Wildlife Specialist report
Wildlife Specialist report
Wildlife Specialist report
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juniper, and then Piñon-juniper woodlands are the next community down on the elevation<br />
gradient. The semi-desert zones at lower elevations include mesquite, yucca, cacti, desert<br />
ceanothus, beargrass, and black grama in the various communities. Riparian zones range<br />
from the alder-narrow leaf cottonwood zones in higher elevations to sycamore-walnutboxelder<br />
and Fremont cottonwood zones at the lower elevations. Data from a recent midscale<br />
vegetation mapping project was used to summarize the acres of the different<br />
vegetation types on the forest (Table 2):<br />
Table 2: Primary vegetation types on the Forest<br />
Vegetation Type<br />
USFS<br />
Acres<br />
Non-Wilderness<br />
Acres Wilderness Acres<br />
Spruce - Fir 2540.41 0.00 2540.41<br />
Mixed Conifer 163916.45 84337.23 79579.22<br />
Ponderosa Pine 1177746.00 905500.46 272245.55<br />
Pinyon Juniper/Shrub Oak Woodland 1643096.46 1228044.12 415052.35<br />
Plains Grassland/Mountain Grassland 227231.69 217998.45 9233.24<br />
Desert Shrub/Grassland 18138.20 17446.93 691.27<br />
Sparsely Vegetated 5744.84 3874.06 1870.78<br />
Lake 269.00 269.00 0.00<br />
Wet Meadow/Wetland 423.29 384.51 38.78<br />
High Riparian 6387.25 3474.78 2912.47<br />
Mid Riparian 10870.67 6918.44 3952.23<br />
Low Riparian 10862.33 6672.37 4189.96<br />
Sum 3267226.59 2474920.36 792306.24<br />
The diverse topography, elevations, and climatic conditions on the Gila National Forest<br />
create a diversity of landforms and plant and animal habitats.<br />
Several federally listed threatened and endangered species occur on the forest. Federally<br />
listed terrestrial species include the Mexican Spotted Owl, Southwestern Willow<br />
Flycatcher, Chiricahua leopard frog, and the Mexican gray wolf.<br />
In January 1998, the U.S. Fish and <strong>Wildlife</strong> Service published the Final Rule that allowed<br />
for the establishment of a Non-Essential Experimental Population of the Mexican gray<br />
wolf on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona and the Gila National Forest.<br />
As part of the Mexican Gray Wolf Reintroduction Program, the wolf has been<br />
translocated onto the Gila National Forest.<br />
Biological study of the Gila National Forest first started in October of 1846, when Emory<br />
(1848) made observations and collected specimens there en route between the Rio<br />
Grande and San Diego, California (Hubbard 1977). Hubbard 1977 <strong>report</strong>s that various<br />
biologists visited the area to collect specimens and carry out research, including members<br />
of the U.S. Biological Survey in the period 1906 to 1913. Hubbard (1977) documents<br />
that the first attempt to summarize this biological information appears by said author in<br />
1968. Zimmerman (1968) expanded considerably on the available information related to<br />
the bird fauna of the Gila River Valley.<br />
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