ESA-Listed Species in AZ: Status and Needs

Notes from Alexandra Permar's research into the current status and needs of ESA listed species in AZ.

Candidates Species for Listing

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/9743

 

Species with T/E Listing Status and Active Recovery Plans

Ute ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes diluvialis) (Threatened, G2): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/2159 | https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=102217 | https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.129296/Spiranthes_diluvialis

Welsh's milkweed (Asclepias welshii) (Threatened): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/8400 |

https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3793#:~:text=Plant%3A%20perennial%20herb%3B%20stems%20erect,base%2C%20obtuse%20to%20mostly%20rounded%2D

Opportunity to survey for this species in northern AZ 

Recovery plan implementation progress is only about half done (maybe less than half).

Original delisting date (goal): 2010.

Needed: species surveys (in known and unknown locales in northern AZ) as well as communication campaigns to increase awareness and appreciation for the species.

Revised recovery documents (two five-year reviews) published in 2015 and 2021 indicate USFWS is collaborating with researchers at NAU and has hired private botanists to survey for this species in recent years. The botanists have conducted surveys and some research (e.g., controlled breeding in potted soils vs. native sandy soil type) which the USFWS is using. However, these two five-year plans (especially the 2015 one) reiterate the continuing need for many recovery activities including "… repetitive, standardized, rigorous surveys …."

Canelo Hills ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes delitescens) (Endangered): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/8098 | https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=2715

Researchers with Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix are researching this species (and using research dogs to find the plants--AZNPS Flagstaff chapter lecture on 09.19.2023)

San Francisco Peaks ragwort (Packera franciscana) (Threatened): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/1721 | https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=567

USFS Rocky Mtn Research Sta. is researching the species (population, effects of climate change). They have research transects in the San Francisco peaks where they perturb and observe populations of P. fransciscana through time.

New Mexico meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius luteus) (Endangered): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/7965

There is ample work underway to protect this species (USFWS, NAU, AZGFD).

This species depends on mesic habitats in- and around wetlands which are rare in AZ.

Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) (Threatened): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/B074

This species has been listed for a while and receives significant attention.

Sonoran tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium stebbinsi) (Endangered): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/D01H | https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/2096 | https://awcs.azgfd.com/species/amphibians/ambystoma-mavortium-stebbinsi | https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103735/Ambystoma_mavortium_stebbinsi

Need: Analyze data for AZGFD (population monitoring surveys conducted 2012-14) and USFWS (population monitoring protocol implemented 4x annually from 2004-13). It seems there has not been population monitoring conducted since 2014 in AZ. ??

Need: Conduct salamander surveys in Sonora, MX.

Recovery plan update conveys that USFWS et al. have reviewed the 10-year survey data and used it to understand the current status of the species. On the whole, the species is better off than I would've guessed; continuing concerns include bullfrogs, non-native predatory fish/crayfish, drought, reliance on cattle tanks for habitat, and climate change. Interestingly, periodic/episodic drought which dries some of the ponds/cattle tanks where the salamanders reside is actually good for the salamanders b/c predatory fish/crayfish/bullfrogs don't survive dry periods well. As a species, the salamanders depend on cattle tanks for habitat in AZ.

Chiricahua leopard frog (Rana chiricahuensis) (Threatened): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/D02F

This species has been listed for a while and receives significant attention.

Arizona Cliffrose (Purshia (=Cowania) subintegra) (Endangered): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/866

Botanists have already surveyed for this species and found all there is to find.

Masked bobwhite (quail) (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi) (Endangered): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/3484

This species is controlled through controlled active breeding programs and introductions at the Buenos Aires NWR; it seems most of the program isn't working that well. The controlled reproduction includes "foster parenting" of chicks. (When researchers introduce a masked-bobwhite-quail chick into BA NWR, they also introduce an adult male of another quail species with the chick; the male is supposed to foster the chick.) This species will probably go extinct.

Nichol's Turk's head cactus (Echinocactus horizonthalonius var. nicholii) (Endangered): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/5343

This species has already received ample attention; the recovery plan may resolve in this decade.

Bartram's stonecrop (Graptopetalum bartramii) (Threatened): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/8382 | https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3117&clid=3130

Difficult to survey for this species b/c it grows in "steep canyons" near water.

Jones Cycladenia (Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii) (Threatened): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/3336 | https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxauthid=1&taxon=3703&clid=2670#:~:text=Plant%3A%20perennial%20herb%2C%201%2D,of%20follicles%205%2D10%20cm

This is a newly listed species (Aug 2021); it requires ample attention. Need habitat assessments and plant surveys, possibly also pollinator studies. However, most of this species' distribution is in Utah.

Kearney's blue-star (Amsonia kearneyana) (Endangered): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/7485 | https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=1408#:~:text=Plant%3A%20perennial%20herb%3B%204%2D,broadest%20below%20the%20apex%2C%20slightly

Need census of species subsites; monitoring of species individuals and their habitat; education/outreach re: species conservation and recovery; surveys for new individuals and subsites.

This species used to be synonymous with A. palmeri which we found near Hillside, AZ in April, 2023 (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/158329553).

Access to state- and tribal lands is restricted and inhibits botanical surveying efforts.

It is challenging to find the species in its native habitat; it grows in steep canyons and on cliffsides with slopes >= 20 degrees.

The survey sites for this species are paired with a nearby experimental site on BLM land where researchers are conducting controlled introductions of this species and observing their survival rates.

Pima pineapple cactus (Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina) (Endangered): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/4919 | https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3428

This species has been listed for a while and probably receives enough attention.

Species with T/E listing but without active recovery plans

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) (Threatened): https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/B06R

Many people are researching this species. However, survey data from the past 15-20 years for the Upper Verde region is missing from the Audubon Southwest AZ IBA Database. Need to coordinate with USFWS and Audubon SW to track down the data and analyze it. 

Need a 10(a)1(A) scientific research permit with the USFWS.

Description of Upper Verde River habitat (Yavapai County, AZ) is in USFWS Critical Habitat document (FR Vol. 86, No. 75, 04.21.2021) on pages 20855, 20881.

AZGFD management decisions (made for fish) in the Upper Verde watershed are--according to the USFWS--proving relatively sufficient to maintain suitable habitat for the YBCU. Thus, the USFWS has decided to not declare critical habitat for the cuckoo in the Upper Verde River watershed (AZGFD asked USFWS to not declare critical habitat here).

References cited in the USFWS Federal Register critical habitat document indicate that AZGFD, USFWS, and partners have analyzed recent data from the Upper Verde River watershed and find the cuckoo numbers (occupancy, breeding, migration) to be satisfactory. However, I searched for these original reference documents and was unable to find any of them.