ARIZONA MISSING LINKAGES Tucson – Tortolita – Santa Catalina Mountains Linkage Paul Beier, Emily Garding, Daniel Majka TUCSON – TORTOLITA – SANTA CATALINA MOUNTAINS 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, Michael Robinson, Mitch Sternberg, Dr. Robert Harrison, 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, Bill Broyles, Dale Turner, Natasha Kline, Thomas Skinner, David Brown, Jeff Servoss, Janice Pryzbyl, Tim Snow, Lisa Haynes, Don Swann, Trevor Hare, 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, and Elissa Ostergaard 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, and D. Majka. 2006. Arizona Missing Linkages: Tucson – Tortolita – Santa Catalina Mountains 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.............................................................................................................................III TERMINOLOGY.......................................................................................................................................................V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................... VI INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................1 NATURE NEEDS ROOM TO MOVE ...............................................................................................................................1 A STATEWIDE VISION.................................................................................................................................................1 ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TUCSON – TORTOLITA – SANTA CATALINA MOUNTAINS LINKAGE ...................2 EXISTING CONSERVATION INVESTMENTS...................................................................................................................4 THREATS TO CONNECTIVITY ......................................................................................................................................4 LINKAGE DESIGN & RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................7 TWO LINKAGES PROVIDE CONNECTIVITY ACROSS A DIVERSE LANDSCAPE...............................................................7 LAND OWNERSHIP, LAND COVER, AND TOPOGRAPHIC PATTERNS WITHIN THE LINKAGE DESIGN .............................8 REMOVING AND MITIGATING BARRIERS TO MOVEMENT .........................................................................................12 IMPACTS OF ROADS ON WILDLIFE ............................................................................................................................12 Mitigation for Roads............................................................................................................................................13 Existing Roads in the Linkage Design Area ........................................................................................................16 Recommendations for Crossing Structures in the Tucson Mountains-Tortolita Mountains Linkage ..................17 Recommendations for Crossing Structures in the Tortolita-Santa Catalina Mountains Linkage........................23 Recommended management of Potential Urban Barriers in the Linkage Design Area.......................................29 Guidelines & Recommendations for Mitigation of Urban Barriers ....................................................................30 Importance of Riparian Systems in the Southwest...............................................................................................34 Stream Impediments in the Linkage Design Area................................................................................................34 Mitigating Stream Impediments...........................................................................................................................35 APPENDIX A: LINKAGE DESIGN METHODS ..................................................................................................37 FOCAL SPECIES SELECTION ......................................................................................................................................37 HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELS ...............................................................................................................................38 IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL BREEDING PATCHES & POTENTIAL POPULATION CORES..................................................39 IDENTIFYING BIOLOGICALLY BEST CORRIDORS.......................................................................................................40 PATCH CONFIGURATION ANALYSIS..........................................................................................................................41 MINIMUM LINKAGE WIDTH......................................................................................................................................42 FIELD INVESTIGATIONS ............................................................................................................................................43 APPENDIX B: INDIVIDUAL SPECIES ANALYSES ..........................................................................................44 BADGER (TAXIDEA TAXUS) ........................................................................................................................................46 BLACK BEAR (URSUS AMERICANUS)..........................................................................................................................50 BOBCAT (LYNX RUFUS) .............................................................................................................................................54 DESERT TORTOISE (GOPHERUS AGASSIZII) ................................................................................................................58 GILA MONSTER (HELODERMA SUSPECTUM) ..............................................................................................................62 JAVELINA (TAYASSU TAJACU) ....................................................................................................................................66 KIT FOX (VULPES MACROTIS)....................................................................................................................................70 MOUNTAIN LION (PUMA CONCOLOR)........................................................................................................................74 MULE DEER (ODOCOILEUS HEMIONUS).....................................................................................................................78 APPENDIX C: SUGGESTED FOCAL SPECIES NOT MODELED...................................................................82 APPENDIX D: CREATION OF LINKAGE DESIGN ..........................................................................................84 Arizona Missing Linkages i Tucson – Tortolita – Santa Catalina Linkage Design APPENDIX E: DESCRIPTION OF LAND COVER CLASSES ..........................................................................86 APPENDIX F: LITERATURE CITED...................................................................................................................89 APPENDIX G: DATABASE OF FIELD INVESTIGATIONS .............................................................................95 Arizona Missing Linkages ii Tucson – Tortolita – Santa Catalina Linkage Design List of Tables & Figures List of Tables TABLE 1: FOCAL SPECIES SELECTED FOR TUCSON – TORTOLITA – SANTA CATALINA MOUNTAINS LINKAGE ............. VII TABLE 2: APPROXIMATE LANDCOVER FOUND WITHIN LINKAGE DESIGN.........................................................................8 TABLE 3: CHARACTERISTICS WHICH MAKE SPECIES VULNERABLE TO THE THREE MAJOR DIRECT EFFECTS OF ROADS (FROM FORMAN ET AL. 2003). .............................................................................................................................12 TABLE 4: ROADS IN THE LINKAGE DESIGN...................................................................................................................17 TABLE 5: 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. ............................................................44 List of Figures FIGURE 1: THE LINKAGE DESIGN BETWEEN THE TUCSON, TORTOLITA, AND SANTA CATALINA MOUNTAINS