A Home for Imperiled Species

Grasslands once covered over 18 million acres in Arizona, roughly one quarter of the state, but as a result of drought, climate change, development, invasive species, and irresponsible land use, only one third of this once vast sea of grass remains in healthy condition. When habitat is lost at this scale, the places that remain become increasingly valuable to the birds and other widllife that depend on them - a story well told by the AWRR.

When the AWRR was founded in 1968, the only species in the region with federal protection was the Gila Topminnow, a small fish that was listed by the Endangered Species Protection Act of 1967, a precurser to the modern Endangered Species Act of 1973. Since then, North American grassland bird populations have fallen by 53 pecent, a larger drop than seen in any other habitat type, and the trend across other taxa is similar. As a result of these declines and legislation that prioritizes the protection of imperiled species, the AWRR today provides habitat for at least six federally protected species (Desert Pupfish, Chiricahua Leopard Frog, Huachuca Water Umbel, Northern Mexican Gartersnake, Beardless Chinchweed, and Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo) and protects designated critical habitat for five (Northern Mexican Gartersnake, Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Beardless Chinchweed, Gila Chub, and Jaguar).

Safe Harbor Sites

While most of the threatened and endangered species that call the AWRR home need nothing more than protected habitat to thrive, others need a helping hand. The neediest among them are our acquatic species, namely the Desert Pupfish and Chiricahua Leopard Frog. Once common in the springs and waterways of southeastern Arizona, these animals are having a harder and harder time hanging on in today's hotter, drier climate. Making things even more difficult for them, what little habitat remains is often occupied by non-native predators and competators like American Bullfrogs and Green Sunfish.

To meet this challenge, the AWRR entered into a collaborative arrangement known as a Safe Harbor Agreement with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Through this agreement, we have worked together to transform the AWRR's old lifestock infrastructure - pumps, basins, and tanks - into ponds and artificial wetlands. Not only do these sites serve as refugia for these species, but they also act as source populations from which our agency partners can harvest animals for repatriation elsewhere on the landscape.