25 Years of Tucson Audubon’s Efforts to Protect the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Its Habitat

By Christina McVie

Photo by Dan Weisz

The Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (cFEPO) is endemic to the Sonoran Desert and it now nests almost exclusively in cavities in saguaro cactus. It created a panic within the regulated homebuilding community when it was first listed as endangered in 1997 due to the extent of dense residential development occurring in the owl’s preferred habitat. Headlines threatened economic collapse and an end to all building in 11 Arizona counties. Fear and mistrust were palpable.

Looking back, we have that tiny terror of an owl to thank for many regional conservation wins. It was the impetus for Pima County’s community-driven, national award-winning Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP, tucsonaudubon.org/SDCP) and later the Multi-Species Conservation Plan (MSCP, tucsonaudubon.org/MSCP) and 30-year Incidental Take Permit (ITP).

In response to public consternation following the listing, Tucson Audubon co-founded the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, committed to preserving regional biodiversity by creating a platform for community and environmental interests to have a voice in land use policies and practices within Pima County and environs.

Throughout, Tucson Audubon has led the way in collaborating with scientists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Pima County, other jurisdictions, the community at large and other stakeholders. Over the last 25 years, volunteers and staff representing Tucson Audubon have served on the SDCP Steering and Implementation Committees, the FWS cFEPO Recovery Team, and attended countless committee meetings to support various jurisdictions efforts to improve land management policies and practices protecting saguaros and intact cFEPO habitat.

What began as a fearful community response to finding a tiny endangered bird in the path of sprawling development has resulted in a stronger, more self-aware community. The process of mindfully creating space where diverse voices may be heard, the strong leadership of multiple jurisdictions, the active collaboration of many stakeholders, scientists, and concerned citizens has created a community-led effort that continues to this day.

What will the next twenty-five years look like?

When the owl was originally listed in 1997, climate change was not a widely acknowledged threat to the future of life as we know it on planet Earth. It is now. While water has always been a concern in the arid west, a Tier 2 B shortage declaration under the region-wide Drought Contingency Plan was unanticipated in 1997. It is now. This shortage will restrict the number of building permits granted until such time as we achieve a sustainable water balance for our state and region.

In December 2022, the cFEPO is anticipated to be re-listed as threatened, with particular emphasis on Pima County as an example of where development can be balanced with preservation and conservation, encouraging a vibrant economy and healthy community while incorporating constructive steps to adapt to our ongoing drought and climate change.

The RTA is planning to ask for voter approval of another 20-year plan before 2026. Will it focus on multi-modal transportation and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, or will it support more gas guzzling automobile infrastructure? Will it again include robust efforts to connect fragmented landscapes and create safe passages for wildlife?

If we, as Tucson Audubon and as a community, continue to strongly advocate for what is essential for our dwindling resident and migratory bird species and an intact Sonoran Desert, we have a good chance of continuing the good work of the last 25 years.

A timeline of Tucson Audubon’s role in protecting old growth saguaros and all the species that need them:

• advocating for the designation of buffelgrass as a noxious, invasive weed in Arizona which led to the Pima Invasive Species Council in 2000;
• supporting the proposal and process that led to the designation of the Ironwood Forest National Monument in 2000;
• chairing the Cortaro/Thornydale Mitigation Site Selection Committee which led to the Environmentally Sensitive Roadway Design Manual in 2001;
• advising the 2001 Pima County Comprehensive Land Use Plan which incorporated the SDCP Conservation Lands System (CLS) under our state-mandated environmental element;
• contributing to the 2003 report and recommendations of the SDCP Steering Committee to the Pima County Board of Supervisors;
• ~2004 funded genetics research on cFEPO providing additional support for designation as a distinct population segment and subspecies;
• 2004 supporting the voter-approved $164.3 million Open Space Bond;
• writing extensive comments in support of relisting the cFPO as endangered in 2005
• supporting the 2005 adoption of CLS land categories with its associated conservation guideline policies and map, and Floodplain Management Ordinance No. 2005-FC2 with its associated Riparian Classification Map;
• supporting the 2006 voter-approved establishment of the Pima Association of Governments (PAG) Regional Transportation Authority’s (RTA), a $2.1 billion transportation plan, which included $45 million for transportation related studies and construction and/or enhancement of structures to maintain Critical Landscape Linkages for the safe movement of wildlife;
• 2006 - funded researchers from UA studying distribution and the effects of weather and habitat on population size
• supporting the 2007 amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Water Resources Policy requiring staff to conduct water supply impact reviews on Comprehensive Plan amendments larger than 4 acres;
• 2007 - Research funded in 2006 produced into a final report: “Population and Demographic Trends of Ferruginous Pygmy-owls in Northern Sonora Mexico and Implications for Recovery in Arizona”
• 2009-10 - funded researchers from UA analyzing impacts of habitat quality on reproductive success;
• 2010 - cFEPO on the cover of the Vermilion Flycatcher and articles highlighting their status and current research;
• supporting the 2010 MSCP application, the 2012 Environmental Impact Statement;
• 2012 - AZ IBA program first surveyed pre-migratory roost of Desert Purple Martins along River Road near San Manuel along the San Pedro River, see related blog post;
• 2014 Began Gilded Flicker surveys in Saguaro National Park and Tucson Mountain Park through IBA program;
• 2014 - first surveyed Desert Purple Martins through IBA program with researchers from the Avian Behaviour and Conservation Lab at the University of Manitoba;
• 2014 - Research funded by Tucson Audubon in 2007 published: Spatiotemporal trends and drivers of population dynamics in a declining Sonoran Desert predator
• 2014 - began Elf Owl surveys in Saguaro National Park and Tucson Mountain Park
• 2015 - publication of research funded by Tucson Audubon in 2010 - Spatial, Temporal, an Density-Dependent Components of Habitat Quality for a Desert Owl
• 2016 - celebrating the formal signing of the MSCP’s 30-year ITP in October;
  
• 2017 - first certified applicator on staff to control buffelgrass and other invasive plants
• 2019 - assisted local filming of Desert Martins for the film “Purple Haze” - a Purple Martin conservation documentary at our Mason Center for Ironwood Preservation and Environmental Education
• 2019 - partnered with Saguaro National Park, the SouthWest Invasive Plant Management Team, and Fish and Wildlife’s regional Invasive Species Strike Team to form the 3-person Collaborative Audubon Treatment and Inventory Squad (CoATIS)
• 2020 - secured Tucson Audubon’s Invasive Plant control business license to treat invasive plants statewide on all lands
• 2020 - funding additional demographic research on cFEPO distribution and breeding success throughout Arizona and Sonora;
• 2020 - secured contract with National Forest Foundation to map invasive plants throughout Bear and Sabino Canyons and around the Lower Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
• 2020 - partnered with National Park Service, National Forest Foundation, and Pima County to share invasive plant collection format for easy ongoing data sharing
• 2021 - co-founded the Desert Purple Martin Working Group
• 2021 - hired first In-House Invasive Plant Strike Team, an Invasive Plant Program Manager, and an Invasive Plant Project Manager
• 2021 - funding a film project to document current Pima County cFPO status and research efforts;
• 2021 - secured Wildlife Conservation Society Climate Adaptation Fund grant for saguaro protection, restoration, facilitated migration, and nestbox creation
• 2021 - Secured private funding to begin designing saguaro cavity-replicating nestboxes
• 2021 - Final report of funded research on cFEPO produced: “Population status and trends of Ferruginous Pygmy-owls in northern Sonora Mexico: A 22 year perspective”
• 2021 - Secured private funding to begin growing 8,000 seedling saguaros for restoration efforts
• 2021 - Partnered with Northern Arizona University and Purple Martin Conservation Association to increase natural history, ecotoxicology, and migration studies on Desert Martins - funded through Disney Conservation Fund
• 2021 - began 2nd In-house Invasive Plant Strike Team
• 2021-2022 co-proposing landscape scale habitat improvement projects for cFEPO
• 2021 - assisted Fish and Wildlife Service on cFEPO surveys to document presence/absence in local areas of historic range
• 2022 - secured funding from Coronado National Forest for saguaro replanting in the Bighorn Fire scar and increased invasive plant control
• 2022 - hired 3rd In-house Invasive Plant Strike Team
• 2022 - secured funding from Tonto National Forest for saguaro replanting in the Bush Fire scar and increased invasive plant control
• 2022 - research funded by Tucson Audubon in 2020 published: Landcover change and habitat quality mediate impacts of temperature and precipitation on population dynamics of a threatened aridland predator
• 2022 - with partners banded and put geolocator backpacks on 8 adult dPUMA from around Tucson to track migration routes and timing and overwintering locations
• 2022 - launched an international design challenge/competition for a nestbox that could supplement existing saguaro cavities used by desert Purple Martins.
• 2022 - began creation of 2nd CoATIS crew at federal agency partner request due to high demand and regard for their accomplishments on the landscape
  
  

Chris McVie is a life member of Tucson Audubon and former Vice-President and Conservation Chair. During her tenure, she chaired the Cortaro-Thornydale Site Selection Committee, served on the cFEPO Recovery Team, the SDCP Steering and Implementation Committees and numerous others, She serves as Board President of the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection and was the "standing" for the successful lawsuit to re-list the cFEPO.