Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan Audubon

Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan Audubon Arizona and Tucson Audubon Society Arizona Important Bird Area’s Program Prepared By: Audubon Arizona Tice Supplee, Director of Bird Conservation August 31, 2006 Audubon Arizona - 0 - Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan August 31, 2006 Acknowledgements The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, with matching funds from Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Audubon Council, and the Ford Foundation, funded this Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan, in a grant to Tucson Audubon Society and Audubon Arizona, Arizona Important Bird Areas Program. Arizona State Parks at Red Rock, Page Springs Fish Hatchery and the Harper and McCain families and Northern Arizona Audubon Society members additionally supported this effort. We thank the many individuals and organizations and Audubon members for their essential support of our conservation efforts for Arizona Important Bird Areas. We thank all staff at Audubon Arizona and the National Audubon Society Science Office for their contributions in support of this document and grant management. Photographic credits: Scott Wilbor. Audubon Arizona - 1 - Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan May 31, 2006 LOWER OAK CREEK IMPORTANT BIRD AREA AVIAN CONSERVATION PLAN Table of Contents: Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 IBA Vision Statement 3 Managing Entities 3 Page Springs Fish Hatchery Red Rock State Park Coconino National Forest-Red Rock Ranger District Hidden Valley Ranch Key Findings 3 Conservation Recommendations 3 Guidance Documents 4 INTRODUCTION 5 Plan Framework 6 Biological Need 6 LOWER OAK CREEK SITE DESCRIPTION 6 Location 6 State/Federal Congressional Districts 7 Plant Communities 7 Land and Water Uses 8 Human History and Current Uses 8 Protected Areas 10 Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Partners 10 AVIAN ELEMENTS 10 Site IBA Criteria 10 Ornithological Summary Birds of Conservation Priority 10 Arizona Wildlife Conservation Action Plan Species Arizona Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan Focal Species Avian Guild Groups 11 OTHER ELEMENTS OF HIGH CONSERVATION CONCERN 15 Page Springs amber snail Native Fish MAJOR STRESSES, SOURCES OF STRESSES, AND THREAT LEVELS 15 Audubon Arizona - 1 - Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan AVIAN CONSERVATION IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 19 Achieved Conservation Actions 19 Management Recommendations 19 Measures of Success 20 APPENDIX A. NATURAL HISTORY and MANAGEMENT INFORMATION FOR IBA FOCAL SPECIES APPENDIX B. IBA SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONSERVATION STATUS LISTS APPENDIX C. AUDUBON IBA CRITERIA APPENDIX D. SUMMARY TABLE STRESSES and THREATS APPENDIX F. HIDDEN VALLEY UPLAND RESTORATION REPORT APPENDIX G. LITERATURE APPENDIX H. MAPS Audubon Arizona - 2 - Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Vision Connecting people to nature by engaging them in the protection and stewardship of Important Bird Areas in Arizona that are part of a global network for the conservation of the world's birds and other biodiversity. Managing Entities: Page Springs Fish Hatchery (Arizona Game and Fish) 82 Acres The Page Springs Fish Hatchery is located in the southern portion of the IBA five miles north of Cornville. The facility is approximately 82 acres in size and is located on both banks of Oak Creek. The guidance document for the management of the wildlife viewing components in partnership with Northern Arizona Audubon Society is the Page Springs Wildlife Viewing Area Management Plan. An annual work plan for activities developed jointly by the Arizona Game and Fish and Northern Arizona Audubon is an element of this plan. Red Rock State Park (Arizona State Parks) 286 Acres Managed as a nature preserve and environmental education center, Red Rock State Park emphasizes visitor experiences that are light on the land. A comprehensive resources inventory and assessment report has been prepared for the park by the Resources Management Section of Arizona State Parks. Specific implementation strategies are outlined in this document. The Important Bird Area status of the park is acknowledged and the significance of the park for migratory bird stop over and breeding Common Black Hawk, Wood Duck and Common Merganser. Red Rock Ranger District (Coconino National Forest) Approximately half of the Important Bird Area is managed by the Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest as grazing lands. The Coconino National Forest has a completed Terrestrial Ecosystem Survey that contains predictions and limitations of soil and vegetation behavior for selected land uses. It also highlights hazards or capabilities inherent in the soil and the impact of selected uses on the environment. These mapped ecosystems include various combinations of soils, miscellaneous areas, and vegetation communities. Hidden Valley Ranch (Private Ownership) 30 Acres Private lands owned by the Harper and McCain families that are located at mid-point in the IBA are participating landowners. The ranch compound has numerous residential buildings manicured lawns, gardens and orchards. Key findings: Four major stresses to the Lower Oak Creek riparian system and associated upland habitats are identified: 1) Altered surface water flow regimes at a landscape context; 2) Reduced acres of riparian vegetation; 3) Altered successional stages in the riparian community; 4) Altered species diversity. One lower level stressor was identified: 5) Alteration of the fire regime. Conservation Recommendations: Allow natural flood flows Audubon Arizona - 3 - Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan Support riparian habitat and key water rights designations to protective status through acquisition, exchange, easements and local ordinance Support sustainable water use and water discharge standards that maintain water quantity and quality in Oak Creek. Eradicate non-native invasive plants and animals Avoid facility and pasture development within 100 yards of the riparian floodplain to minimize cowbird intrusion into riparian habitat used by nesting native birds Plant native willow, cottonwood and other understory vegetation Re-design water delivery ditch systems to enhance riparian and wetlands values where practicable Implementation of best management practices on agricultural and ranchettes properties through partnership with local conservation resource agencies and educational institutions Maintain and expand the Watchable Wildlife opportunities in the IBA Conduct long-term avian monitoring at selected sites Guidance Documents: Red Rock State Park Resource Inventory and Assessment, Arizona State Parks, 2004 Page Springs Wildlife Viewing Area Management Plan, Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2005 City of Sedona Strategic Plan February 24, 2004 Revision NABCI Partners in Flight North American Landbird Conservation Plan Arizona Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan Arizona Game and Fish Department Comprehensive Wildlife Action Plan, March 2006 Audubon Arizona - 4 - Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area Avian Conservation Plan LOWER OAK CREEK IMPORTANT BIRD AREA AVIAN CONSERVATION PLAN INTRODUCTION Oak Creek is a tributary to the Verde River located in north central Arizona. Oak Creek begins as a fissure on the Mogollon Rim and flows south through a riparian wooded canyon linking the Colorado Plateau to the upper Sonoran desert. The upper reaches are a popular destination for summer vacationers and visitors to Arizona. Oak Creek emerges from the steep canyon walls among the red ramparts of Sedona - just a mile or two upstream of Red Rock State Park. The town of Sedona is a thriving community of artists and small businesses, known world wide for the breathtaking views of red rock formations. Oak Creek meanders through the town of Sedona and Village of Oak Creek, thence flowing through Red Rock State Park. The northern boundary of the park is the beginning of the Lower Oak Creek Important Bird Area (IBA). The identified IBA is the river corridor of Oak Creek, extending upslope to approximately the rim level on either side (3800 to 4200 feet, with some exceptions to include major outlying escarpments) and small portions of tributaries to this reach of Oak Creek, extending from Red Rock State Park south to just south of Page Springs Fish Hatchery. Most of the surrounding land is U.S. Forest Service, Coconino National Forest, interspersed with a few small private in- holdings in the riparian zone. Oak Creek flows year round and floods periodically during spring and monsoon seasons. The riparian corridor of Oak Creek is in a natural condition and has experienced scouring and loss of mature trees during recent high flood flows in the winter of 2005. The system is dynamic and new willow, cottonwood and sycamore trees are sprouting along the gravel bar strands created by the floods. Biotic communities are dominated by Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Sycamore (Plantanus wrightii), Velvet Ash (Fraxinus velutina), Arizona Alder (Alnus oblongifolia) in the riparian zones, and Velvet Mesquite (Prosopis velutina) Netleaf Hackberry (Celtis reticulate) and Barberry (Berberis fremontii) in the regenerating bosque habitats. The Northern Arizona Audubon Society (NAAS) has been a partner and helped in the stewardship of Lower Oak Creek since the 1980’s. Members of NAAS have brought to the attention of the managing agencies the

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