Attachment_3_-_ORPI_Foundation_Document.pdf

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Foundation Document Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona May 2016

Attachment 3

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CABEZA PRIETA

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

TOHONO

O’ODHAM

INDIAN

RESERVATION

Reserva de la Biósfera El Pinacate y

Gran Desierto de Altar

N at io n al M o n u m en t

B o u n d ar y

ORGAN PIPE CACTUS

NATIONAL MONUMENT

Rio Sonoyta

Rio Sonoyta

Growler Wash

San Cristobal W ash

Aguajita Wash

Cuer da d e

L eñ a Kuakatch Wash

Alamo Wash

Cherioni W ash

Dripping Springs

Bates Well

Golden Bell Mine

Gachado Line Camp

Dos Lomitas Ranch

Pozo Nuevo Bonita Well

SENITA

BASIN

Quitobaquito

(pit toilets)(pit toilets) (pit toilets)

Mt Ajo 4808ft 1466m

Diaz Peak 4024ft 1227m

Diaz Spire 3892ft 1186m

Montezumas Head 3634ft 1108m

Tillotson Peak 3374ft 1028m

Kino Peak 3197ft 974m

Pinkley Peak 3145ft 959m

Twin Peaks

2615ft 797m

To Ajo Visitor Center to Why 22 mi

35 km

To Why

Why to Tucson 120 mi

193 km

Lukeville (port of entry)

UNITED STATES

MEXICO

Sonoyta

Sonoyta to Caborca 93 mi 149 km

Sonoyta to Puerto Peñasco 62 mi

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Victoria Mine

Alamo Canyon Campground

Ajo Mountains Wayside

Monument Entrance Wayside

Tillotson Peak Wayside

GRASS CANYON

Estes Canyon- Bull Pasture Trails

BATES

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17mi 28km

5mi 8km

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PASTURE

21mi

34km

Lower Colorado Valley Community

Arizona Upland Community

Self-guiding trail

Wheelchair-accessible

Primitive campground

Wheelchair-accessible campground (40-foot RV limit)

Picnic area

Hiking trail Historical site

Mixed cactus/ Palo verde

Jojoba/Evergreen scrubland

Graded dirt road 25-foot vehicle limit

Unimproved dirt road

Creosote bush/ Bursage

DIABLO MTNS

1670ft 509m

Mixed scrub

Saltbush

North Puerto Blanco Drive

South Puerto Blanco Drive

Dripping Springs Mine Trail

Red Tanks

Tinaja Tr

Begin one-way

Kris Eggle Visitor Center

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 Park Purpose Park Significance Fundamental Resources and Values Interpretive Themes

Part 2: Dynamic Components 8

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments Assessment of Planning and Data Needs

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values

Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs . . . 28

Planning and Data Needs

Part 3: Contributors 38

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument NPS Intermountain Region Denver Service Center, Planning Division

Appendixes 40

Appendix A: Presidential Proclamation and Legislative Acts for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Appendix B: Inventory of Special Mandates, Special Designations, and Administrative Commitments

Administrative Commitments Appendix C: Traditionally Associated Tribes and Groups Appendix D: Past and Ongoing Monument Planning and Data

Collection Efforts

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.

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/.

http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/

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.

Quitobaquito, a critically important desert spring and pond system that lies just north of the Mexican border, continues to support uniquely adapted plants and animals, including the endangered Quitobaquito pupfish and other species of conservation concern.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument also has a rich 15,000-year human history, serving as an important cultural center to the local American Indians. Hohokam trade routes bisect what is now the monument, and allowed for ease of movement through the Sonoran Desert as people looked to acquire resources and trade with neighboring cultures. To the Tohono O’odham people, the fruits of saguaro and organ pipe cactus provided food during the hot Sonoran summer. The presidential proclamation for the monument provides for the continued harvesting of cactus fruits by the “Indians of the Papago Reservation,” now called the Tohono O’odham Reservation. Human use continued at the site in the form of mining and ranching activities, which occurred from the late 19th and early 20th century through the 1970s. The effects of these activities can still be seen on the landscape today, as can remnant features such as prospecting holes, wells, and structures that are scattered across the monument.

In 1976, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was designated an international biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under the direction of the Man and the Biosphere Program. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is one of several protected areas that help preserve the Sonoran Desert ecosystem along the international border with Mexico, including Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Reserve (US Fish and Wildlife Service) and Sonoran Desert National Monument (Bureau of Land Management) in the United States, and El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. These areas collectively comprise the largest multiagency, international protected area in the Sonoran Desert Region of North America.

Park Purpose The purpose statement identifies the specific reason(s) for establishment of a particular park.

The purpose statement for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was drafted through a careful analysis of its presidential proclamation and the legislative history that influenced its development. The monument was established by presidential proclamation on April 13, 1937 (see appendix A for presidential proclamation and legislative history). The purpose statement lays the foundation for understanding what is most important about the monument.

Organ PiPe CaCtus natiOnal MOnuMent preserves and provides for public enjoyment and scientific understanding of diverse Sonoran Desert natural resources, including the organ pipe cactus;

multicultural connections and resources; and an expansive designated wilderness area.

Park Significance Significance statements express why a park’s resources and values are important enough to merit designation as a unit of the national park system. These statements are linked to the purpose of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and are supported by data, research, and consensus. Statements of significance describe the distinctive nature of the park and why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. They focus on the most important resources and values that will assist in park planning and management.

The following significance statements have been identified for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. (Please note that the sequence of the statements does not reflect the level of significance.)

1. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a vast Sonoran Desert designated wilderness area that protects wilderness values, such as opportunities to experience solitude and primitive recreation, expansive vistas, and dark night skies.

2. Distinct summer and winter rainy seasons and rare freezes contribute to the stature and diversity of Sonoran Desert natural communities at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. This environment supports a rich assemblage of tropical desert endemic species, including a number of endangered species and the largest protected concentration of organ pipe, senita, and saguaro cactus in the United States.

3. The monument has been continuously studied since the early 1940s, serving an international role in research, conservation, and education, and has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a globally important biosphere reserve that is representative of the natural Sonoran Desert ecosystem.

4. For more than 15,000 years, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has been a place of trade, travel, and convergence, as evidenced through prehistoric and historic sites such as Quitobaquito Springs and other culturally significant features, and is still being used today.

Fundamental Resources and Values Fundamental resources and values (FRVs) are those features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management processes because they are essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. Fundamental resources and values are closely related to a park’s legislative purpose and are more specific than significance statements.

Fundamental resources and values help focus planning and management efforts on what is truly significant about the park. One of the most important responsibilities of NPS managers is to ensure the conservation and public enjoyment of those qualities that are essential (fundamental) to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. If fundamental resources and values are allowed to deteriorate, the park purpose and/or significance could be jeopardized.

The following fundamental resources and values have been identified for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument:

· Columnar Cacti, including the Organ Pipe Cactus. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument exhibits an extraordinary collection of rich tropical flora, Pleistocene relict woodlands, and animals that have specially adapted to the conditions of the Sonoran Desert, including 26 species of cactus and three species of columnar cactus—the organ pipe, saguaro, and senita. The columnar cacti are iconic of the Sonoran Desert, and serve as indicators of overall ecosystem health.

· Wilderness. Ninety-five percent of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is designated wilderness, cooperatively managed with a number of monument partners to protect the wilderness character of the landscape. The largely undeveloped and primitive landscape is a natural haven for flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert.

Though the monument welcomes thousands of visitors a year, it is not difficult for visitors to experience remote solitude, primitive recreation, expansive vistas, and natural night skies in this immersive wilderness landscape.

· Quitobaquito. Quitobaquito, the location of several springs and seeps, is a unique desert oasis that has provided a constant source of water for desert travelers and residents for more than 15,000 years. Prehistoric Paleo-Indian, Archaic, and Hohokam groups, as well as Papago, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo groups all interacted with the environment, and in some cases, with each other. A former village, camp, and agricultural site, human habitation ended at Quitobaquito in 1957, though ongoing use of this tribal cultural place still continues by traditionally associated tribes and groups.

This oasis is also an ecological singularity, where water and high moisture contrast with the surrounding arid desert. As such, Quitobaquito is home to a diverse range of plants and animals, including many rare and endangered species such as the Quitobaquito pupfish, Sonoyta mud turtle, and Quitobaquito tryonia.

· Continuum of Human History. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument’s diverse range of cultural resources document thousands of years of human presence and adaptation to the arid Southwestern environment. Among the monument’s important cultural resources are prehistoric American Indian sites; traces of the Salt Trail and El Camino del Diablo; place names for early Spanish explorers and missions; and 19th and 20th century homesteads and mining sites. For contemporary people, including American Indians and European American descendants of explorers and pioneers, many of the monument’s cultural sites, objects, landscapes, and natural resources remain important touchstones that contribute to group identity and heritage.

· Science and Research. The long and highly active legacy of scientific study and scholarly research at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument illuminates the area’s natural and cultural history, including the stories of American Indians and pioneers, and their interaction with the natural environment. The monument’s designation as a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve further demonstrates the special diversity of the monument’s Sonoran Desert ecosystem, and its importance for continued scientific research and education.

Interpretive Themes Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting a park—they define the most important ideas or concepts communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes are derived from, and should reflect, park purpose, significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore and relate to all park significance statements and fundamental resources and values.

Interpretive themes are an organizational tool that reveal and clarify meaning, concepts, contexts, and values represented by park resources. Sound themes are accurate and reflect current scholarship and science. They encourage exploration of the context in which events or natural processes occurred and the effects of those events and processes. Interpretive themes go beyond a mere description of the event or process to foster multiple opportunities to experience and consider the park and its resources. These themes help explain why a park story is relevant to people who may otherwise be unaware of connections they have to an event, time, or place associated with the park.

The following interpretive themes have been identified for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument:

· Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument’s vast, tropical Sonoran Desert wilderness, and its more than 15,000 years of human history, offer unique opportunities to appreciate cultural and natural extremes—inviting us to examine our sense of place.

· The official interaction of the tri-nations (Tohono O’odham, Mexico, and the United States) and their ancestral convergence in this place attests to human resilience and our evolving relationship with dynamic landscapes.

· Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a globally important, Sonoran Desert living laboratory—a biosphere reserve—advancing scientific discovery and exploration that seeks to satisfy curiosity, and continually inspires us to pursue understanding.

· Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument’s sensory-immersing experiences within vistas of cacti, mountains, and changing light and shadow—even into the night—unveil stark contrasts, humbling beauty, perspective, and personal rejuvenation.

Part 2: Dynamic Components The dynamic components of a foundation document include special mandates and administrative commitments and an assessment of planning and data needs. These components are dynamic because they will change over time. New special mandates can be established and new administrative commitments made. As conditions and trends of fundamental resources and values change over time, the analysis of planning and data needs will need to be revisited and revised, along with key issues. Therefore, this part of the foundation document will be updated accordingly.

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments Many management decisions for a park unit are directed or influenced by special mandates and administrative commitments with other federal agencies, state and local governments, utility companies, partnering organizations, and other entities. Special mandates are requirements specific to a park that must be fulfilled. Mandates can be expressed in enabling legislation, in separate legislation following the establishment of the park, or through a judicial process.

They may expand on park purpose or introduce elements unrelated to the purpose of the park. Administrative commitments are, in general, agreements that have been reached through formal, documented processes, often through memorandums of agreement. Examples include easements, rights-of-way, arrangements for emergency service responses, etc. Special mandates and administrative commitments can support, in many cases, a network of partnerships that help fulfill the objectives of the park and facilitate working relationships with other organizations. They are an essential component of managing and planning for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

For more information about the existing special mandates, special designations, and administrative commitments for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, please see appendix B.

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs Once the core components of part 1 of the foundation document have been identified, it is important to gather and evaluate existing information about the park’s fundamental resources and values, and develop a full assessment of the park’s planning and data needs. The assessment of planning and data needs section presents planning issues, the planning projects that will address these issues, and the associated information requirements for planning, such as resource inventories and data collection, including GIS data.

There are three sections in the assessment of planning and data needs:

1. analysis of fundamental resources and values

2. identification of key issues and associated planning and data needs

3. identification of planning and data needs (including spatial mapping activities or GIS maps)

The analysis of fundamental resources and values and identification of key issues leads up to and supports the identification of planning and data collection needs.

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values The fundamental resource or value analysis table includes current conditions, potential threats and opportunities, planning and data needs, and selected laws and NPS policies related to management of the identified resource or value.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Columnar Cacti, including the Organ Pipe Cactus

Related Significance Statements

Significance statements 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• Cactus communities are large and healthy, exhibiting a good age distribution, abundance of new recruits, and indicators of good health (i.e., flowers and fruit).

• Temperature cooling in valley bottoms as a result of temperature inversions makes organ pipe cacti appear more on slopes.

• Columnar cacti are a keystone species and an indicator of overall Sonoran Desert ecosystem health. Many other species depend on them as a source of food and shelter, including the lesser long-nosed bats, deer, rabbits, woodpeckers, and birds that use cavities in the cacti for nesting, such as pygmy owls.

• The Sonoran Desert ecosystem in the monument is fairly intact, with the exception of the continued spread of invasive buffelgrass and other nonnative invasive species.

Trends

• Trends related to columnar cacti are typically unknown, but as the temperature warms, the range of these species and others found just south of the border may be expanding into formerly cooler environments.

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• Climate change predictions for the region implicate persistent drought, warming temperatures, and shortening winters. These drivers are likely to change the distribution of many species, including columnar cacti and high-elevation species. Increased wildfire is likely. Loss of plant species in the drier, western part of the monument could also occur, along with the loss of Pleistocene relicts.

• Monument ecosystems are highly sensitive to nutrient-enrichment effects of nitrogen deposition. Excess nitrogen deposition from coal-fired power plant emissions, vehicle exhaust, and agriculture can help invasive plant species to grow faster and out-compete native vegetation adapted to lower nitrogen conditions. Biological crust’s role in soil fertility can also be affected.

• High wind and wet soil as a result of severe weather events can lead to blowdown of cacti; during a noteworthy event in 2010, more than 160 large specimens were found blown over within view of Puerto Blanco Drive.

• Sub-freezing temperatures may kill young tissue at the end of the stems, as many cactus species are at their northern distributional limit in or near the monument and are intolerant of hard freezes.

• Isolated incidences of graffiti on cacti occur.

• There are isolated incidences of vehicles colliding with cacti along Arizona Highway 85, some of which occur as a result of interdiction of undocumented aliens.

• Buffelgrass and fountain grass are well-established invasive plants that, if left unmanaged, would have long-term and widespread impacts on the ecosystem by outcompeting native vegetation. In managed areas, buffelgrass and fountain grass have been declining, but in other vast areas of the monument where management is more difficult, buffelgrass has been increasing.

• Off-road vehicle activity has been abundant in the monument, and has caused long-term, widespread impacts to soils, vegetation, and associated ecosystem processes.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Columnar Cacti, including the Organ Pipe Cactus

Threats and Opportunities

Opportunities

• Continue collection of columnar cacti phenology to assess a trend in changes related to cacti blooming.

• Expand opportunities for research and monitoring related to cacti, potentially through a citizen science program, or increased collaboration with educational institutions.

• Continue to collaborate with neighbors and partners to share data and cooperate in conservation efforts related to the Sonoran Desert ecosystem. Collaboration could include working together to implement measures to reroute illegal traffic around ecologically sensitive areas, if needed.

• Expand interpretation of cacti and the important role of cacti in the broader ecosystem.

• Continue collaborating with the US Border Patrol (USBP) to educate USBP staff to minimize impacts to the natural resources of the monument.

• Continue working with partners to assess off-road vehicle impacts, and develop and implement restoration projects where opportunities exist.

• Continue coordinating with the NPS Sonoran Desert Ecosystem Inventory and Monitoring

(I&M) network and the NPS Exotic Plant Management Team.

• Investigate buffelgrass control methods, including if biological control agents are being used elsewhere and how effective they are. The monument could work with Saguaro National Park to coordinate management and share management strategies between the park units in order to maximize resources and effectiveness of treatments and control.

• Continue working with members of the O’odham Nation and other associated traditional tribes and groups allowing them to harvest cactus fruit while effectively managing the resources and areas being harvested.

Data and/or GIS Needs

• Cactus age/size/structure data.

• Survey and mapping of invasive species.

• Investigate air pollution impacts to sensitive park ecosystems.

Planning Needs

• Integrated pest management plan.

• Comprehensive interpretive plan.

• Wayside plan.

• Planning for adaptation to climate change.

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV, and NPS Policy-level Guidance

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV

• The Wilderness Act of 1964

• Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended

• National Invasive Species Act of 1990

• Lacey Act of 1900, as amended

• Migratory Bird Treaty Act

• Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act

• National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

• Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974, as amended

• Clean Water Act of 1972

• Clean Air Act of 1977

• Executive Order 13112, “Invasive Species”

• Executive Order 13514, “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic

Performance”

• Executive Order 13423, “Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and

Transportation Management”

• Secretarial Order 3206, “American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust

Responsibilities, and the Endangered Species Act”

• Secretarial Order 3289, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources”

Fundamental Resource or Value

Columnar Cacti, including the Organ Pipe Cactus

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV, and NPS Policy-level Guidance

NPS Policy-level Guidance (NPS Management Policies 2006 and Director’s Orders)

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§1.6) “Cooperative Conservation Beyond Park Boundaries”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.1) “General Management Concepts”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.1.4) “Partnerships”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.4.1) “General Principles for Managing Biological Resources”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.7.2) “Weather and Climate”

• NPS Director’s Order 18: Wildland Fire Management

• NPS Director’s Order 77: Natural Resource Management

• NPS Natural Resource Management Reference Manual 77

• NPS Wildland Fire Management Reference Manual 18

Fundamental Resource or Value

Wilderness

Related Significance Statements

Significance statement 1.

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• The natural quality of wilderness character varies widely in condition, due to both natural and human influences.

• Wilderness management values and strategies closely reflect those of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Program.

• The undeveloped quality of wilderness character is substantially degraded by human impacts, mostly due to cross-border activity. Vehicle use, low-level aircraft overflights, and illegal camps and associated impacts are common; infrastructure exists within and adjacent to wilderness and is visible from deep within wilderness.

• The untrammeled quality of wilderness is commonly impacted by activities to manipulate the wilderness’ biophysical environment. These include trespass by invasive livestock and feral animals, backcountry vehicle travel, and sometimes restoration actions.

• Opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation are available, though sometimes impeded by the presence of cross-border activity and the evidence of human presence that pervades wilderness (trash, footprints, vehicle tracks, aircraft, etc.). The wilderness does not see a large number of visitors at this time, in part due to the recent reopening of a number of areas to visitor travel.

• Road restoration efforts have lessened the impact of incursions to wilderness as a result of cross-border activity. About 200 miles of informal roads (undesignated vehicle routes) in the wilderness, previously used by the US Border Patrol, have been closed to vehicle traffic in order to be restored.

Trends

• Generally, wilderness character within the monument is improving, in large part due to the road restoration efforts, closer coordination with the US Border Patrol, and other subsequent efforts.

• The monument expects increasing visitation to the wilderness (in the forms of hiking, backpacking, and camping) following the relatively recent reopening of the entire monument; some areas have been designated for overnight backcountry use.

• The preservation of wilderness character continues to be important at the monument.

This has become even more important as the American West becomes increasingly urbanized and developed, and there is currently no apparent end to cross-border pressures.

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• Average annual temperature is increasing due to climate change, causing increased wildfire, tree mortality, reduced flow of springs and rivers, shifting of lower-elevation desert and woodland ecosystems upslope, and a shifting of bird species northward.

• Climate change may indirectly increase the spread of buffelgrass and Africanized bees, thereby affecting the wilderness character.

• Air quality indicators, including deposition and ozone, are impacted by international, regional, and local sources of air pollution such as agriculture, power plants, industry, and urban sprawl. If the port in Puerto Peñasco becomes heavily used, vehicle traffic (vacationers and trucks), and industrialization of that area will likely increase.

• Undocumented migrants, drug smugglers, and law enforcement efforts and related activities can all degrade wilderness character. Associated threats and impacts may include increased fire risk, wildlife disturbance, habitat destruction or modification, increased noise and artificial light, spread of invasive species, trash, and human waste, increased/continued vehicle use (ground and air), and the creation of trails by migrants and/or law enforcement personnel. These activities may also impact the safety of visitors and staff at the monument.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Wilderness

Threats and Opportunities

Threats (continued)

• Brassica, buffelgrass, and fountain grass are well-established invasive plants that, if left unmanaged, would have long-term and widespread impacts on the ecosystem by outcompeting native vegetation. In managed areas, buffelgrass and fountain grass have been declining, but in other vast areas of the monument where management is more difficult, buffelgrass has been increasing.

• Actions authorized by the monument that intentionally manipulate the biophysical environment, such as use of heavy equipment for backcountry road restoration, threaten the untrammeled quality of wilderness character (although these management actions may be necessary to protect and enhance other qualities of wilderness character).

• Grazing incursions sometimes result from the alteration or cutting of the monument’s border fence by undocumented migrants and drug smugglers, or through interdiction efforts. Cattle grazing manipulates the biophysical environment, alters vegetation, and leads to the spread of invasive species as seeds are deposited into the soil through manure.

• Although the wilderness is mostly free from modern human development, there are a few non-recreational structures, installations, and developments. These structures include Blue Light of Life beacons, multiagency communication relay stations, and several monument-managed weather stations. Additionally, United States Border Patrol communications and monitoring towers are visible from within wilderness, though they are not in wilderness.

• There is a significant amount of fencing on the monument and wilderness boundaries, including 30 miles of international border fence between the US and Mexico that serves as a vehicle barrier (5.5 miles is substantially larger to also function as a pedestrian barrier). While the fencing often prevents some cross-border activity and illegal grazing incursions, the use of fencing prevents the movement of other animals and exists as a modern human development on the landscape. The pedestrian fence is a significant visual intrusion and, in addition to preventing wildlife movement, also causes significant issues during flood events.

• Scenic vistas are sometimes obscured by pollution-caused haze. At night, air pollution scatters artificial light, increasing the effect of light pollution on the night sky.

• Military overflights continue to compromise wilderness values in much the same way as some law enforcement interdiction activities.

• The solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation quality may be threatened by increased noise from vehicles and aircraft, light pollution from development, and human-made impediments on the viewshed.

• Visitation to the wilderness may negatively impact the natural quality, through soil compaction and erosion from social trails and horse use, as well as spread of invasive species, trash, and human waste.

Opportunities

• Continue collaborating with the US Border Patrol to educate United States Border Patrol staff to minimize impacts to the resources of the monument (including wilderness). The monument currently organizes on- and off-site wilderness training through the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, as well as National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Endangered Species Act trainings.

• Work cooperatively with other federal, state, and Mexican agencies and local stakeholders to increase awareness about the monument’s resources and the importance of protection of wilderness.

• Investigate what other wilderness areas do to accommodate mandated uses (such as US Border Patrol activities) while still providing protection for sensitive wilderness resources.

Similarly, explore how other wilderness managers are using less-invasive management actions to protect wilderness. Apply any lessons learned to management of the wilderness at the monument.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Wilderness

Threats and Opportunities

Opportunities (continued)

• Increase efforts to control invasive nonnative species like buffelgrass and fountain grass, in coordination with the NPS Southwest Exotic Plant Management Team.

• Continue efforts underway to bury the power line running parallel to Arizona Highway 85, and convert the existing right-of-way into a wilderness hiking and horseback riding trail.

• Increase communication about the beauty of the monsoon season in the wilderness to draw more summertime visitors.

• Expand opportunities for research and monitoring related to wilderness and the International Biosphere Reserve program, potentially through a citizen science program, or increased collaboration with educational institutions and the NPS Research Permit and Reporting System.

• Increase interpretation and educational programing at the monument, as well as in neighboring communities and schools, related to what a wilderness designation means, protection of wilderness character, and wilderness recreation. This is also an opportunity to further educate visitors about Leave No Trace and wilderness stewardship.

• Increase or expand night sky interpretive programs.

Data and/or GIS Needs

• Visitor use survey.

• Wilderness character assessment.

• Night sky condition assessment.

• Visual resource inventory.

• Acoustic condition monitoring.

• Survey and mapping of invasive species.

• Soils and biocrust surveys and assessments.

Planning Needs

• Wilderness stewardship plan.

• Comprehensive interpretive plan.

• Wayside plan.

• Monument lighting plan.

• Resource management and restoration plan for Quitobaquito Springs and site.

• Erosion abatement plan / backcountry roads management plan.

• Visual resource management plan.

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV, and NPS Policy-level Guidance

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV

• Wilderness Act of 1964

NPS Policy-level Guidance (NPS Management Policies 2006 and Director’s Orders)

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§1.6) “Cooperative Conservation Beyond Park Boundaries”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.9) “Soundscape Management”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.10) “Lightscape Management”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (chapter 6) “Wilderness Preservation and Management”

• Director’s Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship

• NPS Reference Manual 41: Wilderness Stewardship

• NPS Keeping It Wild in the National Parks User Guide

Fundamental Resource or Value

Quitobaquito

Related Significance Statements

Significance statements 2 and 4.

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• Generally, the cultural landscape of Quitobaquito is degraded, largely due to past management practices and benign neglect. All historic buildings, fences, and corrals were formerly razed from the Quitobaquito site. Some roads, trails, irrigation channels, ceremonial sites, and orchard remnants are still in their historic sites, as are the pond and springs.

• Loss of heritage planting, absence of historic structures, changes in plant communities, aging of cottonwood trees, and soil erosion are all visible changes to the Quitobaquito environment.

• In 2006, the water level of Quitobaquito pond dropped precipitously, and after several unsuccessful attempts to reverse the trend, it was determined that a leak was occurring in the pond liner from plants growing on the retaining berm. The pond was drained in that area and the retaining berm reconstructed to remove vegetation and repack the liner with bentonite clay. A cement inner wall was installed within the existing berm.

This effort has proven largely successful in restoring depth and surface area of the pond.

However, some of these repairs are more temporary in nature, as evidenced by the earthen dam and pond bottom continuing to leak, and may need to be revisited in the near future.

• One of the major features at the site, a senescent cottonwood tree which has cultural importance, is currently further compromising the integrity of the earthen dam as the tree continues to degrade with age. The tree’s hollow stems are also conduits for water to pass through the dam.

• Quitobaquito pupfish and Sonoyta mud turtle populations have rebounded following restoration of the pond.

• The fauna and flora of Quitobaquito are in good condition. Wildlife uses the area and native vegetation has continued to colonize the bosque, but have compromised the Ak- Chin and canal structures.

Trends

• Visitation to Quitobaquito has increased due to the recent expansion of access at the monument. However, there are limited facilities to accommodate visitor use at the site (i.e., waysides, restrooms, accessible trails, etc.).

• The pond and earthen dam continue to leak in areas other than those included in the restoration efforts in 2006.

• Traffic continues to increase on Mexico Highway 2, just across the international border fence from Quitobaquito, impacting the natural sounds at the site and potentially posing increased threats from contamination as a result of hazardous material spills.

• The orchard remnants at the site are in poor condition and continue to worsen.

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• The significance of the Quitobaquito site is not well understood by visitors, which may affect how they treat or care for the site when they visit (related to littering, social trails, soil erosion, and improper disposal of human waste).

• This area has long been used as a staging area for cross-border activity, including associated impacts related to trampling of natural and cultural resources, littering, and potential impacts to visitor experience.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Quitobaquito

Threats and Opportunities

Threats (continued)

• Water quality in this region is highly variable, and is susceptible to contamination from human activities and atmospheric deposition of chemicals. To date, there have been no large deviations from baseline water quality measures at Quitobaquito Pond, but even small fluctuations could pose a threat to the threatened and endangered wildlife that depends upon this area, especially if climate change comes with reduced rainfall in the region that recharges the springs.

• Evapotranspiration is an additional factor that decreases water levels, in addition to leaking water from the earthen dam and pond bottom.

• A hazardous material spill from traffic on nearby Mexico Highway 2 could, depending on the nature of the spill, greatly impact the ecological integrity of Quitobaquito and Quitobaquito Springs.

• Due to an accumulation of vegetation in the area and an increase in dead wood, fire is a regular threat at the site.

• Introduction and proliferation of invasive plants and animals could greatly impact the ecological integrity of the site, including the threatened and endangered species.

Opportunities

• Create a more robust visitor experience at the site, through an increase in visitor services and interpretation of the natural and cultural resources of Quitobaquito.

• Investigate working with traditionally associated tribes and groups to restore the tribally important site.

• Continue working with the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, to propagate cuttings of the original figs and pomegranates from the cultural landscape, and reintroduce those cuttings to the landscape in order to restore the orchards.

• The monument should continue propagating efforts already initiated as well—these have been mostly for the cottonwood and willow trees, but could be expanded to other species. The monument’s nursery should be utilized to its fullest potential.

• Continue work on the fire management plan and implement fuel reduction strategies.

Data and/or GIS Needs

• GIS mapping of cultural resources at Quitobaquito.

• Archeological surveys.

• Archeological overview and assessment.

• Ethnographic overview and assessment.

• Cultural landscape inventories.

• Groundwater assessment.

Planning Needs

• Resource management and restoration plan for Quitobaquito Springs and site.

• Comprehensive interpretive plan.

• Cultural landscape reports.

• Cultural resource management plan.

• Wayside plan.

• Planning for adaptation to climate change.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Quitobaquito

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV, and NPS Policy-level Guidance

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV

• Clean Water Act

• The Antiquities Act of 1906

• Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act of 1935

• National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended; 54 USC §300101 et seq.

• Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended; 16 USC §1531 et seq.

• Archeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974

• American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978

• Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979

• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990

• Museum Act (54 USC 102501 through 102504)

• Executive Order 11514, “Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality”

• Executive Order 11593, “Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment”

• Executive Order 11988, “Floodplain Management”

• Executive Order 12088, “Federal Compliance with Pollution Control Standards”

• National Flood Insurance Program

• Executive Order 13007, “Indian Sacred Sites”

• Executive Order 13175, “Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments”

• Secretarial Order 3206, “American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust Responsibilities, and the Endangered Species Act”

• Secretarial Order 3289, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and other Natural and Cultural Resources”

• “Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archaeological Collections” (36 CFR 79)

• “Protection of Historic Properties” (36 CFR 800)

NPS Policy-level Guidance (NPS Management Policies 2006 and Director’s Orders)

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (chapter 5) “Cultural Resource Management”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.6.1) “Protection of Surface Waters and Groundwaters”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.6.2) “Water Rights”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.6.4) “Floodplains”

• Director’s Order 24: NPS Museum Collections Management

• Director’s Order 28: Cultural Resource Management

• Director’s Order 28A: Archeology

• Director’s Order 77-2: Floodplain Management

• Special Directive 93-4 “Floodplain Management, Revised Guidelines for National Park Service Floodplain Compliance” (1993)

• The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation

• Department of the Interior Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes

• NPS Museum Handbook, parts I, II, and III

Fundamental Resource or Value

Continuum of Human History

Related Significance Statements

Significance statement 4.

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• At this time, only 8% of the monument has been surveyed for archeological resources, with 471 sites recorded in the Archeological Sites Management Information System (ASMIS) database (365 prehistoric and 106 historic). The current condition of archeological sites ranges from good to poor.

• Condition databases are not currently up to date (e.g., ASMIS, List of Classified Structures, etc.). The needed information has not been gathered and formally recorded to make comprehensive updates.

• Remnants of the nationally significant Salt Trails pass through the monument. They are currently being documented, and evidence of their presence can be found throughout the monument.

• There has been no evidence of vandalism noted at any rock art sites in the monument, most likely due to their remote locations.

• Historic structures range from good to poor condition based on what is recorded in the List of Classified Structures database.

• Tribal relations are good, but could be improved.