Transcript Ironwood Forest National Monument

A UNIQUE NATURAL AND
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE IN
SOUTHERN AZ
February 2012
Bureau of Land Management – Tucson Field Office
Ironwood Forest National
Monument
• Established June 9, 2000 by
President Bill Clinton
• Preserve an important desert
ecosystem and evidence of
human occupation spanning
5,000 years
• Managed by the Department
of Interior, BLM-Tucson
• Encompasses approx. 128,400
acres (almost 300 square
miles)
• Over 600 species of plants
and animals
Sawtooth Mtn’s
Samaniego Hills
West Silverbell Mtn’s
Ragged Top
Silverbell Rd.
Silverbell Mtn’s
Avra Valley Rd.
Waterman Mtn’s
Roskruge Mtn’s
Wolcott Peak and Ragged Top
Ragged Top is one of the dominate features in the landscape.
Example of a “volcanic neck”, or plug
22 million years old rhyolite vent
Elevation: 4,261 ft
Microclimates resulting from weathering of rock creating deep crevasses
Waterman Mountains
Sawtooth Mountains
Ironwood Ecological Value
Flowers for
native bees
Dense canopy for nesting of
white winged doves and other
birds
Trellis for vines
Lower branches protect nursery plants
from being trampled and foraged by
larger animals
Protection against sunburn for night
blooming cerus and other nursery
plants
Leaf litter provides nitrogen
and organic matter for soil
enrichment
Symbiotic bacteria and fungi
create “islands of fertility”
= microhabitat
Roosting sites for hawks and owls
Leaves foraged by bighorn sheep,
pronghorn antelope and mule
deer
Protection against freezes for
saguaro and senita
Wildflower nursery foraged by
rabbits and bighorn
Burrows for tortoises in and
around roots
Seeds for doves, quail, and
rodents
Air temperatures may be 15 degrees cooler
under ironwoods than in the open desert sun
five feet away.
Ironwood Tree
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Found only in the Sonoran
desert
Ironwood Forest NM contains
the highest density of these
trees ever recorded
Member of the legume family
A hardy, slow-growing tree,
can live to 800 years or longer
Evergreen with pink to
lavender flowers in May
Flowers and roots used as
medicine
Population is dwindling in U.S.
and Mexico due to
woodcutting, development,
and invasive species.
Bufflegrass:
Enemy of the Desert
• Buffelgrass is native to arid and
semi-arid regions of Africa, Asia
and the Middle East
• Grows densely and crowds out
native plants of similar size
• The Sonoran Desert evolved
without fire as an ecological
factor and most of its plants
cannot tolerate it
• A single buffelgrass fire kills
nearly all native plants in its path
• Rapidly converting formerly rich
biological communities into
monocultural wastelands
Wildlife
Rattlesnake
Big Horn Sheep
Desert Tortoise
Lesser Long
Nosed Bat
Mule Deer
Gila Monster
Ecological Highlights
Nichols
Turk Head Cactus
Nichols Turks Head Cactus is seen in the
limestone rich Waterman mountains,
and is on the endangered species list.
There is only one organ pipe cactus in
the monument, causing a person to
wonder how it came to be here.
Organ Pipe Cactus
Barrel Cactus in
bloom
Elephant Tree
Botanical Diversity
• The steep, rugged, shady canyons on Ragged Top
support a remarkably diverse flora includes over 70%
of the total Ironwood Forest NM plant varieties
• A total of 76 plant varieties in the Monument were
found only on Ragged Top
Saguaro
• The largest cactus in the
USA
• Can live to be hundreds of
years old
• Plays an integral part of the
desert, providing food and
shelter for many desert
species
• Ironwood Forest NM has
extensive forests of
saguaros, growing in
densities exceeded only in
Saguaro National Park.
Hohokam Culture
• Hohokam is a Pima (O'odham) word
used by archaeologists to identify a
group of people that lived in the
Sonoran Desert.
• There is evidence from campsites to
villages suggesting the Hohokam
people had settlements in the area.
History of Silverbell
• Silvebrell Mountains,24 miles
west of Marana, AZ
• High grade ore discovered in
1860s
• Established as Silverbell in 1904
• In 1910 the population was listed
at 1,118 persons in 327
households
• Chain of ownership:
Development Company of America (DCA)
Imperial Copper Company
Southern Arizona Smelting Company
(ASARCO)
For More Information
Bureau of Land Management
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/natmon/ironwood.html
Laura Olais – Acting Manager
Ironwood Forest National Monument
3201 E. Universal Way
Tucson, AZ 85756
(520) 258-7242
Fax: (520) 258-7238
HANDS ON THE LAND
www.handsontheland.org
Gail W. Corkill, Ed D – Education Consultant
North Star Learning Solutions, LLC
P.O. Box 243
Sonoita, AZ 85637
[email protected]
(520) 490-0760
5/1/2012