Audubon Society

This is a summary of personal observations and impressions of the continued presence or absence of the herpetofauna which have been previously reported at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch. A total of fifty-two amphibian and reptile species have been reported within the Research Ranch boundaries. The continued existence of several species may be in doubt.

The Research Ranch, near Elgin in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, is administered by the National Audubon Society. It consists of about 8000 acres of federal and private lands that are managed for ecosystem research projects by the National Audubon Society, which has cooperative agreements with the federal land management agencies. This summary of the early history of land settlement of the Research Ranch area and some of the subsequent land transactions is taken primarily from information in the land records of the BLM and ASLD.