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Leslie Creek in Leslie Canyon

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Leslie Creek in Leslie Canyon Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge In Stream Flow Request for Leslie Creek in Leslie Canyon A request made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the State of Arizona Department of Water Resources By: Paul Tashjian USFWS Division of Water Management, Region 2 \ Yaqui Topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalis sonoriensis) Yaqui Chub (Gila purpurae) Abstract The Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge is located in Southeastern Arizona 17 miles north of Douglas, along the Southwestern flank of the Chiricahua Mountains. The refuge is one of two remaining habitats within the United States (including the San Bernardino NWR) for the nationally endangered Yaqui Topmimiow and Yaqui Chub. These fish once dominated habitats within the streams and cienegas of the south draining Yaqui Watershed, including Whitewater Draw and Black Draw within the U.S.A.. These habitats have deteriorated throughout Arizona and Mexico due to agricultural and groundwater development. Leslie Creek supplies this unique and pristine desert ecosystem with both vital baseflow and flushing flow waters. Insuring in stream flow rights within the Leslie Canyon NWR is essential for the survival of the endangered Yaqui Topmitmow and Yaqui Chub, and the conservation of this threatened and unique wildlife habitat. Leslie Creek in Leslie Canyon is a flashy, desert fluvial system. Though storm events create very large flow events, the base flow of the stream is very low. The Yaqui Fishes and surrounding ecosystem rely on the base flow for survival. In order to gaurd against anthropogenic depletion of this flow, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is requesting the following in stream flow rights for Leslie Creek within Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge: Discharge (cfs) Acre Feet/month January .62 38.3 February .54 33.0 March .53 32.6 April .52 32.2 May .45 27.5 June .35 21.8 July .34 21.0 August .59 36.4 September .63 38.7 October .74 45.3 November .81 49.9 December .70 43.3 Acre Feet/year= 419.9 The above numbers were derived from an analysis of the mean daily discharge record from a U.S. Geologic Survey gage within the refuge that has been operational from 1970-1977, and 1982 to present. A mean of the median monthly daily flow analysis was used to derive the baseflow requirements for the Wildlife Refuge. Table of Contents I. Introduction ............................................................................1 A. History of Procurement and Current Water Use .............1 II. Site Overview ....................................................................... 6 A. Geology ........................................................................ 9 B. Climate ........................................................................ 10 C. Geomorphology ............................................................ 17 HI. Resources ............................................................................ 23 A. Endangerd Desert Fishes ...............................................23 B. Riparian Habitat and Surrounding Ecosystems ............... 30 C. Desert Wildlife ............................................................. 31 IV. Beneficial Use Statement .....................................................32 V. Hydrologic Data Collection Technique ..................................32 VI. Streamflow Analysis ............................................................ 42 VII. Possible Impacts on the Leslie Creek Hydrosytem ........... 43 VIII. In Stream Flow Request ...................................................45 References .................................................................................. 46 Appendices I. Geomorphology Survey ..........................................................48 IL USGS Gage Information ...................................................... 52 List of Figures Figure 1: p.2, Overview photograph of Leslie Creek, Swisshelm Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains. Figure 2: p.4, Map of the Leslie Creek Watershed. Figure 3: p.7, Map of the Yaqui Drainage. Figure 4: p. 11, Annual Precipitation Record (inches per year), Douglas, AZ. figure 5: p.13, Daily Precipitation Record of Douglas, AZ for selected years. Figure 6: p.15, Monthy Average minimum and maximum temperature (F), Douglas, AZ. Figure 7: p.18, Map of the Perrenial stretch of Leslie Creek within Leslie Canyon. Figure 8: p. 21, Photograph of a riffle in the upper section of the Perrenial stretch of Leslie Creek. Figure 9: p.26, Range and illustration of Yaqui Topminnow. Figure 10: p.28, Range and illustration of Yaqui Chub. Figure 11a,b: p.34, Daily Mean Discharge Record, Leslie Creek in Leslie Canyon, high flows (a) and low flows (b). Figure 12: p.36, Mean of the median monthly flows (taken from average daily discharge records) for Leslie Creek, 1970-1977, 1982-1989. Figure 13: p.38, Median monthly flows for the period of record. Figure 14: p.40, Daily mean flow duration curve, Leslie Creek. Acknowledgements I wish to thank the following individuals for their assistance with this report: Greg BusImer (Dept. of Water Resources, AZ), Kevin Cobble (San Bernardino NWR, refuge manager), Steve Cullinan (Division Of Water Mngt., USFWS Region 2), Les Cunningham (Division of Water Rights, USFWS Region 2), Debbie Davies (Division of Engineering, USFWS Region 2), Nita Fuller (associate manager for Refuges, USFWS Region 2), Tom Harbor (Dept. of Water Resources, AZ), and Dick Steinbach (associate manager for Refuges, USFWS Region 2). It was through the assistance of the above individuals that this application was able to be filed in a timely and informed manner. 1 I. Introduction The Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge (LCNWR) is located in Southeastern Arizona 17 miles north of Douglas, along the Southwestern flank of the Chiricahua Mountains (see Figure 1). The refuge is one of two remaining habitats within the United States (including the San Bernardino NWR) for the nationally endangered Yaqui Topmilmow and Yaqui Chub. These fish once dominated habitats within the streams and cienegas of the south draining Yaqui Watershed, including Whitewater Draw and Black Draw within the U.S.A. (Cobble, 1992a). These habitats have deteriorated throughout Arizona and Mexico due to agricultural and groundwater development (Hendrickson and Kuickley, 1984). Additionally, the refuge is home to the native fish Longfin Dace, native trees (including Velvet Ash, Fremont Cottonwood), a large assortment of native cactae, native birds, and native mammals (Smith and Bender, 1974). Leslie Creek supplies this unique and pristine desert ecosystem with both vital baseflow and flushing flow waters. Insuring in stream flow rights within the LCNWR is essential for the survival of the endangered Yaqui Topminnow and Yaqui Chub, and the conservation of this threatened and unique wildlife habitat. A. History of Procurement and Current Water Use The LCNWR was purchased by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) from the Arizona Nature Conservancy (ANC) in 1988, and consisted of a total allotment of 1240 acres (see Figure 2). The ANC, recognizing the uniqueness of Leslie Canyon and the necessity for conservation of the endangered Yaqui Fishes, purchased the 1240 acres in 1986 with an agreement for future purchase by the USFWS. Prior to 1986, the 1240 acres of the LCNWR were part of the 99 bar ranch. There are no pre-existing surface water rights on Leslie Creek within Leslie Canyon. We are requesting water rights for the perennial stretch of Leslie Creek that runs through the Leslie Canyon NWR. Since Leslie Creek runs perennial only within the confines of the refuge, there are no other interests within the region that rely on the baseflow of the creek. Above the 2 Figure 1: Overview photograph of Leslie Creek, Swisshelm Mountains and the Chiricahua Mountains. The groundwater basin separating the Swisshelm Mountains and the Chiricahua Mountains supplies Leslie Creek its' vital base flow water. , 4 Figure 2: Map of the Leslie Creek Watershed, including boundaries of the Refuge and outlines of the watershed. The watershed above the refuge has a total area of 79.1 square miles. Each grid on this map is 5 miles by 5 miles, or 25 square miles. 5 6 refuge, two ranches (99 Bar and Bar Boot, see Figure 2), have constructed check dams and windmill pumped wells within the Leslie Creek Watershed (LCW). These ranches rely on this storm and ground water for cattle. Below the refuge, Leslie Creek enters the Sulphur Springs Valley. This valley contains a large aquifer from which the towns of McNeal and Douglas draw their water. However, the aquifer is not directly linked to the flow of water in Leslie Canyon. II. Site Overview Leslie Canyon is located in the southern end of the Swisshelm Mountains, a remote and rugged ridge located along the southwestern flank of the larger Chiricahua Mountain Range (Figure 1). The Swisshelm Mountains are low and jagged with a maximum elevation of 7000 feet. The headwaters of Leslie Canyon consist of small springs within the Southwestern portion of the Chiricahuas. The elevation of Leslie Creek ranges from 6500 feet in the Chiricahuas to 4600 feet within Leslie Creek (Swisshelm mountains) to 4120 feet within the Sulfur Springs Valley. Leslie Creek is located in the northern portion of the Yaqui River Basin. Within the United States, Guadalupe Canyon, San Bernardino Valley, and Sulfur Springs Valley comprise the northern sub basins of this drainage system. These three basins join in Sonora and pass south to the Rio de Bavispe, which flows into the Rio Yaqui (Figure 3). Within the United
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