Attachment13_SAGU_Foundation_Document.pdf

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

Foundation Document Saguaro National Park Arizona April 2014

Attachment 13 SAGU Exhibit Planning Design Fabrication and Installation Contract

Saguaro National Park

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There are many hiking trails in this area. Detailed maps are available at the visitor center.

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Not all trails are shown.

Detailed maps are available at the visitor center.

Saguaro West–Tucson Mountain District i

Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1

Introduction 3

Part 1: Core Components 4

Brief Description of the Park 4 Park Purpose 5 Park Significance 6 Fundamental Resources and Values 7 Other Important Resources and Values 8 Interpretive Themes 9

Part 2: Dynamic Components 10

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 10 Special Mandates 10

Administrative Commitments 10

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 11 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 11

Analysis of Other Important Resources and Values 42

Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 43

Planning and Data Needs 45

Part 3: Contributors 52

Saguaro National Park 52 NPS, Intermountain Regional Office 52 NPS, Inventory and Monitoring Program 52 NPS, Denver Service Center 52 Partners 52

Appendix A: Proclamations, Enabling Legislation, and Legislative Acts for Saguaro National Park 53

Appendix B: Inventory of Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 59

Inventory of Special Mandates 59 Administrative Commitments 59

Limited Concession Permit 60

Appendix C: Basics for Wilderness Stewardship 61

Wilderness Background Information 61 Wilderness Character Narrative 61

Natural Quality of Wilderness Character 61

Undeveloped Quality of Wilderness Character 63

Untrammeled Quality of Wilderness Character 63

Solitude or a Primitive and Unconfined Type of Recreation Quality of Wilderness Character 64

Other Features of Value 65 Issues for Wilderness Planning 66 ii

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 401 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the 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 archaeological 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, other important 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 Saguaro National Park 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, other important 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 Park Saguaro National Park was established by President Herbert Hoover on March 1, 1933.

Originally named Saguaro National Monument, the name was changed to Saguaro National Park by an act of Congress on October 14, 1994 (see appendix A). Wilderness was designated in 1976, and boundary changes have taken place in 1961, 1976, 1991, and 1994. The park has 91,442.42 acres with 3,916.35 acres in nonfederal ownership and 87,526.07 acres in federal ownership. Designated wilderness includes 71,400 acres. Lands have been added to the park since wilderness designation in 1976.

This mountainous park has two districts—the Rincon Mountain District east of Tucson and the Tucson Mountain District west of Tucson. Both districts of the park are in Pima County, Arizona, and are separated by the City of Tucson. The Rincon Mountain District is bordered on the east and portions of the north and south by the Coronado National Forest. Residential developments border sections of the western, southwestern, and northwestern boundaries of this district. The Tucson Mountain District is bordered primarily by Pima County’s Tucson Mountain Park on the south and private residential development on the north, east, and west.

In 2010, according to U.S. Census data, Pima County had a population of approximately 980,263, and the City of Tucson’s population was 520,116 residents. The city is growing rapidly both in terms of population and land area. Between 1990 and 2000, the area of land within Tucson city limits increased by more than 25% through the annexation of more than 40 square miles of unincorporated Pima County. When the park districts were created, dirt roads connected these distant protected areas to the city. The 30 miles separating the two park districts are now mostly filled in with urban development and the city limits of Tuscon.

The trend has been expanding urbanization outward from the city core, and the city limits have expanded to abut the park boundaries in some locations. The park districts, and adjacent protected areas, have become islands of wildness in a sea of urban development.

Saguaro National Park protects a superb example of the Sonoran Desert ecosystem, featuring exceptional stands of saguaro cacti, important wildlife habitat, critical riparian areas, and associated mountains. The park also protects significant cultural resources, including national register-listed or -eligible archeological resources, places important to American Indian cultural traditions, and historic structures.

A visit to Saguaro National Park allows visitors to come in close contact with one of the most interesting and unusual collections of desert life in the United States. Visitors of all ages are fascinated and enchanted by the desert giants, saguaro cacti, especially their many interesting and complex interrelationships with other desert life. The park provides exceptional opportunities for visitors to experience solitude and discover nature on their own, to educate people through close interaction with the environment, and to see the outstanding and diverse scenic features of this classic desert landscape.

Annual recreational visitation to the park has averaged around 700,000 in the last decade.

The typical peak period of visitation at Saguaro is January through March. The months with the lowest visitation levels are July and August. The heat of the desert makes the summer months less desirable for many of the activities offered at the park. Most of the park’s visitors participate in day use activities such as hiking, bicycling, walking, horseback riding, scenic driving, and interpretive and educational events. Due to the proximity of the park to Tucson, a large number of Saguaro’s visitors are local to the area and have visited the park many times.

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

The purpose statement for Saguaro National Park was drafted through a careful analysis of its enabling legislation and the legislative history that influenced its development. The park was established by Executive Order by President Herbert Hoover on March 1, 1933 (see appendix A). The purpose statement lays the foundation for understanding what is most important about the park.

The purpose of Saguaro National Park is to preserve and protect saguaro cacti; diverse biotic communities (including the Sonoran

Desert, associated mountain ecosystems, and Rincon Creek);

cultural and archeological features; and scientific, scenic, and wilderness values. The park provides opportunities for research, education, and public enjoyment, and strives to protect its resources from the effects of the encroachment from urbanization and development.

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 Saguaro National Park, 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 Saguaro National Park. (Please note that the sequence of the statements do not reflect the level of significance.)

1. The saguaro is the tallest cactus in the United States and is the namesake of Saguaro National Park. Its distinctive form is recognized worldwide as an iconic symbol of the American Southwest. The Sonoran Desert ecosystem, represented within the park, contains superb saguaro stands that are easily accessed by visitors.

2. Saguaro National Park contains the largest roadless sky island in the American Southwest. Encompassing a wide range of elevations, the Rincon Mountains support extraordinary biodiversity within a small geographic area. Within a few miles, the species within the park range from desert dwellers such as Gila monsters, desert tortoise, and saguaro cacti to montane residents such as American black bear, spotted owl, and Douglas fir.

3. Saguaro National Park preserves one of the largest concentrations of rare and distinct aquatic micro-habitats such as tinajas, seeps, and springs, in the desert Southwest.

These habitats, along with the riparian corridor of Rincon Creek, support rare and special status species such as lowland leopard frog, yellow-billed cuckoo, gray hawk, and southwestern willow flycatcher, as well as plant species uncommon to the desert, including sycamore and ash.

4. Saguaro National Park has a long human history and legacy of scientific interest and research and serves as an exceptional living laboratory for studying ecological and geological processes as well as the environmental consequences of climate change.

5. Saguaro National Park’s close proximity to a large urban community provides exceptional access to wild places in which visitors can experience wilderness and scenic views.

6. Saguaro National Park contains a rich concentration of cultural resources that tell the history of continuous and diverse human occupation in the Southwest from prehistoric to modern times. The landscape contains evidence of how people adapt, modify, and thrive in an arid environment, and is an important part of the cultural heritage of associated American Indian tribes, Hispanic populations, and other groups.

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 Saguaro National Park:

· Saguaro Cacti: Saguaro National Park is home to the tallest cactus in the United States. The giant saguaro is an iconic symbol of the American west. These majestic plants, found only in a small portion of the United States, are protected by Saguaro National Park, to the east and west of the modern city of Tucson. Saguaros can grow up to 60 feet and can live for more than 150 years. There is a long history of traditional use of saguaro cacti by American Indians, which continues in the park to this day.

· Sonoran Desert and Sky Island Ecosystems Integrity: The 70,000-square-mile Sky Islands region of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico is globally important because of its rich diversity of species and habitats.

These mountain “islands,” forested ranges separated by vast expanses of desert and grassland plains, are among the most diverse ecosystems in the world. The Rincon Mountains in Saguaro National Park rise out of the Sonoran Desert to over 8,000 feet and host vegetative communities ranging from desert cacti, desert grasslands, oak woodlands, to mixed conifer forests. This broad-ranging biodiversity exists in a relatively small geographical area, creating an extremely rich assemblage of plants and animals. The diversity of the Sonoran Desert and Sky Islands region ecosystems are among the most threatened in North America by land development, climate change, livestock grazing practices, fire suppression, off-road vehicles, and resource extraction.

· Rincon Creek and Aquatic Habitats: Rincon Creek originates within the Rincon Mountains, with headwaters, major tributaries, and lower elevation riparian hardwood forests all within the park boundary. Riparian areas of the park are essential habitat for many sensitive plants and animals. Tinajas (“little jars” in Spanish) are spring-fed bedrock pools in streams that provide rare desert water during dry months for aquatic wildlife such as leopard frogs and mud turtles, as well as mountain lions, bats, and many other mammals and birds.

· Cultural Resources: Saguaro National Park’s diverse range of cultural resources document thousands of years of human presence and adaptation to the arid Southwestern environment. Among the park’s important cultural resources are prehistoric American Indian sites, 19th and early 20th century homesteads and mining sites, and structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The park provides enduring cultural connections for associated American Indian tribes, Hispanic populations, and other groups. The traditional harvest of saguaro cactus fruit by tribal members of the Tohono O’odham Nation is among the cultural activities carried out in the park.

· Wilderness Stewardship in an Urban Area: Saguaro National Park is 78% designated wilderness, which is in close proximity to and is a significant contrast to Tucson’s urban development. All six biotic zones in the park are represented in wilderness. The Saguaro Wilderness protects exceptional stands of saguaro cacti, some critical riparian areas, and associated high elevation ecosystems.

· Urban Area Interface and Regional Identity: There has been a long history of regional community engagement to create the park and protect park resources.

Saguaro National Park’s location contiguous to a large urban area provides residents access to outdoor and cultural experiences close to home. The close proximity of urban and wilderness areas provides a variety of recreational and educational experiences as well as the challenges and opportunities of balancing urban communities and wilderness. This interface provides an outstanding opportunity for outreach and partnerships with the local community and promotion of the National Park Service.

· Clean Air: Saguaro National Park is designated as a Class I area under the Clean Air Act. Unimpaired, clean air allows people to fully enjoy the park. Clean air protects human health, allows for spectacular views, and supports healthy ecosystems.

· Living Laboratory: Outstanding scientific interest influenced the establishment of the monument and has continued to this day. Long-term research datasets allow for unique opportunities to monitor condition of resources over time both in the past and into the future. Continued scientific research within the park bolsters our ability to understand, interpret, and protect park resources.

Other Important Resources and Values Saguaro National Park contains other resources and values that are not fundamental to the purpose of the park and may be unrelated to its significance, but are important to consider in planning processes. These are referred to as “other important resources and values” (OIRV).

These resources and values have been selected because they are important in the operation and management of the park and warrant special consideration in park planning.

The following other important resource and value have been identified for Saguaro National Park:

· Geologic Resources: Saguaro National Park contains an outstanding display of the structural characteristics of metamorphic core complexes, a geologic process first described in North America at the park. The park’s metamorphic core complex provides one of the most accessible views of their structural characteristics.

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 and other important 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 Saguaro National Park:

· Saguaro Cacti: The saguaro cactus, known worldwide as the symbol of the American West, engages our imagination and scientific curiosity with its majestic size, shape, and age while intriguing us with its similarity to the human silhouette.

· The Land and the People: Understanding the impacts and changes created by thousands of years of human interaction with the land has enormous potential for multicultural, historical, and scientific understanding that promotes protection and preservation of cultural and natural resources.

· Wilderness Stewardship in an Urban Area: The proximity of Saguaro National Park to metropolitan Tucson provides convenient opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to enjoy natural areas and designated wilderness and to participate in park stewardship, but increasing demands for recreation coupled with urban encroachment create challenges for management and preservation.

· Ecosystem Diversity: The diversity of Saguaro National Park provides opportunities to understand the ecology of the Sonoran Desert, Madrean woodlands, sky islands, and riparian areas, and how they influence the distribution, stability, and other characteristics of biological species and communities.

· Adaptations and Environmental Change: The plants and animals of Saguaro National Park have developed a variety of fascinating physical features, physiological adaptations, and special behaviors to adapt and survive in the arid environment of the Sonoran Desert. The park serves as a living laboratory and benchmark allowing us to monitor and measure environmental change, the understanding of which may be critical to present and future generations.

· Geology: A variety of complex geological processes created the landforms of the park and the surrounding region and provides opportunities to explore how underlying geology influences the living world, including all of us.

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 and other important 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, and arrangements for emergency service responses. 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 Saguaro National Park.

Special Mandates

· Wilderness designation (P.L. 94-567)

· Class I under the Clean Air Act (P.L. 88-206)

Administrative Commitments

· Life Estates: The park contains two life estates or reservations of use and occupancy:

a 40-acre parcel in the Rincon Mountain District and a 5-acre parcel in the Tucson Mountain District. Both of these life estates are still in effect.

· Encumbrances: A Master Deed Listing shows various encumbrances on lands purchased or transferred from the Bureau of Land Management. These encumbrances include minerals, roads, ditches, and power lines. Most of the encumbrance dates are indefinite.

For more information about the existing administrative commitments for Saguaro National Park, 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 and other important 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 and other important resources and values

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

3. planning and data needs tables

The analysis of fundamental and other important 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

Saguaro Cacti

Related Significance Statements

The saguaro is the tallest cactus in the United States and is the namesake of Saguaro National Park. Its distinctive form is recognized worldwide as an iconic symbol of the American Southwest. The Sonoran Desert ecosystem, represented within the park, contains superb saguaro stands that are easily accessed by visitors.

Saguaro National Park contains the largest roadless sky island in the American Southwest.

Encompassing a wide range of elevations, the Rincon Mountains support extraordinary biodiversity within a small geographic area. Within a few miles, the species within the park range from desert dwellers such as Gila monsters, desert tortoise, and saguaro cacti to montane residents such as American black bear, spotted owl, and Douglas fir.

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• There are currently an estimated 1.6 million saguaros in the park.

• Saguaros are basically healthy with a stable population in both districts of the park.

• A microchip program is in place for tracking theft of smaller saguaros.

Trends

• There are fewer older and larger saguaros in the park than in the recent past due to land management practices and extreme freeze events.

• “Nurse” plants, needed for recruitment of saguaros, are currently recovering from past land management practices and are on the increase, resulting in more young saguaros.

• There is stable recruitment of young saguaros in both districts; past impacts were more extensive in the Rincon Mountain District.

• The urban interface is increasing in the surrounding area and therefore causing habitat loss outside of the park.

• The impact of climate change on saguaros is unknown. There are diverging models available.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Saguaro Cacti

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• The nonnative invasive buffelgrass is currently the biggest threat to saguaro cacti.

Buffelgrass outcompetes native vegetation including saguaros.

• As a result of the invasion of buffelgrass, the fuel load is increased in continuity and loading. Fires occurring in areas dominated by buffelgrass will kill native vegetation, including saguaros, and allow the further spread of buffelgrass.

• Air pollution (nitrogen deposition) promotes the spread of buffelgrass at the expense of native vegetation.

• Increased incidents of freezing, associated with climate change, can damage and potentially kill saguaros as they cannot withstand low temperatures for more than a few hours at a time.

• In the 21st century, mean annual temperature is projected to increase three to five times the historical 20th century warming, while average annual precipitation is projected to decrease. These changes are predicted to affect various species including saguaros.

• Vandalism and poaching of saguaros occurs within the park.

• Livestock trespassing damages young saguaro cacti and other plants that support their growth, although this threat may not be as extensive as once thought.

Opportunities

• Maintain fencing to prevent livestock from entering the park.

• Collaborate with the Southern Arizona Bufflegrass Coordination Center in conducting research to determine and implement more cost effective and efficient methods to control buffelgrass.

• Restore saguaro habitat after invasive species treatment.

• Work with adjacent land agencies and partners to control buffelgrass and other invasive species. Education efforts would help neighbors and partners to identify and remove buffelgrass plants outside of the park.

• Increase education, conduct proactive patrols, and engage in outreach to reduce poaching of and vandalism to saguaros.

• Reduce Saguaro National Park’s carbon footprint to help minimize climate change, which could have a long-term impact on saguaro and nursery plants that support recruitment of saguaro.

• Work with partners such as the University of Arizona, the National Phenology Network, desert southwest conservation groups, and neighboring land management agencies to share research and enhance efforts to protect saguaros and their habitat.

• Engage external agencies, groups, and policy makers to influence external land management practices and pollution control strategies that impact park resources critical to support saguaro cacti.

• Share fire management planning and actions for elevations below 4,500 feet with neighboring land management agencies to ensure impacts on saguaro are avoided or minimized.

Data and/or GIS Needs • Continue research to determine the most efficient and cost- effective methods for the treatment of buffelgrass.

• 10 year census of saguaros, funding will be needed for next census (occurring in 2020).

• Early detection system for buffelgrass, including spatial data collection.

• Ecological interactions of invasive species and nitrogen deposition and their impacts on the saguaros and associated ecosystems.

• Fuel model for buffelgrass.

• Collect daily weather data.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Saguaro Cacti

Planning Needs • Complete the post-disturbance restoration environmental assessment (2013).

• Proactive monitoring and protection plan for poaching and vandalism.

• Prepare a vulnerability assessment that looks at sensitivity and adaptive capacity of saguaro cacti within the context of climate change.

• Develop a resource stewardship strategy.

• Develop a parkwide education plan.

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

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations

• The Wilderness Act of 1964

• Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974, as amended

• Clean Air Act

• State protection, including the Arizona Native Plant Law

• Lacey Act (prohibits trafficking in plants and animals)

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

NPS Policy-level Guidance

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4.4, “Biological Resource Management”)

• NPS Natural Resource Management Reference Manual 77

Fundamental Resource or Value

Sonoran Desert and Sky Island Ecosystems Integrity

Related Significance Statements

The saguaro is the tallest cactus in the United States and is the namesake of Saguaro National Park. Its distinctive form is recognized worldwide as an iconic symbol of the American Southwest. The Sonoran Desert ecosystem, represented within the park, contains superb saguaro stands that are easily accessed by visitors.

Saguaro National Park contains the largest roadless sky island in the American Southwest.

Encompassing a wide range of elevations, the Rincon Mountains support extraordinary biodiversity within a small geographic area. Within a few miles, the species within the park range from desert dwellers such as Gila monsters, desert tortoise, and saguaro cacti to montane residents such as American black bear, spotted owl, and Douglas fir.

Saguaro National Park preserves one of the largest concentrations of rare and distinct aquatic micro-habitats such as tinajas, seeps, and springs, in the desert Southwest. These habitats, along with the riparian corridor of Rincon Creek, support rare and special status species such as lowland leopard frog, yellow-billed cuckoo, gray hawk, and southwestern willow flycatcher, as well as plant species uncommon to the desert, including sycamore and ash.

Saguaro National Park’s close proximity to a large urban community provides exceptional access to wild places in which visitors can experience wilderness and scenic views.

Saguaro National Park has a long human history and legacy of scientific interest and research and serves as an exceptional living laboratory for studying ecological and geological processes as well as the environmental consequences of climate change.

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• The park has high landscape diversity with six biotic communities.

• Elevation ranges from 2,180 to 8,666 feet within the park.

• Some native fauna are no longer found in the park (e.g., Mexican wolf, grizzly bear, desert bighorn, jaguar, and Gila topminnow). These species were present less than 100 years ago, around the time of the establishment of the monument (now national park).

• Vegetation at higher elevations is stressed due to climate change (e.g., extended drought, higher temperatures, and forest pests) and other air pollution impacts.

• Low elevations of the park currently have lower species integrity due to invasive species, erosion events, sedimentation within water sources, trespassing of livestock such as cattle within Rincon Creek, and historic human uses.

• Saguaro National Park contains many wide-ranging or migrating species. Connectivity issues outside of the park make it difficult for these species to thrive.

• The park is critical habitat for the Mexican spotted owl and the lesser long-nosed bat.

Trends

• Fire regimes are changing due to policy and the presence of invasive species. This is causing more impact on the Sonoran Desert than in the Sky Island region ecosystem.

• Native biodiversity may be decreasing in the park. Biodiversity continues to decrease in the larger ecoregions and the sky islands (especially as it relates to the biodiversity in the park).

• Loss of connectivity outside of the park due to habitat fragmentation because of development (e.g., transmission lines, gas lines, highways, and urbanization) is impacting a variety of species native to the park.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Sonoran Desert and Sky Island Ecosystems Integrity

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• A lack of fire is altering natural fire regimes. This results in the potential for more intense fires occurring, causing negative consequences for the native ecosystems. Wildfire is a threat to the forest and animals, especially on the north slope of the Rincon Mountains.

The mixed conifer forests are areas of particular concern.

• Invasive species, erosion events, sedimentation into water sources, and trespassing of livestock threaten ecosystems throughout the park.

• A lack of information on ecological roles and niches makes managing and protecting park resources difficult.

• Increasing urbanization and development around the park results in a fragmented landscape and less connectivity for species and increased threats such as road kills.

• A lack of resources (staffing, funding) to implement management plans, strategies, and actions creates additional challenges for protecting these threatened ecosystems.

• Climate change is predicted to affect various species, including saguaros.

Opportunities

• Enhancing partnerships with neighbors, conservation groups, and other agency land managers for collaborative management, information sharing, and further research.

• Shared management opportunities with the U.S. Forest Service (Catalina Forest District) and Sky Island Alliance conservation group for research (ecosystem, fire management, and ecology), and conservation efforts.

• The park’s associated tribes and the traditional ecological knowledge they retain can be of particular importance in expanding the park’s understanding of ecosystem processes and integrity.

• Finding additional and sufficient funding for research and monitoring efforts.

• Taking advantage of the research opportunities that the park lands provide for the scientific community (internal and external research partners).

• Providing education to visitors and the local community on the importance of desert and sky island ecosystems and the threats they face. The aim would be to influence positive behavioral changes that support these ecosystems. Education should tie climate change components into these efforts.

• Enhance understanding of previous and ongoing human influence on, and response to, the changing ecosystem.

Data and/or GIS Needs • Understand the implications of surrounding land use on the entire ecosystem (e.g., effects on migration patterns). Need to investigate potential causes and effects on species to appropriately manage for and protect.

• Ongoing land use mapping and trends (remote sensing data). Use NPScape and other available datasets.

• Understand how connectivity can be achieved regionally for wildlife.

• Research to identify ecological thresholds for species.

• Ecological interactions of invasive species and nitrogen deposition, and their impacts on native Sonoran Desert vegetation and associated ecosystems.

• Expand monitoring and research of species of concern, including impacts of climate change (predictive modeling on a local level).

• Examine pollution dose-response relationships in sensitive park ecosystems (e.g., effects of nitrogen deposition).

• Collect daily weather data.

• Create and populate an interpretive database.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Sonoran Desert and Sky Island Ecosystems Integrity

Planning Needs • Resource stewardship strategy to understand species of concern in a proactive rather than a reactive manner.

• Resource condition assessment.

• Prepare a vulnerability assessment that looks at sensitivity and adaptive capacity of selected resources within the context of climate change.

• Update fire management plan.

• Increased involvement in regional planning efforts.

• Parkwide education plan.

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

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations

• Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended

• The Wilderness Act

• Clean Air Act

• National Invasive Species Act

• Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974, as amended

• Executive Order 13112, “Invasive Species”

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

• Closure of areas as described in the Superintendent’s Compendium (section I)

NPS Policy-level Guidance

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§1.5, 4)

• Director’s Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship and NPS Reference Manual 41: Wilderness Stewardship

• Director’s Order 18: Wildland Fire Management and NPS Wildland Fire Management Reference Manual 18

• NPS Natural Resource Management Reference Manual 77

• NPS Climate Change Response Strategy (2010)

• NPS Climate Change Action Plan 2012–2014

Fundamental Resource or Value

Rincon Creek and Aquatic Habitats

Related Significance Statements

Saguaro National Park contains the largest roadless sky island in the American Southwest.

Encompassing a wide range of elevations, the Rincon Mountains support extraordinary biodiversity within a small geographic area. Within a few miles, the species within the park range from desert dwellers such as Gila monsters, desert tortoise, and saguaro cacti to montane residents such as American black bear, spotted owl, and Douglas fir.

Saguaro National Park preserves one of the largest concentrations of rare and distinct aquatic micro-habitats such as tinajas, seeps, and springs, in the desert Southwest. These habitats, along with the riparian corridor of Rincon Creek, support rare and special status species such as lowland leopard frog, yellow-billed cuckoo, gray hawk, and southwestern willow flycatcher, as well as plant species uncommon to the desert, including sycamore and ash.

Saguaro National Park has a long human history and legacy of scientific interest and research and serves as an exceptional living laboratory for studying ecological and geological processes as well as the environmental consequences of climate change.

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) is present in the park and is known to negatively affect amphibians.

• Cattle currently trespass within Rincon Creek.

• Nonnative invasive plants are present.

• Some tinajas have been negatively affected by sediment due to fire and some have been adversely affected by extended drought (water quantity).

• The invertebrate communities in the tinajas are in good condition.

• Human recreational use of the tinajas (e.g., human waste, sunscreen) is reducing water quality. E coli has been documented to exceed water quality standards.

• Highest density of species in the park in this area, many of these species are sensitive.

• Human access is restricted in highly sensitive areas (e.g., Madrona).

• Portions of the creek have multiple owners, with just one side owned by the National Park Service.

Trends

• Water quantity in Rincon Creek has decreased due to shallow aquifer pumping and drought.

• The vigor or condition of the riparian vegetation has diminished in the Rincon Creek area.

• Aquatic vertebrate populations are also in decline. Some species that were formally common, such as leopard frogs, have decreased or are absent (Rincon Creek).

• Decrease in water quantity, riparian vegetation, and aquatic vertebrate in Rincon Creek since the 1990s.

• Tinajas and Rincon Creek are being affected by drought.

• Departure from natural fire regime.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Rincon Creek and Aquatic Habitats

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• Human access to highly sensitive areas.

• Drought.

• Shallow aquifer pumping; potential to increase with more urbanization.

• Cattle trespassing causes trampling and therefore habitat loss.

• Nonnative invasive species are present and may increase.

• Altered fire regime will have negative effects. Increased sedimentation in Rincon Creek and the tinajas from fire upslope.

• Projected dryer landscape due to long-term decrease in precipitation (timing of and total amount), and increase in temperatures will impact the shallow aquifer and Rincon Creek.

• Human recreational use of the tinajas (e.g., human waste, sunscreen). E coli exceedences have been documented.

• The park’s surface water rights of lower Rincon Creek have not been permitted and flows could continue to lessen due to groundwater pumping, therefore threatening the riparian ecosystem.

• Adjacent land use is incompatible with restoring natural conditions.

Opportunities

• Currently working on water rights permitting for lower Rincon Creek.

• Boundary expansion legislation is in progress; would include more acreage along Rincon Creek.

• Education outreach concerning water processes for Rincon Creek, watershed protection, and how human interaction affects those natural processes/resources.

• Restore the long-term natural fire regime; this would protect the creek from sedimentation, increase surface flows, and decrease competition at springs and seeps (plants and animals).

• Work with private land owners on invasive plant control.

• Fencing and monitoring to prevent cattle trespassing.

• Restoration of leopard frog habitat with multiagency group (current effort, but more opportunities available).

• Increased park staff (law enforcement, interpretive staff, etc.) to have a presence in the area (Madrona).

• Increase service learning and citizen science opportunities.

• Visitor education opportunities to connect climate change with changing conditions of aquatic habitats.

• Opportunity to work with interested landowners, the Sonoran Institute, and other partners to restore leopard frog habitat in Rincon Creek.

Related Resources and Values

• Leopard frog habitat in Rincon Creek.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Rincon Creek and Aquatic Habitats

Data and/or GIS Needs • Understanding the ground and surface water withdrawal impacts on the riparian areas.

Distinguish groundwater pumping impacts from drought impacts.

• Continued monitoring of the tinajas

• Meteorological data at the watershed level.

• Continued monitoring of natural resources. Compare to the Madrona Pulse study.

• Vulnerability assessment that looks at sensitivity and adaptive capacity of select resources (including

• Additional cultural and archeological surveys.

• Threshold of recreational impacts (i.e., taking water from the tinajas, swimming).

• Assessment of Rincon Creek for degraded watershed conditions; this funnels into…