United States Department of Agriculture Ecology and Conservation Forest Service Rocky Mountain of the Cactus Ferruginous Research Station General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-43 Pygmy-Owl in Arizona January 2000 Abstract ____________________________________ Cartron, Jean-Luc E.; Finch, Deborah M., tech. eds. 2000. Ecology and conservation of the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl in Arizona. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-43. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 68 p. This report is the result of a cooperative effort by the Rocky Mountain Research Station and the USDA Forest Service Region 3, with participation by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Bureau of Land Management. It assesses the state of knowledge related to the conservation status of the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl in Arizona. The population decline of this owl has been attributed to the loss of riparian areas before and after the turn of the 20th century. Currently, the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl is chiefly found in southern Arizona in xeroriparian vegetation and well- structured upland desertscrub. The primary threat to the remaining pygmy-owl population appears to be continued habitat loss due to residential development. Important information gaps exist and prevent a full understanding of the current population status of the owl and its conservation needs. Fort Collins Service Center Telephone (970) 498-1392 FAX (970) 498-1396 E-mail rschneider/[email protected] Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rm Mailing Address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 W. Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80526-2098 Cover photo—Clockwise from top: photograph of fledgling in Arizona by Jean-Luc Cartron, photo- graph of adult ferruginous pygmy-owl in Arizona by Bob Miles, photograph of adult cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl in Texas by Glenn Proudfoot. Ecology and Conservation of the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl in Arizona Technical Editors: Jean-Luc E. Cartron and Deborah M. Finch Rocky Mountain Research Station 2205 Columbia SE Albuquerque, NM 87106 Federal Recycling Program Printed on Recycled Paper Authors __________________ Lois T. Haight has conducted research and co-authored numerous scientific papers with her husband, R. Roy Johnson, including several on the ferruginous pygmy-owl. She received Sam L. Beasom (1945-1995) was Director of the Caesar her B.F.A. from Ohio State University and conducted post- Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University, graduate work at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she Kingsville, Texas. He received his Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisher- studied ornithology and museum curating. Her interests have ies Science from Texas A&M University. He served as Editor- focused mainly on the avifauna and botany of the North in-chief of the Journal of Wildlife Management in 1986 and American Southwest (southwestern U.S. and northwestern 1987. He was also President of the Texas and New Mexico Mexico). Chapters of the Wildlife Society in 1977 and 1979, respectively, and President of the Southwest Section of the Wildlife Society R. Roy Johnson began avian studies in the North American in 1983 and 1984. His research interests focused on predator- Southwest in 1952. During the 1960s and 1970s, he visited all prey interactions, land use effects on wildlife, and population sites in Arizona where the ferruginous pygmy-owl had been ecology of game species. recorded historically. He received an M.S. in ornithology from the University of Arizona in 1960 and a Ph.D. in Botany from the Jean-Luc E. Cartron is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the University of Kansas in 1964. He held positions at several U.S.D.A Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station in universities before joining the National Park Service to direct Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a Research Assistant Profes- research on the Colorado River at Grand Canyon in 1973. In sor with the Department of Biology at the University of New 1979, he came to the University of Arizona, Tucson, as National Mexico. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Park Service Senior Ecologist and Professor of Renewable New Mexico, examining the influence of phylogenetic history Natural Resources, retiring in 1992. He is an Elective Member and current ecological conditions on the reproductive strate- of the A.O.U. and has published 200 papers, mostly on riparian gies of birds. He is conducting a long-term study of ospreys in birds and plants. the Gulf of California in Mexico, monitoring population size and reproductive success. Research interests include life history Kenneth J. Kingsley is a senior ecologist with SWCA, Inc. theory, evolutionary biology, and raptor conservation biology. Environmental Consultants. He has a B.A. in Biology from Prescott College, Prescott, Arizona (1972), M.S. in Biological Russell B. Duncan is proprietor of R. B. Duncan & Associ- Sciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1981), and ates, a biological consulting firm located in Tucson, Arizona, Ph.D. in Entomology and Ecology from the University of Ari- specializing in endangered species surveys and consultation. zona (1985). He has worked on a wide variety of issues Russell received his B.A. in Ecology with minors in Classical involving the effects of human actions and development on History and Outdoor Recreation from Prescott College, Prescott, wildlife, including conducting biological surveys, evaluations Arizona, in 1981. He later attended the University of Arizona, and assessments for endangered species and conservation where he completed graduate level courses in Population planning. Biology and Evolution. Russell has lived in Arizona since 1976 and has traveled and worked extensively throughout the South- David J. Krueper is an Avian Senior Technical Specialist west. The primary focus of his work has been the herpetofauna with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tucson Field and avifauna of the Southwest, including endangered raptors Office, Arizona. He has gathered data on avian use and natural such as the Mexican spotted owl and cactus ferruginous history dynamics in riparian habitats of the American South- pygmy-owl. Russell is a member of the Basin and Range West west for the past 19 years. David is the lead biologist for BLM Working Group for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Mexican in issues regarding the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl in Ari- Spotted Owl Recovery Team, and a consultant to the Malpai zona. He has been coordinating the BLM habitat assessments Borderlands Group on issues related to land use management and pygmy-owl surveys for the past two years in southeastern and spotted owls. Arizona, and is a member of the Biological Team for the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl Recovery Plan. He also has a strong Deborah M. Finch is a Research Wildlife Biologist and interest in studying avian populations and habitat relationships Project Leader with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service’s Rocky Moun- in the New World tropics, and has traveled extensively in Latin tain Research Station in Albuquerque. She received her B.S. in America where he has gained experiential knowledge of pygmy- Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University, Califor- owl habitat use. nia, her M.S. in Zoology from Arizona State University, and her Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Wyoming. Deborah’s Jody L. Mays received her M.S. in Range and Wildlife research interests include neotropical migratory bird ecology Management from Texas A&M University. Her thesis, “Popula- and reproduction, bird migration, endangered species, riparian tion size and distribution of cactus ferruginous pygmy-owls in and grassland ecosystem ecology and conservation, and rela- Brooks and Kenedy counties, Texas,” examines population tionships between commodity use and natural resources. attributes and habitat associations of cactus ferruginous pygmy- Deborah has published more than 80 articles and journal owls in southeastern Texas. Her research interests include papers and is an active member of several professional societ- endangered species, environmental education, avian and bat ies, including the American Ornithologists’ Union, the Cooper biology, animal behavior, and GIS applications to wildlife re- and Wilson Ornithological Societies, the Society for Conserva- search. She recently served as a Biological Technician working tion Biology, Wildlife Society, Ecological Society of America, on the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Restoration Project at Padre and New Mexico Riparian Council. Island National Seashore. Glenn A. Proudfoot is Research Assistant and Ph.D. can- affect the owl and its habitat, and consultation with the U.S. Fish didate at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas and and Wildlife Service. He is coordinating this effort with other former Associate Scientist at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife agencies and is currently administering a challenge cost-share Research Institute. He received his B.S. in Biology with a minor project with the Arizona Game and Fish Department to provide in Wildlife Management from the University of Wisconsin, for more information and better management for the owl. Stevens Point, and his M.S. in Range and Wildlife Science from Texas A&M University, Kingsville. Since January 1994, his Scott H. Stoleson is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the research addressing the natural history of ferruginous pygmy- Rocky Mountain Research Station in Albuquerque, New Mexico. owls in southern Texas has resulted in six journal publications He received his B.A. in Biological Science from Dartmouth and 33 research notes. In 1998, he accepted appointment from College, and his Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from Yale University. the U.S. Department of Interior to the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl He spent portions of seven years studying birds in the llanos of Recovery Team. His research interests include predator-prey Venezuela, where ferruginous pygmy-owls were abundant, ecology and habitat assessment and interactions. and a year and a half in Ecuador. His research interests include breeding biology and demography of birds, parrot conservation W.