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Tucson Audubon Society
Habitat Restoration Program: A Growing Force
by Kendall
Kroesen, (520)
206-9900
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Tucson Audubon’s habitat restoration program, led by program manager Ann Phillips, is now a regional force for the improvement of wildlife habitat in the Santa Cruz Valley. The program has gained notice in several ways, most recently helping Tucson Audubon be a finalist for an Achievement Award from the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. In an April 6 ceremony, Ann Phillips accepted a plaque and a cash award on behalf of Tucson Audubon in recognition of having been a finalist in the foundation’s "innovation" category.
The program started in 2000 with work at the North Simpson Site. This site, located northwest of Marana, consists of retired farmland with a riparian area along the lower Santa Cruz River. Six years later, thousands of plants have been established, miles of irrigation line have been installed, hundreds of acres have been seeded, and over 300 people have made educational visits to the site. Visitors have taken tours, helped with restoration work, studied at habitat restoration workshops, and gone birding. In-depth monitoring of birds, habitat, plant survival, and hydrology is ongoing.
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The work has been supported by two major grants from the Arizona Water Protection Fund, in lieu mitigation funds, and a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Funds from the Arizona Game and Fish Department supported habitat restoration workshops—given by Tucson Audubon staffers—one of which took place at the North Simpson Site.
Habitat has improved at North Simpson due to increased plant diversity, density and structural diversity, all enhanced by restoration efforts. Improvement has also resulted from the absence of cattle, fenced out in 2001. Bird surveys have shown increases in the diversity of bird species at the site. An article in the March Vermilion Flycatcher described work that led to the relocation of 24 Burrowing Owls to the Simpson Site.
Now major habitat restoration work is starting at the Esperanza Ranch conservation easement, along the Santa Cruz River between Amado and Tubac. Three hundred acres are protected by this conservation easement, managed by Tucson Audubon, and also supported by the Arizona Water Protection Fund.
The Esperanza easement includes 2 miles along the west bank of the Santa Cruz River channel, a 1-mile reach of the Chivas Wash, and a 10-acre intermittently wet "pond" area created by the excavation of sand and gravel several decades ago. The remainder of the 300-acre easement includes Arizona upland habitat and former old farm fields and pastures. Cattle are now fenced out and restoration efforts are getting underway. No irrigation water is available there, so the crew is starting to create extensive rainwater harvesting structures (basins and swales) to control erosion and provide additional rainwater to plants, which will be introduced in the fall. Invasive non-native plants are being removed, and native species are being sown. Extensive studies will monitor the success of the work there.
Access to the conservation easement is strictly controlled and requires escort by a Tucson Audubon staff member. Look for opportunities to join our Tucson Audubon staff members on birding trips, site tours and volunteer work days beginning next fall.
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This page was updated on 07/13/06