canyon were withdrawn from mineral entry in the early 1990s by an act of Congress as a result of a citizen campaign to stop a gold mine. The area includes the existing South Fork ZBA, and some Wilderness Area. Threats: The greatest ongoing threat to the proposed ZBA is fire, although the Burro Fire in 2005 and the Horseshoe I and II Fires in 2010 and 2011 were managed with the specific goal of protecting natural resource values, particularly the riparian area in South Fork. In recent years, human and drug smuggling traffic has increased and it has moved into the mountains from the valleys. Trash, wildfire starts and human waste are a problem in some heavily-traveled areas. Arizona is growing fast and a longer-term threat is increased visitation pressure on the area from people seeking shade and cool temperatures for recreation in the summer months. Pressure can be expected from interests wanting to expand campgrounds and other facilities. Forest users participating in 2006 forest planning focus groups have identified silence, peace and quiet and the absence of man-made noise as important forest values. Birding is done by ear as well as by sight, and noise abatement should be a part of a management plan. Current sources of noise include generators used at Sunny Flats after it was paved and made RVaccessible; groups on motorcycles touring through the canyon; and low-flying aircraft are a source of noise as well as a threat to certain nesting raptors, in particular Golden Eagles which are intolerant of close approach during incubation and early nestling stages. Aerotrekking (the practice of flying ultralights only yards from cliffs, canyon walls or the ground) is a potentially major source of disturbance to nesting raptors, and is probably illegal under several US and State wildlife protection laws. Recommendations for future uses and management direction: Current uses are compatible with a future special designation for the Cave Creek Bird of Prey ZBA. Management of the ZBA should be planned via a USFS-appointed team of local research, business and recreation interests. The Forest Service Manual Chapter 2300 provides guidelines developing and updating management guidelines for special areas. USFS-issued Special Use Permits (Research, Outfitter-guide, Grazing, and Summer Recreation Residence) should be continue to be issued and administered as before, without creating additional application or compliance requirements. Research should continue to be a primary use and be managed as it is at present via individual or institutional research permits. Standard research techniques now in use should continue to be permitted. Recreation management direction should be primarily for birding and quiet recreation while limiting man-made sounds like generator and aircraft noise. Trail, road and campground maintenance should continue but no further paving of campgrounds or widening, re-routing or additional paving of roads should occur. John Hands picnic area is currently without a restroom. It needs a latrine to prevent habitat and water quality damage. 3

4 Tree cavities are particularly important to small owls. Firewood dead-and-down permits and removal of hazard trees should be done carefully as many of these trees support multiple bird nests as well as bat, rodent, insect and reptile shelter. Fences need to be maintained to keep cattle within pastures in the allotment and out of the fenced riparian areas. Grazing should be allowed to continue with monitoring of utilization. Use of existing summer recreation residences, campgrounds and picnic areas for general forest recreation should continue. The Visitor Information Center should be staffed at least March 1 - December 31 (birding and hunting seasons), and interpretive material and programs developed to highlight the Cave Creek Canyon Bird of Prey ZBA. Non-birder visitors may come specifically to see birds of prey, and this should be anticipated and prepared for, especially if and when this designation draws media attention. Prepared by: Helen Snyder PO Box Portal AZ HelenSnyder@vtc.net 4

5 Table 1: Species of raptors utilizing the Cave Creek Canyon study area. Four species in study area nested off USFS-managed land. The proposed ZBA will have 20 of the 24 species nesting in the study area. RAPTORS USING THE CAVE CREEK CANYON STUDY AREA NESTING SPECIES NO. PAIRS SPECIES NESTING WITHIN 16 km OF STUDY AREA Barn Owl * 2 Northern Harrier Burrowing Owl * 1 Gray Hawk Elf Owl 64 Harris Hawk Flammulated Owl 11 Short-tailed Hawk Long-eared Owl 1 Black Hawk Western Screech Owl 45 White-tailed Kite Whiskered Screech Owl 73 Northern Pygmy Owl 25 Saw-whet Owl 1 WINTERING SPECIES Mexican Spotted Owl 6 Ferruginous Hawk Great Horned Owl 15 Merlin Golden Eagle 1 Short-eared Owl Peregrine Falcon 5 Prairie Falcon 2 American Kestrel 2(3)** MIGRANTS & VAGRANTS Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Bald Eagle Cooper's Hawk 14 Black Vulture Northern Goshawk 1 Osprey Swainson's Hawk * 1 Red-tailed Hawk 11 Zone-tailed Hawk 4 Turkey Vulture 9 Chihuahuan Raven * 1 Common Raven TOTAL * species nesting in study area and adjacent to USDA Forest Service land ** Am. Kestrel 3 pairs were simultaneously active in the 1970s, but only two sites were active during this study. 5

6 Figure 1:Draft map of proposed Cave Creek Canyon ZBA special designation area showing approximately 50 km 2 study area (dashed line) and proposed ZBA boundary (solid line). Not shown is the 65-hectare private inholding approximately in the center along the canyon bottom. 6