USFWS Proposes Critical Habitat for Cuckoo

Comment period on proposed critical habitat for the Yellow-billed cuckoo now extended to Jan 12, 2015.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed critical habitat for the “Western” Yellow-billed cuckoo (cuckoo). This proposed designation impacts major and minor waterways in nine states. It will negatively impact agriculture, water rights and grazing management here in Pima, Pinal and Santa Cruz counties. Click here to view and comment on the proposed critical habitat designation. 

Despite the fact that all grazing in Arizona is scientifically managed, overgrazing went out of practice back in the 1930’s, and there are no studies showing any relationship between livestock grazing and the well-being of the cuckoo, the Service nevertheless claims to have found livestock grazing operations in all of the following areas  of Southern Arizona that are “poorly managed” with “overgrazing” specifically identified as  a “main threat” to the  Western Yellow billed cuckoo. (Never mind the fact that the species survived an era when ranchers stocked ten times as many head per acre as today.) The Service claims this “main threat” may require the agency to prescribe “special management” of proposed critical habitat units to prevent the extinction of the cuckoo species. The Service alleges that the survival of the cuckoo  is additionally threatened,  in nearly all the proposed critical habitat units in southern Arizona, by pesticide drift from adjacent farms, wood cutting, dams, surface and groundwater diversions, groundwater pumping, agricultural “encroachment” into the floodplains, road and bridge maintenance, and many other human uses of land and resources.

The Service is proposing critical habitat units  in Pinal, Pima and Santa Cruz Counties of Arizona as follow:

Unit 28: AZ-20Lower San Pedro River and Gila River; Cochise, Pima, and Pinal Counties

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-20 is 23,399 ac (9,469 ha) in extent and is a 59-mi (95-km)-long segment of the Lower San Pedro River from above the Town of Mammoth in Pima County downstream to join the Gila River, where it continues downstream to below the Town of Kearny in Pinal County, Arizona. Approximately 17,431 ac (7,054 ha), or 75 percent, of proposed unit AZ-20 are privately owned; 729 ac (295 ha), or 3 percent, are Tribal lands located on the San Carlos Indian Reservation; 2,282 ac (923 ha), or 10 percent, are in State ownership and managed by the Arizona State Lands Department; and 2,957 ac (1,197 ha), or 13 percent, are in Federal ownership managed by BLM. This is an important breeding area for western yellow-billed cuckoos and is consistently occupied by a number of pairs during the breeding season. The site also provides a movement corridor and migratory stopover location for western yellow-billed cuckoos moving farther north. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 29: AZ-21Picacho Reservoir—Flood Control Basin; Pinal County

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-21 is 2,789 ac (1,129 ha) in extent and is a 2-mi (3-km)-long reservoir located 11 mi (18 km) south of Coolidge in Pinal County, Arizona. Approximately 1,513 ac (612 ha), or 54 percent, of proposed unit AZ-21 are privately owned; 941 ac (381 ha), or 34 percent, are in State ownership and managed by the Arizona State Lands Department; and 335 ac (136 ha), or 12 percent, are in Federal ownership managed by BLM. This unit is consistently occupied by western yellow-billed cuckoos. The site also provides migratory stopover habitat. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 30: AZ-22Peritas Wash; Pima County

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-22 is 894 ac (362 ha) in extent and is a 4-mi (6-km)-long continuous segment of Peritas Wash located approximately 20 mi (30 km) west of the Town of Green Valley in Pima County, Arizona. Approximately 724 ac (293 ha), or 81 percent, of proposed unit AZ-22 are State-owned, and 170 ac (69 ha), or 19 percent, are in Federal ownership located on the Buenos Aires NWR managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. No State and County roads occur within this proposed unit. This unit has been consistently occupied by western yellow-billed cuckoos during the breeding season. The site also provides a movement corridor between larger habitat patches. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 31: AZ-23Arivaca Wash and San Luis Wash; Pima County

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-23 is 5,765 ac (2,333 ha) in extent and is made up of two washes that join to form a 17-mi (27-km)-long continuous segment that is comprised of 9 mi (15 km) of Arivaca Wash and 8 mi (13 km) of San Luis Wash. The unit is located about 10 mi (16 km) north of the border of Mexico near the Town of Arivaca in Pima County, Arizona. Approximately 1,014 ac (410 ha), or 18 percent, of proposed unit AZ-23 are privately owned; 89 ac (36 ha), or 2 percent, are in State ownership and managed by the Arizona State Lands Department; and 4,662 ac (1,887 ha), or 81 percent, are in Federal ownership located on the Buenos Aires NWR managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This unit is consistently occupied by western yellow-billed cuckoos during the breeding season. The site also provides a movement corridor between larger habitat patches. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 32: AZ-24Sonoita Creek; Santa Cruz County

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-24 is 1,610 ac (652 ha) in extent and is a 12-mi (19-km)-long segment of Sonoita Creek from the Town of Patagonia downstream to a point on the creek approximately 4 mi (6 km) east of the Town of Rio Rico in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Approximately 835 ac (338 ha), or 52 percent, of proposed unit AZ-24 are privately owned, and 775 ac (314 ha), or 48 percent, are in State ownership located on Patagonia Lake State Park managed by the Arizona State Parks. This is a consistent site for a number of pairs of western yellow-billed cuckoos during the breeding season. The site also provides a movement corridor between larger habitat patches. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 33: AZ-25Upper Cienega Creek; Pima County

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-25 is 5,204 ac (2,106 ha) in extent and is made up of two washes that join to form a 14-mi (23-km)-long continuous segment and is comprised of 10 mi (16 km) of Cienega Creek and 4 mi (7 km) of Empire Gulch located about 8 mi (12 km) northeast of the Town of Sonoita in Pima County, Arizona. Approximately 574 ac (232 ha), or 11 percent, are in State ownership and managed by the Arizona State Lands Department, and 4,630 ac (1,874 ha), or 89 percent, are in Federal ownership located on the Coronado National Forest managed by the USFS. No State and County roads occur within this proposed unit. This unit is consistently occupied by a number of pairs of western yellow-billed cuckoos during the breeding season. The site also provides a movement corridor for western yellow-billed cuckoos nesting farther north. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 34: AZ-26Santa Cruz River; Santa Cruz County

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-26 is 3,689 ac (1,493 ha) in extent and is a 5-mi (8-km)-long segment of the Santa Cruz River in the vicinity of the Town of Tubac in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. This proposed unit AZ-26 is entirely privately owned. This unit has consistently been occupied by western yellow-billed cuckoos during the breeding season. The site also provides a movement corridor for western yellow-billed cuckoos nesting farther north. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 38: AZ-30Lower Cienega Creek; Pima County

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-30 is 2,360 ac (955 ha) in extent and is an 11-mi (18-km)-long continuous segment of Cienega Creek about 15 mi (24 km) southeast of Tucson in Pima County, Arizona. Approximately 1,601 ac (648 ha), or 68 percent, of proposed unit AZ-30 are privately owned, and 759 ac (307 ha), or 32 percent, are in State ownership and managed the Arizona State Lands Department. This unit is consistently occupied by western yellow-billed cuckoos during the breeding season. The site also provides a movement corridor between larger habitat patches. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 41: AZ-33Aravaipa Creek; Pima and Graham Counties

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-33 is 1,209 ac (489 ha) in extent and is a 9-mi (15-km)-long continuous segment of Aravaipa Creek in Pima and Graham Counties, Arizona. Approximately 738 ac (299 ha), or 61 percent, of proposed unit AZ-33 are privately owned; 1 ac (less than 1 ha) is in State ownership and managed by the Arizona State Lands Department; and 470 ac (190 ha), or 39 percent, are in Federal ownership managed by BLM. This unit has consistently been occupied by western yellow-billed cuckoos during the breeding season. The site also provides a movement corridor between larger habitat patches. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Unit 45: AZ-37Florida Wash; Pima County

Proposed critical habitat unit AZ-37 is 188 ac (76 ha) in extent and is a 4-mi (6-km)-long continuous segment of Florida Wash and tributaries in Pima County, Arizona. Approximately 43 ac (17 ha), or 23 percent, of proposed unit AZ-36 are privately owned; 32 ac (13 ha), or 17 percent, are in State ownership and managed by the Arizona State Lands Department; and 113 ac (46 ha), or 61 percent, are in Federal ownership managed by BLM. This unit has been consistently occupied by western yellow-billed cuckoos during the breeding season. The site provides a movement corridor between larger habitat patches. Tamarisk, a nonnative species that reduces the habitat’s value, is a minor to major component of habitat in this unit.

Click here to view and comment on the proposed critical habitat designation.