NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona May 2016 Foundation Document To Ajo Visitor Center to Why To Why 22 mi CABEZA PRIETA 35 km 86 NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Why to Tucson 120 mi Monument Entrance a 193 km ñ Wayside e K L ua G ka ro e tch w d W le ash r a W rd e as u h Bates Well C 85 TOHONO G Ch er O 17mi R io J n 28km O i A W L ORGAN PIPE CACTUS E E R H Montezumas Head T BATES O’ODHAM V Al 3634ft W a mo Ajo Mountains W 1108m A MOUNTAINS a as h G s Wayside R L h A F S L Kino Peak S O E 3197ft C A N Y 974m Y O A N Alamo Canyon J Y NATIONAL MONUMENT O E Campground L L INDIAN R A A V A LAM N O G CA N E Y S a O n h as N C W CIPRIANO r l istoba ash W Pu HILLS jita erto ARCH ua Nor Blanc CANYON RESERVATION Ag th o D Mt Ajo rive 4808ft 1466m PU Tillotson Peak Pozo Nuevo Bonita Well E Dripping Begin 3374ft R Springs one-way TO Pinkley 1028m Golden Bell Dripping Peak Springs Mine 3145ft BULL (pit toilets) Mine Trail 959m PASTURE (pit toilets) B (pit toilets) Q L e Estes Canyon- U A iv IT N r NS Bull Pasture Trails O Tillotson Peak D DIABLO MT B C two-way A O Red Wayside in Q a 21mi Tanks t U n 34km I Tinaja Tr u T o O M M one-way T one-way H N o one-way Diaz Spire National Monument Boundary j I S Twin Diaz Peak L A 3892ft L LA Peaks 4024ft S two-way 1186m 1227m SENITA 2615ft A 797m Reserva de la Biósfera El Pinacate y B BASIN R S Quitobaquito A O See detail Gran Desierto de Altar N Kris Eggle Visitor Center O map below P Y 1670ft L T A A 509m North I N S O N So M O uth Victoria Y Pu T Mine T erto N A Bl S anc o D 5mi rive V 0 1 5 Kilometers 8km A two-way LL EY Rio 0 1 5 Miles Son oy ta S I 2 E Lower Colorado Valley Community R R Gachado Line Camp A Creosote bush/ Bursage Lukeville D Sonoyta to Puerto Peñasco E (port of entry) 62 mi 8 Dos Lomitas Ranch S Mixed scrub Picnic area 100 km A Sonoyta Rio N T A Self-guiding trail So 2 n o Saltbush yta UNITED STATES R Wheelchair-accessible O Sonoyta to Caborca S 93 mi A Wheelchair-accessible 149 km MEXICO Arizona Upland Community campground (40-foot RV limit) Mixed cactus/ Palo verde Primitive campground Graded dirt road Unimproved dirt Hiking trail Historical site Jojoba/Evergreen road scrubland 25-foot vehicle limit Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1 Introduction 2 Part 1: Core Components 3 Brief Description of the Monument . 3 Park Purpose . 4. Park Significance . 5 . Fundamental Resources and Values . 6 Interpretive Themes . 7. Part 2: Dynamic Components 8 Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments . 8 Assessment of Planning and Data Needs . 9 . Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values . 9 Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs . 28 . Planning and Data Needs . 31. Part 3: Contributors 38 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument . 38 . NPS Intermountain Region . .38 . Denver Service Center, Planning Division . 38. Appendixes 40 Appendix A: Presidential Proclamation and Legislative Acts for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument . 40. Appendix B: Inventory of Special Mandates, Special Designations, and Administrative Commitments . 44 . Administrative Commitments . 45 Appendix C: Traditionally Associated Tribes and Groups . 48 Appendix D: Past and Ongoing Monument Planning and Data Collection Efforts . 50 . Foundation Document Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are: · Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community. · Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service. · Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another. · Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it. · Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well-being of everyone. The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service. The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations. The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values. 1 Foundation Document Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed. A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity. While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument can be accessed online at: http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/. 2 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts. Brief Description of the Monument Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is in southwestern Arizona, with the southern boundary of the monument comprising 30 miles of the international border between the United States and Mexico, approximately 40 miles south of Ajo. The monument was established by presidential proclamation on April 13, 1937, to preserve more than 330,000 acres and protect a representative part of the Sonoran Desert that contains organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi), a large, columnar cactus rarely found in the United States. Approximately 95% of the monument (about 312,600 acres) is also designated wilderness, with another 1,240 acres designated as potential wilderness. The monument’s mountains, bajadas, valleys, and washes support unique communities of Sonoran Desert life, including the critically endangered Sonoran pronghorn and the endangered lesser long-nosed bat. The monument is also home to many plants and animals that have adapted to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight, and little rainfall, including 26 species of cactus, notably the endangered acuña cactus, and a number of rare plants.