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Presentation for Pima County Environmental Quality Advisory Committee

Presentation for Pima County Environmental Quality Advisory Committee. Travis Bean University of Arizona. Sonoran Desert vegetation poorly adapted to fire. Mapped Distribution in Arizona & Sonora. Pima County. Santa Catalina Mts. Sea of Cortez. “Frio” Cananea.

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Presentation for Pima County Environmental Quality Advisory Committee

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  1. Presentation for Pima County Environmental Quality Advisory Committee Travis Bean University of Arizona

  2. Sonoran Desert vegetation poorly adapted to fire

  3. Mapped Distribution in Arizona & Sonora Pima County Santa Catalina Mts Sea of Cortez “Frio”Cananea

  4. Buffelgrass patches on South slope of Catalina Mts. & in subdivisions will coalesce in 5-10 yrs

  5. Soldier Canyon, Santa Catalina Mountains

  6. Buffelgrass connects pricey developments in the foothills with woody fuels higher up the Catalina Mountains AZ Upland

  7. Impacts of Buffelgrass Invasion • Irreversible transformation of Sonoran Desert to monospecific grassland • Impacts on prominent national parks and conservation initiatives, including land acquisition for preservation • Increasing demands & mitigation requirements to protect threatened and endangered species • Escalating fire risks & suppression costs in previously fireproof landscape • Reduced tourism & property values

  8. Buffelgrass Invasion & Fire risk in Catalina Foothills

  9. 1996 buffelgrass Sabino Mountain Estates Buffelgrass Expansion

  10. 1998 Sabino Mountain Estates Buffelgrass Expansion

  11. 2002 Sabino Mountain Estates Buffelgrass Expansion

  12. 145 48 33 6 2005 Sabino Mountain Estates Buffelgrass Expansion

  13. What is being done to address the buffelgrass crisis?

  14. http://wwwpaztcn.wr.usgs.gov/buffelgrass Outreach

  15. Courtesy of my old next door neighbor, AZ Daily Star cartoonist David Fitzimmons

  16. Sonoran Desert Weedwackers

  17. Buffelgrass Eradication Day, March 1 Pima Assoc. of Governments

  18. Buffelgrass crisis will eventually require aerial spraying of herbicides to slow down spread on remote, steep terrain. This will require community buy-in.

  19. Buffelgrass Summit, Feb. 9, 2007, Starr Pass Marriott Resort

  20. Minimize spread in areas where buffelgrass not yet established • Implement control priorities based on actual & potential impacts • Restore treated areas in ways that increase resilience against future invasion • In areas where control is no longer feasible, mitigate fire risks to life & property • Motivate legislation aimed at sustaining the control effort • Create a template for invasive sp mgmt in AZ

  21. Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

  22. Principal Invasive Grasses Fueling Wildfires in the American Deserts Bromus tectorum cheatgrass Schismus arabicus Schismus barbatus Mediterranean grass Bromus rubens red brome Pennisetum ciliare buffelgrass

  23. At which threshold is this unmanageable/irreversible? Carrying Capacity Saturation Phase Effective Control Unlikely without Massive resource Inputs Quarantine Priority Stage Eradication Priority Stage Control Priority Stage Control costs Invader abundance Fire Expansion Phase Colonization Phase Time

  24. Invader abundance, Fuel Connectivity & Wildfire Size Nonlinear due toincreasingconnectivity Average fire size Invader Abundance (Time)

  25. Recent Invasives-Driven Wildfires in the Western U.S.

  26. July 2002 Mustang Fire, Dutch John Mountain 16,000 acres

  27. July 2006Sawtooth Complex Fire 61,700 acres

  28. June 2005Cave Creek Complex Fire 243,950 acres

  29. Buffelgrass Attributes • Perennial C4 bunchgrass from Africa/S. Asia • Individuals can live 20 yrs • Swollen stem bases allow it to store carbs & survive grazing, drought & fire • Apomictic, seeds viable for up to 4 yrs • Susceptible to cold • Introduced throughout subtropics; escapes readily • Fire temperatures >1000°F, >12’ flames

  30. Where are we on the logistic growth curve for buffelgrass? Hermosillo Tucson Control costs Invader abundance Fire Phoenix Southern Baja Time

  31. Mapped Distribution in Arizona & Sonora Pima County Santa Catalina Mts Sea of Cortez “Frio”Cananea

  32. Catalina Mts

  33. Buffelgrass patches on South slope of Catalina Mts. & in subdivisions will coalesce in 5-10 yrs Photo taken November 2007

  34. Buffelgrass connects pricey developments in the desert foothills with woody fuels higher up the Catalina Mountains AZ Upland

  35. Buffelgrass invasion rates must be taken into account

  36. 1996 buffelgrass Sabino Mountain Estates Buffelgrass Expansion

  37. 1998 Sabino Mountain Estates Buffelgrass Expansion

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