March 2003 Vermilionlycatcher Tucson Audubon Society F www.tucsonaudubon.org Leaders in Conservation & Education since 1949 Volume 47, Number 6 ISSN 1094-9909 Threatened Changes to Clean Water Act Compiled by Sonja Macys, Executive Director Last month, the U.S. Environmental Pro- In Arizona, small waterways play a criti- tection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps cal role in human and natural health, and of Engineers (Corps), announced two propos- provide habitat for migratory birds. In 1985, als that could roll back critical provisions of there were no Section 404 permits required Birdathon the Clean Water Act. Advance Notice of Pro- in Pima County. Today, section 404 influences is Coming! posed Rulemaking on the Clean Water Act development due to efforts to avoid or mini- Birdwatch your Regulatory Definition of “Waters of the United mize impacts because a streamlined permit pro- way to a healthier States” appeared in the Federal Register on cess is available for those projects that disturb th environment by January 15 . The rulemaking concerns what less than one-half acre of the jurisdictional wa- participating in kind of bodies of water the government must, ters. Projects that require permits generally have Tucson Audubon’s by law, protect under the Clean Water Act. lessened impacts under the program. Further- Birdathon A Supreme Court decision in early 2001 more, natural hydrological connections are more fundraiser (see (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County likely to be maintained. pages 14-15). [SWANCC] vs. the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- This proposal is a significant change to the neers) determined that they should only be con- Clean Water Act with regards to which waters cerned with “navigable waters.” should be protected. The change has been an- Non-navigable waters, including small lakes, nounced and is open for public comment. intermittent streams and washes, and anything Please weigh in by March 3, 2003 and urge Inside else not connected to a navigable body of wa- the Administration to protect all of America’s ter, are not of concern. waters! This is a federal policy decision; how- Calendar .................. 10 As a result, “temporary and isolated bod- ever, its impacts on local conservation will be Conservation News ... 4 ies of water” where most amphibians and profound. Dastardly Duos ........ 22 many reptiles live and breed, will receive the National Audubon Society and American Director’s Perch ......... 2 minimum of protection. Rivers have taken a lead on this issue. For more Field Trips .................. 6 The Administration issued a “guidance” information, please see their websites Field Trip Reports ...... 8 to Corps and EPA staff on how to determine (www.audubon.org/campaign/cleanwater.html, Mason Audubon Center which waterways receive protection under the www.americanrivers.org). News ...................... 12 Clean Water Act. Staff must now get permis- To submit a comment online and to view Meeting program ...... 28 sion from their respective agencies before ex- others’ comments visit www.epa.gov/owow/ Membership tending Clean Water Act protections to iso- wetlands/swanccnav.html. Information .............. 20 lated wetlands. Time is of the essence! J Nature Shop ............. 16 President’s Mess. ...... 3 Important March 15 Events RBA Highlights ........ 21 TAS Travel ................ 23 After the Tucson Audubon membership meeting in Green Valley on March 15 (see Thanks & Wishes ..... 27 page 11), continue on to Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge to help them Web Corner .............. 25 celebrate their centennial (see page 5)! 2 Vermilion Flycatcher Tucson Audubon Society March 2003 Tucson Audubon Society Officers Directors Perch by Sonja Macys President, Roger Wolf ............................ 882-9633 Vice President, Floyd Gray .................... 670-5582 Secretary, Bill Mannan .......................... 621-7283 will protect existing CFPOs and allow Treasurer, Walter Kavanagh ................. 621-1750 My first trip to Tucson’s northwest Directors at Large side was in August of 2001. I was in- for expansion of the population.” The Wendy Burroughs Brian Powell terviewing for my job as Executive Di- clearest and most direct action to pro- 578-3650 670-5830 rector of the Tucson Audubon Society. tect existing CFPOs would be to pro- Don Eagle Susan Randolph 629-0510 629-0510 What I remember most distinctly about tect the habitat upon which the spe- Kristi Keller Peter Salomon the visit was the presence of trees in cies depends. To this end, the USFWS 629-0510 298-9697 Lawrence Liese Linda Stitzer boxes on Thornydale Road. Why were has released a proposal to designate 743-3520 297-3173 they there? Was it someone’s curious critical habitat. However, in compar- Chris McVie David Yetman 629-0510 621-2484 idea of landscaping? ing the draft recovery plan and the Robert Merideth Further inquiry led me to under- critical habitat proposal, one finds 884-4393 stand that this was Pima County’s miti- anomalies that have yet to be ad- Board Committees gation effort for disturbance to Cactus equately explained. Conservation, Bill Mannan .................... 621-7283 Ferruginous Pygmy-owl (CFPO) habi- For example, the critical habitat Education, Susan Randolph .................. 629-0510 tat. That was the beginning of my part designation does not include areas that Development, Robert Merideth ............ 884-4393 the recovery plan has identified as nec- Nominating, Susan Randolph .............. 629-0510 in an arduous battle for the recovery of Community Presence, Linda Stitzer ......... 297-3173 this tiny, neo-tropical owl whose num- essary for the CFPO’s survival. Of par- Programs and Activities bers have declined drastically in recent ticular concern is the 15% reduction Bird Alert ................................................. 798-1005 years. For me, the battle had just be- of lands identified in Critical Habitat Bird Reporting ........................................ 696-4461 gun, but local and national environ- Unit (CHU) 3, lands on Tucson’s Bird Census, Susan Birky ...................... 743-9390 Library, Bill Scott .................................... 887-5813 mental organizations like Tucson Au- northwest side. The reduction is par- Mailing, Gerald Sweeney ..................... 326-3701 dubon, the Coalition for Sonoran ticularly surprising given that the area Field Trips, John Higgins ...................... 578-1830 Program, Tom DeMoss .......................... 296-2963 Desert Protection, the Center for Bio- contains 35% of owls and 40% of nests Membership & Hospitality ....................... (vacant) logical Diversity, Defenders of Wild- since 1999; it “includes the most con- life, Desert Watch and many others tiguous and highest-quality pygmy-owl Audubon Nature Shop & Offices had already been fighting this battle habitat in Arizona... has one of the 300 E. University Blvd. #120, Tucson, AZ 85705 for many years, even prior to the highest known densities of pygmy-owls Nature Shop Hours: Mon.Sat. 104, Mon. & Thu. 105 Shop Manager, Judy Edison 1997 listing of the CFPO as an en- in Arizona, and is one of only four ar- Asst. Shop Manager, Susan Birky dangered species. eas in the state with documented breed- (520) 629-0510 Fax: (520) 623-3476 Since the species’ listing, little ing pygmy-owls.” It also “remains an www.tucsonaudubon.org [email protected] progress has been made toward its re- essential component of pygmy-owl Executive Director, Sonja Macys .......... 622-5622 covery. In fact, its numbers have de- conservation because it supports one of Asst to ED, Jessie Shinn ........................ 628-1730 MAC Outreach Coord., Jamie Brown ..... 744-0004 clined from 41 in 1999 to 18 at present. the highest densities of breeding Education Prog. Man., Carrie Dean ...... 629-0757 What are the main reasons for the owl’s pygmy-owls in Arizona, contributes to Education Specialist, Dan Wolgast ......... 744-0004 continued decline? Development on recruitment of the population, contains Development Director, Holly Foster ...... 629-0757 the northwest side continues to reduce a significant amount of high-quality Restoration Projects, Ann Phillips ........ 206-9900 Cons. Biol./IBA Coord., Scott Wilbor .... 629-0757 the quantity of habitat suitable for the habitat, and provides all of the primary Prmclt./Com. Spec., Kendall Kroesen .. 206-9900 owl. Government agencies, scientists, constituent elements.” Editors, Jane & Warren Tisdale ............ 749-2139 conservationists, developers, and pri- It is curious that although nothing [email protected] vate property rights advocates continue has changed its suitability as critical Mission Statement TAS is dedicated to improving the quality of to argue about what is necessary for its habitat since the last designation, the the environment by providing education, conser- recovery. A draft recovery plan, a area has been dropped from the criti- vation, and recreation programs, and environ- mental leadership and information. document that would outline the es- cal habitat proposal. Is it coincidence Tucson Audubon Society is a non-profit vol- sential steps towards recovery, was not that this area is also where development unteer organization of people with a common in- terest in birding and natural history. TAS main- forthcoming. pressures are most intense? tains offices in Tucson, an extensive library, and On January 23, 2003, the USFWS a Nature Shop where nature-related items are The United States Fish and Wild- sold for the benefit of TAS programs,