Biological Resources

List of birds [frequency and season].

Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveys were conducted in portions of Devils Canyon and Mineral Creek in the months of June through August 2011.

List of mammals [confirmed by observation or sign; suspected, but not confirmed; resident, common; occasional].

Reptile community surveys at the Far West parcel and along portions of State Route 79 and US 60 located near Florence Junction.

Arizona hedgehog cactus survey was conducted along areas proposed for pre-feasibility activities.

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.

Surveys reported here focus specifically on potential habitat for amphibians: the lentic habitats (ponds and stock tanks) and lotic habitats (ephemeral drainages and creeks) in the Oak Flat/East Plant Area, including portions of Devils Canyon south of U.S. Route 60.

Arizona hedgehog cactus surveys conducted in the vicinity of East Plant, along portions of the existing Magma Mine Road, and along the proposed re-alignment of Magma Mine Road.

Fish surveys were conducted in order to determine the presence of absence of the Gila chub, as well as other native fishes within portions of Devils Canyon and upper Mineral Creek, and within two stock tanks in the vicinity of the Project. The Gila chub is listed by USFWS as endangered with critical habitat under the ESA.

Surveys were conducted for Morafka's desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai, formerly G. agassizii, Sonoran population) within the Far West property located near Florence Junction, Arizona.