Arizona Missing Linkages: Mount Perkins-Warm Springs Linkage Design
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ARIZONA MISSING LINKAGES Mount Perkins - Warm S prings Linkage Design Paul Beier, Emily Garding, Daniel Majka 2008 MOUNT PERKINS-WARM SPRINGS LINKAGE DESIGN Acknowledgments This project would not have been possible without the help of many individuals. We thank Dr. Phil Rosen, Matt Good, Chasa O’Brien, Dr. Jason Marshal, Ted McKinney, and Taylor Edwards for parameterizing models for focal species and suggesting focal species. Catherine Wightman, Fenner Yarborough, Janet Lynn, Mylea Bayless, Andi Rogers, Mikele Painter, Valerie Horncastle, Matthew Johnson, Jeff Gagnon, Erica Nowak, Lee Luedeker, Allen Haden, Shaula Hedwall, and Martin Lawrence helped identify focal species and species experts. Robert Shantz provided photos for many of the species accounts. Shawn Newell, Jeff Jenness, Megan Friggens, and Matt Clark provided helpful advice on analyses and reviewed portions of the results. Funding This project was funded by a grant from Arizona Game and Fish Department to Northern Arizona University. Recommended Citation Beier, P., E. Garding, D. Majka. 2008. Arizona Missing Linkages: Mount Perkins-Warm Springs Linkage Design. Report to Arizona Game and Fish Department. School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University. Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................ I LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES ...............................................................................................................................II TERMINOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................................... IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................ V INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 NATURE NEEDS ROOM TO MOVE ............................................................................................................................... 1 A STATEWIDE VISION ................................................................................................................................................. 1 ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WARM SPRINGS – MOUNT PERKINS LINKAGE ................................................... 2 EXISTING CONSERVATION INVESTMENTS ................................................................................................................... 2 THREATS TO CONNECTIVITY ...................................................................................................................................... 2 LINKAGE DESIGN & RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................... 8 FIVE ROUTES PROVIDE CONNECTIVITY ACROSS A DIVERSE LANDSCAPE .................................................................. 8 LAND OWNERSHIP, LAND COVER, AND TOPOGRAPHIC PATTERNS WITHIN THE LINKAGE DESIGN ............................. 9 REMOVING AND MITIGATING BARRIERS TO MOVEMENT ......................................................................................... 13 IMPACTS OF ROADS ON WILDLIFE ............................................................................................................................ 13 Mitigation for Roads ............................................................................................................................................ 14 STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR WILDLIFE CROSSING STRUCTURES .................................................................... 17 Existing Roads in the Linkage Design Area ........................................................................................................ 18 Existing Crossing Structures on SR-68 ................................................................................................................ 19 Recommendations for Highway Crossing Structures .......................................................................................... 19 URBAN DEVELOPMENT AS BARRIERS TO MOVEMENT .............................................................................................. 24 Urban Barriers in the Linkage Design Area ........................................................................................................ 25 Mitigation for Urban Barriers ............................................................................................................................. 25 APPENDIX A: LINKAGE DESIGN METHODS .................................................................................................. 28 FOCAL SPECIES SELECTION ...................................................................................................................................... 28 HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELS ............................................................................................................................... 29 IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL BREEDING PATCHES & POTENTIAL POPULATION CORES .................................................. 30 IDENTIFYING BIOLOGICALLY BEST CORRIDORS ....................................................................................................... 31 PATCH CONFIGURATION ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................... 32 MINIMUM LINKAGE WIDTH ...................................................................................................................................... 33 FIELD INVESTIGATIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 34 APPENDIX B: INDIVIDUAL SPECIES ANALYSES .......................................................................................... 35 BOBCAT (LYNX RUFUS) ............................................................................................................................................. 37 DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP (OVIS CANADENSIS NELSONI) .............................................................................................. 41 MOHAVE DESERT TORTOISE (GOPHERUS AGASSIZII) ................................................................................................. 47 GILA MONSTER (HELODERMA SUSPECTUM) .............................................................................................................. 51 KIT FOX (VULPES MACROTIS) .................................................................................................................................... 55 MOUNTAIN LION (PUMA CONCOLOR) ........................................................................................................................ 59 MULE DEER (ODOCOILEUS HEMIONUS) ..................................................................................................................... 63 APPENDIX C: FOCAL SPECIES NOT MODELED ............................................................................................ 67 APPENDIX D: THE LINKAGE DESIGN .............................................................................................................. 68 APPENDIX E: DESCRIPTION OF LAND COVER CLASSES .......................................................................... 69 APPENDIX F: LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................... 72 Arizona Missing Linkages i Mount Perkins-Warm Springs Linkage Design APPENDIX G: DATABASE OF FIELD INVESTIGATIONS ............................................................................. 78 List of Tables & Figures List of Tables TABLE 1: FOCAL SPECIES SELECTED FOR THE MOUNT PERKINS-WARM SPRINGS LINKAGE ......................................... VI TABLE 2: APPROXIMATE LAND COVER IN THE LINKAGE DESIGN .................................................................................... 9 TABLE 3: ROADS IN THE LINKAGE DESIGN ................................................................................................................... 18 TABLE 4: HABITAT SUITABILITY SCORES AND FACTOR WEIGHTS FOR EACH SPECIES. SCORES RANGE FROM 1 (BEST) TO 10 (WORST), WITH 1-3 INDICATING OPTIMAL HABITAT, 4-5 SUBOPTIMAL BUT USABLE HABITAT, 6-7 OCCASIONALLY USED BUT NOT BREEDING HABITAT, AND 8-10 AVOIDED. ............................................................ 35 List of Figures FIGURE 1: THE LINKAGE DESIGN BETWEEN THE MOUNT PERKINS AND WARM SPRINGS WILDLAND BLOCKS INCLUDES 5 STRANDS, EACH OF WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO DIFFERENT SPECIES. .................................................................... VII FIGURE 2: LAND OWNERSHIP IN THE LINKAGE PLANNING AREA. .................................................................................... 4 FIGURE 3: LAND COVER TYPES WITHIN THE LINKAGE PLANNING AREA .......................................................................... 5 FIGURE 4: EXISTING CONSERVATION INVESTMENTS IN THE GREATER LINKAGE PLANNING AREA ................................... 6 FIGURE 5. BULLHEAD CITY LIMITS AND THE PLANNED GOLDEN VALLEY DEVELOPMENT OVERLAP PART OF THE LINKAGE DESIGN. ................................................................................................................................................... 7 FIGURE 6: PROPERTY OWNERSHIP AND FIELD INVESTIGATION WAYPOINTS WITHIN LINKAGE DESIGN. THE