Land Health Evaluation Arroyo Seco Lease No. 6023 June 2017
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Land Health Evaluation Arroyo Seco Lease No. 6023 June 2017 U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Gila District Tucson Field Office 3201 East Universal Way Tucson, AZ 85756 Phone: (520) 258-7200 FAX: (520) 258-7238 Arroyo Seco Allotment Land Health Evaluation This page left intentionally blank i Arroyo Seco Allotment Land Health Evaluation Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 2. Allotment profile..................................................................................................................................... 1 2.1 Location ............................................................................................................................................. 1 2.2 Physical Description .......................................................................................................................... 3 2.2.1 Acreage ..................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2.2 Watershed ................................................................................................................................. 5 2.2.3 Soils ........................................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Biological Resources ......................................................................................................................... 6 2.3.1 Major Land Resource Areas ..................................................................................................... 6 2.3.2 Ecological Sites ......................................................................................................................... 7 2.3.3 Vegetation Communities ........................................................................................................... 9 2.3.4 General Wildlife Resources ..................................................................................................... 12 2.3.5 Threatened & Endangered Species ........................................................................................ 13 2.3.6 BLM Sensitive Species ........................................................................................................... 16 2.3.7 Migratory Birds ........................................................................................................................ 19 2.4 Special Management Areas ............................................................................................................ 19 2.5 Recreation Resources ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.6 Heritage Resources & the Human Environment ............................................................................. 19 2.6.1 Cultural Resources .................................................................................................................. 19 2.6.2 Native American Concerns ..................................................................................................... 24 3. Grazing Management .......................................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Grazing History ............................................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Grazing System ............................................................................................................................... 26 3.2.1 Existing Range Improvements ................................................................................................ 27 3.3 Mandatory Terms and Conditions for Permitted Use ...................................................................... 29 4. Objectives ............................................................................................................................................ 29 4.1 Relevant Planning and Environmental Documents ........................................................................ 29 4.2 Allotment Specific Objectives .......................................................................................................... 29 4.2.1 Land Health Standards ........................................................................................................... 29 5. Plant List .............................................................................................................................................. 31 6. Inventory and Monitoring Mehodology ................................................................................................ 35 6.1 Evaluation Protocol ......................................................................................................................... 35 6.1.1 Indicators of Rangeland Health ............................................................................................... 35 6.2 Monitoring Protocols ....................................................................................................................... 36 ii Arroyo Seco Allotment Land Health Evaluation 6.2.1 Line Point Intercept (species composition and ground cover) ................................................ 36 6.2.2 Pace Frequency ...................................................................................................................... 36 6.2.3 Fetch ....................................................................................................................................... 37 6.2.4 Dry Weight Rank ..................................................................................................................... 37 6.2.5 Utilization ................................................................................................................................. 37 7. Management Evaluation and Summary of Studies data ..................................................................... 39 7.1 Actual Use ....................................................................................................................................... 39 7.2 Precipitation .................................................................................................................................... 39 7.3 Key Area Data ................................................................................................................................. 40 7.3.1 Utilization ................................................................................................................................. 40 7.3.2 Rangeland Health Evaluations ................................................................................................ 40 8. Determination of land Health Standards ............................................................................................. 56 9. Recommended Management Actions ................................................................................................. 58 9.1 Proposed Terms and Conditions .................................................................................................... 58 10. List of prepareers and reviewers ......................................................................................................... 60 11. Authorized Officer Concurrence .......................................................................................................... 61 12. References .......................................................................................................................................... 62 iii Arroyo Seco Allotment Land Health Evaluation This page left intentionally blank iv Arroyo Seco Allotment Land Health Evaluation 1. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this draft Land Health Evaluation (LHE) report is to evaluate whether the Arizona Standards for Rangeland Health (Standards) are being achieved on the Arroyo Seco allotment. In the case of non-achievement of Standards, the LHE would also seek to determine if livestock are the causal factor for either not achieving or not making significant progress towards achieving the Standards. An evaluation is not a decision document, but a stand-alone report that clearly records the analysis and interpretation of the available inventory and monitoring data. As part of the land health evaluation process, Desired Plant Community (DPC) objectives (also referred to as key area objectives in this document) were established for the biological resources within the allotment. The Secretary of the Interior approved Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arizona Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Grazing Administration (Standards and Guidelines) in April 1997. The Decision Record, signed by the Arizona BLM State Director (April 1997) provides for full implementation of the Standards and Guidelines in Arizona land use plans. Standards and guidelines are implemented by the BLM through terms and conditions of grazing permits, leases, and other authorizations, grazing related portions of activity plans, and through range improvement-related activities. Land health standards are measurable and attainable goals for the desired condition of the biological resources and physical components/characteristics of desert ecosystems found within the allotment. This evaluation seeks to ascertain: If Standards are being