Data Collection Report - Flood Control District of Maricopa County

evised list has not yet been officially adopted, but has beenpublished in draft form (AGFD 1996).- Arizona Native Plant Law species. The Arizona Department ofAgriculture (ADA) administers the Arizona Native Plant Law,and AGFD lists the native plants protected under legislation. Itis unlawful to collect, transport, or kill native plants without apermit or without following specific regulatory procedures.Projects that disturb native plants on state land must coordinatewith ADA and Arizona State Land Department, while projectsthat disturb native plants on private land must submit a notice ofintent to ADA. Exceptions exist for maintenance of existingdeveloped properties less than ten acres, maintenance of existingutilities and their associated rights-of-way, 3 and emergencies.The following list of special interest species includes a brief life historyaccount, identification of requisite habitat components, and an evaluationof potential for occurrence in the project area. The potential for eachspecial interest species to occur in the project area was based onavailable literature, direct field observations, and the experience ofbiologists conducting this assessment. Evaluations of habitat suitabilitywere based on qualitative comparison between the habitat requirementsof each species and vegetation communities and other habitat attributesfound in the project area, and on available information on the distributionof each species. Biotic communities are described according to Brown(1994).Federal Threatened and Endangered Species3Telephone conversation with Fred Logan, Arizona Department of Agriculture Native Plant Lawofficer on 09 December 1998.Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris curasoae yurbabuenae)Status: Listed endangered without designated critical habitat.Habitat: Plant communities include palo verde-saguaroassociations within desert scrub, semidesert grassland,and oak woodland with nearby caves and abandonedmines, and occasionally buildings for roost sites atelevations below 3,500 feet from April to July, and up to5,500 feet from July to October (FWS 1998, AGFD1998a).Diet: Feeds on pollen and nectar chiefly from agaves andsaguaros (AGFD 1996), organ pipe cactus (FWS 1998),and occasionally insects (AGFD 1998a).Range: Southeastern Arizona, and possibly extreme westernArizona (FWS 1998), chiefly from the PicachoMountains to the Agua Dulce Mountains and beyond tothe southwest, and southeast to the Galiuro andChiricahua mountains and beyond south into Mexico(AGFD 1998a). Two late summer records of immatureindividuals exist from the Phoenix area (AGFD 1998a).Residence: Migratory, arrives in Arizona as early as mid-April, anddeparts by October. Its temporal association withvegetation communities appears to depend on theflowering periods of preferred food plants.Assessment: Lesser long-nosed bat may occur occasionally in theproject area. Visits would most likely be accidental,represented by individual bats straying up riverinefloodplains in the project area during insect foragingbouts.Sonoran Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis)Status: Listed endangered without designated critical habitat.Habitat: Occurs chiefly in expansive alluvial basins within Sonorandesert grassland communities in southwestern Arizona(FWS 1998).Diet: Grasses, cacti, succulents, and bushes (Hoffmeister1986).Range: Southwestern Arizona, including western Pima County,southeastern Yuma County, and southwestern MaricopaCounty (FWS 1998).Residence: Permanent.Assessment: Extremely unlikely to occur in the project area. Therange of Sonoran pronghorn is far outside the Durangodrainage area, which does not contain habitat known tobe used by this species.Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)Status: Listed threatened without designated critical habitat.Habitat: Large trees, snags, or cliffs near water for nesting andnear major rivers or reservoirs during winter (FWS 1998,AGFD 1997d). Bald eagle has been observed in Arizonaat elevations ranging from 460 to 8,000 feet (AGFD1997d).Diet: Primarily fish (usually less than six inches long), butwaterfowl, small mammals, turtles, snakes, and carrionare also eaten (FWS 1998, AGFD 1997d).Range: Wintering populations occur in central and northernArizona at Stoneman Lake, Mormon Lake, and LakeMary, and a small resident population exists in centralArizona. Territories and nest locations have recentlybeen observed along the Bill Williams River drainage, theDIBBLE & ASSOCIATES 39 DURANGO ADMPDATA COLLECTION REPORT