Arizona Missing Linkages (US-93: Wickenburg to Santa Maria River Linkage Design)
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ARIZONA MISSING LINKAGES US-93: Wickenburg to Santa Maria River Linkage Design Paul Beier, Daniel Majka submitted July 2006 last revised March 14, 2007 US-93: WICKENBURG TO SANTA MARIA RIVER LINKAGE DESIGN Acknowledgments This project would not have been possible without the help of many individuals. We thank Dr. Phil Rosen, Matt Good, Chasa O’Brien, Dr. Jason Marshal, Ted McKinney, and Taylor Edwards for parameterizing models for focal species and suggesting focal species. Catherine Wightman, Fenner Yarborough, Janet Lynn, Mylea Bayless, Andi Rogers, Mikele Painter, Valerie Horncastle, Matthew Johnson, Jeff Gagnon, Erica Nowak, Lee Luedeker, Allen Haden, and Shaula Hedwall helped identify focal species and species experts. Robert Shantz provided photos for many of the species accounts. Shawn Newell, Jeff Jenness, Megan Friggens, and Matt Clark provided helpful advice on analyses and reviewed portions of the results. Funding This project was funded by a grant from Arizona Game and Fish Department to Northern Arizona University. Recommended Citation Beier, P., and D. Majka. 2006. Arizona Missing Linkages: US-93: Wickenburg to Santa Maria River Linkage Design. Report to Arizona Game and Fish Department. School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University. Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................ I LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES...............................................................................................................................II TERMINOLOGY..................................................................................................................................................... IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................V INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................1 NATURE NEEDS ROOM TO MOVE ...............................................................................................................................1 A STATEWIDE VISION .................................................................................................................................................1 ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS LINKAGE ...........................................................................................................1 EXISTING CONSERVATION INVESTMENTS ...................................................................................................................3 THREATS TO CONNECTIVITY ......................................................................................................................................3 LINKAGE DESIGN....................................................................................................................................................7 MITIGATING BARRIERS TO MOVEMENT ....................................................................................................................12 IMPACTS OF ROADS ON WILDLIFE ............................................................................................................................12 EXISTING ROADS AND CROSSING STRUCTURES IN THE LINKAGE DESIGN AREA ......................................................12 MITIGATION FOR ROADS ..........................................................................................................................................13 EXISTING CROSSING STRUCTURES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR US-93................................................................19 APPENDIX A: LINKAGE DESIGN METHODS..................................................................................................22 FOCAL SPECIES SELECTION ......................................................................................................................................22 HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELS ...............................................................................................................................23 IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL BREEDING PATCHES & POTENTIAL POPULATION CORES ..................................................24 FIELD INVESTIGATIONS ............................................................................................................................................25 APPENDIX B: INDIVIDUAL SPECIES ANALYSES ..........................................................................................26 BADGER (TAXIDEA TAXUS ) ........................................................................................................................................28 BLACK -TAILED JACKRABBIT (LEPUS CALIFORNICUS )................................................................................................31 DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP (OVIS CANADENSIS NELSONI )..............................................................................................34 JAVELINA (TAYASSU TAJACU ) ....................................................................................................................................38 KIT FOX (VULPES MACROTIS )....................................................................................................................................41 MOUNTAIN LION (PUMA CONCOLOR )........................................................................................................................44 MULE DEER (ODOCOILEUS HEMIONUS ).....................................................................................................................47 DESERT TORTOISE (GOPHERUS AGASSIZII ) ................................................................................................................50 GILA MONSTER (HELODERMA SUSPECTUM ) ..............................................................................................................54 SUGGESTED FOCAL SPECIES NOT MODELED ............................................................................................................57 APPENDIX C: DESCRIPTION OF LAND COVER CLASSES..........................................................................58 APPENDIX D: LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................................................61 APPENDIX E: DATABASE OF FIELD INVESTIGATIONS..............................................................................65 Arizona Missing Linkages i US-93: Wickenburg to Santa Maria River Linkage Design List of Tables & Figures List of Tables TABLE 1: FOCAL SPECIES SELECTED FOR LINKAGE DESIGN SURROUNDING US-93 FROM WICKENBURG TO THE SANTA MARIA RIVER ....................................................................................................................................................... VI TABLE 2: PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF LAND COVER CLASSES WITHIN ½ MILE (800 M ) OF US-93..............................7 TABLE 3. DISTRIBUTION OF OPTIMAL AND SUITABLE HABITAT OF FOCAL SPECIES IN 5-MILE SEGMENTS OF US-93.......7 TABLE 4: HABITAT SUITABILITY SCORES AND FACTOR WEIGHTS FOR EACH SPECIES. SCORES RANGE FROM 1 (BEST ) TO 10 (WORST ), WITH 1-3 INDICATING OPTIMAL HABITAT , 4-5 SUBOPTIMAL BUT USABLE HABITAT , 6-7 OCCASIONALLY USED BUT NOT BREEDING HABITAT , AND 8-10 AVOIDED . ............................................................26 List of Figures FIGURE 1: LAND OWNERSHIP WITHIN THE LINKAGE PLANNING AREA ALONG US-93. MILEPOSTS ON US 93 ARE INDICATED ..............................................................................................................................................................4 FIGURE 2: LAND COVER AND FIELD INVESTIGATION WAYPOINTS (R ED STARS ) WITHIN THE LINKAGE PLANNING AREA ALONG US-93. THE ACCOMPANYING CD-ROM INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN AT WAYPOINTS ........................5 FIGURE 3: EXISTING CONSERVATION INVESTMENTS WITHIN THE LINKAGE PLANNING AREA .........................................6 FIGURE 4: FACING NORTH FROM WAYPOINT 022, THE SANTA MARIA RIVER PROVIDES IMPORTANT WILLOW AND COTTONWOOD RIPARIAN HABITAT ..........................................................................................................................8 FIGURE 5: NORTHEAST (AZIMUTH 64) FROM WAYPOINT 020, A JOSHUA TREE FOREST MIXED WITH PALOVERDE AND CREOSOTEBUSH VEGETATION ASSOCIATIONS DOMINATES THE LANDSCAPE . ..........................................................9 FIGURE 6: SOUTHWEST (AZIMUTH 240) FROM WAYPOINT 021, A LOWER REACH OF BLACK CANYON WASH CROSSES US-93 NEAR MP 165............................................................................................................................................10 FIGURE 7: LOOKING EASTWARD FROM WAYPOINT 019, DATE CREEK IS A SANDY XERORIPARIAN WASH . ....................11 FIGURE 8: NORTHEAST FROM WAYPOINT 018, THE LAND SURROUNDING US-93 NEAR MILEPOST 177 IS FLAT AND DOMINATED BY DESERT SCRUB (HERE : MOSTLY CREOSOTEBUSH ASSOCIATIONS ).................................................11 FIGURE 9: CHARACTERISTICS WHICH MAKE SPECIES VULNERABLE TO THE THREE MAJOR DIRECT EFFECTS OF ROADS (FROM FORMAN ET AL . 2003). .............................................................................................................................12 FIGURE 10: POTENTIAL ROAD MITIGATIONS (FROM TOP TO BOTTOM ) INCLUDE : HIGHWAY OVERPASSES , BRIDGES , CULVERTS , AND DRAINAGE PIPES . FENCING (LOWER RIGHT) SHOULD BE USED TO GUIDE ANIMALS INTO CROSSING STRUCTURES .........................................................................................................................................................14