Arizona Wildlife Conservation Strategy

Chapter 9: Monitoring

Monitoring is a critical element of any conservation effort and is at the heart of AZGFD's mission to "conserve, enhance, and restore Arizona's diverse wildlife resources and habitats." Monitoring should be a systematic and repeated activity, i.e., not simply an inventory. These efforts are often associated with and designed to assess the effects of a management action, using scientifically-defensible methods. Useful references that have informed our monitoring efforts include Elzinga et al. (2001), Atkinson et al. (2004), Stem et al. (2005), and The Heinz Center (2009).

Species Monitoring

It is not practical to monitor all SGCN, therefore AZGFD prioritizes monitoring efforts for species or habitats of highest conservation concern, such as those species listed under the ESA, covered under signed conservation agreements or strategies, or species that are the subject of reintroduction efforts. Monitoring is conducted at various hierarchical scales, depending on the particular questions being addressed. As such, AZGFD monitors both at the habitat level and at the species level, depending on project goals and priorities. For reference, these correspond fairly closely with TNC’s "course-filter" and "fine-filter" biodiversity conservation targets (TNC 1982).

Monitoring at local scales includes projects that target individual SGCN, such as Chiricahua leopard frog, Huachuca springsnail, black-tailed prairie dog, and others. Monitoring at the landscape scale includes regularly-scheduled bird monitoring projects including Riparian, Grassland, and Sonoran Desert monitoring (data are archived in the Avian Knowledge Network), regularly-scheduled Gunnison’s prairie dog occupancy and productivity surveys, or working with our partners on projects such as the Pima County Multi-Species Conservation Plan. In addition to species or habitat-focused monitoring, AZGFD also monitors various diseases that affect SGCN, including chytridiomycosis, snake fungal disease, avian influenza, bubonic plague, and white-nosed syndrome, among others.

For some SGCN, inventory is our only practical option. This inventory entails collecting as much information as possible regarding a species’ distribution, status, and threats. Information from species inventories provide important baseline data from which other studies and monitoring efforts can be developed. We collect and archive large amounts of these data, most of which are housed either in the Wildlife Data Warehouse (WDW), or in the interactive HDMS Dashboard. The WDW, which is an internal database that launched in the fall 2022, includes information explicitly collected by AZGFD staff for targeted conservation and management efforts (including monitoring). Meanwhile, the HDMS Dashboard combines point data archived in HDMS (i.e. element occurrences, point observation database, Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas), with observation data from Scientific Activity Licenses, and citizen science crowdsourcing applications, including HerpMapper, eBird, and iNaturalist, and others.

Habitat Monitoring

Throughout the state, most habitat monitoring is done by land management agency partners and formalized in their resource management plans. Clearly, much of the habitat manipulation and monitoring can only be done with our partners. Most habitat monitoring done by AZGFD staff is done in concert with species-level projects. For example, since 2012, AZGFD and partners have restored, improved, or secured about 30 springs, ponds, or stream sections intended to support SGCN Chiricahua leopard frogs, for which monitoring includes measuring the success of subsequent leopard frog translocation or reoccupation. In southern Arizona, AZGFD staff work closely with BLM and private landowners to remove mesquite and other woody vegetation in order to restore grasslands for SGCN prairie dogs and other grassland-dependent species. Project success is then measured through prairie dog monitoring. In a slightly different example of a landscape habitat manipulation project (pinyon pine removal to improve grasslands), we also monitor SGCN pinyon jays to evaluate possible unintended consequences of pinyon removal.

Monitoring the effects of management manipulations is a high priority for SGCN conservation. Existing monitoring plans or efforts are outlined in Table 7 below. These plans are utilized by AZGFD and our partners on a regular or semi-regular basis to monitor single species, multiple species, and/or their habitats. Monitoring plans and other documents listed are organized by taxa/species the plan covers (if applicable). Other information includes habitat types where these monitoring efforts occur (with primary habitat listed first followed by other habitat types the plan covers), the document citation with web links (if applicable), and the lead agency  and partners associated with implementing the monitoring plan.

Taxa/Species

Habitat Type

Document Citation

Lead or Partners

American bison

Great Basin Conifer Woodland, Petran montane conifer Forest, Plains and Great Basin Grasslands

AZGFD. 2020. Arizona Bison Management Plan

AZGFD

American pronghorn

Semidesert Grassland, Petran montane conifer Forest, Plains and Great Basin Grasslands, Upland Sonoran Desertscrub, Great Basin Conifer Woodland

(1) AZGFD. 2013. Arizona Statewide Pronghorn Management Plan. 96pp.

 

(2) Arizona Antelope Foundation. 2020. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant Report "Southeastern Arizona Grasslands Pronghorn Initiative" 2010-2019.

AZGFD

Bald eagle

Various

Driscoll, JT, KV Jacobson, GL Beatty, JS Canaca, and JG Koloszar. 2006. Conservation assessment and strategy for the bald eagle in Arizona. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 173. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD Lead; Various State, Federal, Tribal, and private entities.

Bat species

Various

(1) BLM Instruction Memorandum (IM) 2010-181, White Nose Syndrome.

 

(2) Whitenose Syndrome Response Team. 2014. Implementation of The National Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies, and Tribes in Managing White-Nose Syndrome in Bats. WNS Response Plans.

 

(3) Hinman, KE, and TK Snow, eds. 2003. Arizona Bat Conservation Strategic Plan. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 2013. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona. 

BLM, various

Bendire’s thrasher

Upland Sonoran Desertscrub

Ammon, EM, DM Fletcher, LB Harter, CC Borgman, E Duvuvuei, G Geupel, D Jongsomjit, E Juarez, CL Kondrat, E Masters, and R Norvell. 2020. Survey methods, habitat models, and future directions for conservation of Bendire’s and LeConte’s Thrashers: A comprehensive report of region-wide surveys in 2017-2018. GBBO Gen. Tech. Report 2019-1.Great Basin Observatory, Reno, NV.1.

Desert Thrasher Working Group

Bighorn sheep

Various

WAFWA Wildlife Health Committee. 2015. Bighorn Sheep Herd Health Monitoring Recommendations.

AZGFD

Black-footed ferret

Plains and Great Basin Grasslands

AZGFD. 2016. Management Plan for the Black-footed Ferret in Arizona. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 301. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD

Black-tailed prairie dog

Semidesert Grassland, Plains and Great Basin Grasslands, Chihuahuan Desertscrub

Luce, RJ. 2003. A Multi-State Conservation Plan for the Black-tailed Prairie Dog, Cynomys ludovicianus, in the United States - An addendum to the Black-tailed Prairie Dog Conservation Assessment and Strategy, November 3, 1999.

11 state fish and wildlife agencies within the range of the black-tailed prairie dog

California floater

Lotic

AZGFD Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Conservation Plan, July 1, 2022-June 30, 2032

AZGFD, ACNC-Phoenix Zoo

Cervids

Various

(1) Gillin, CM, and Mawdsley, JR (eds.). 2018. AFWA Technical Report on Best Management Practices for Surveillance, Management and Control of Chronic Wasting Disease. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Washington, D. C..

 

(2) Gillin, CM, and Mawdsley, JR (eds.) 2019. AFWA Best Management Practices for Surveillance, Management and Control of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD): First Supplement. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), Washington, D. C..

AZGFD

Chiricahua leopard frog

Various

USFWS. 2007. Chiricahua Leopard Frog (Rana chiricahuaensis) Recovery Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, NM. 

Jones, TR. 2013. A survey/monitoring plan for bullfrogs and native ranid frogs in the Peña Blanca Lake region, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 273. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD, USFS, USFWS

Colonial waterbird nest survey

Wetland, Lentic, Lotic

Corman, TE, and EA Juarez. 2017. Arizona Coordinated Bird Monitoring Program – Project Progress Report: 2006-2012. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 296.Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD lead;  various State, Federal, Tribal, and private entities.

Desert pupfish

Lotic, Lentic

Marsh, PC and DW Sada. 1993. Desert Pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) Recovery Plan. US Fish and Wildlife Service. Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD, USFWS

Flat-tailed horned lizard

Lower Sonoran Desertscrub

Flat-tailed Horned Lizard Interagency Coordinating Committee. 2003. Flat-tailed horned lizard rangewide management strategy, 2003 revision.

AZGFD, DOD, USBR

Golden eagle

Various

McCarty, KM, JK Presler, and KV Jacobson. 2020. Arizona golden eagle nest survey 2020. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 334. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD lead; various State, Federal, Tribal, and private entities.

Gunninson's prairie dog

Plains and Great Basin Grasslands

Seglund, AE, AE Ernst, and DM O’Neill. 2005. Gunnison’s prairie dog conservation

assessment. Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Laramie, Wyoming.

Unpublished Report.

WAFWA, AZGFD, USFWS

Huachuca springsnail

Springs, Wetlands, Madrean Woodlands

USFWS. 2016. Candidate Conservation Agreement for the Huachuca Springsnail (Pyrgulopsis thompsoni).

AZGFD, USFWS, USFS, DOD, ACNC-Phoenix Zoo, TNC

LeConte's thrasher

Lower Sonoran Desertscrub

Ammon, EM, DM Fletcher, LB Harter, CC Borgman, E Duvuvuei, G Geupel, D Jongsomjit, E Juarez, CL Kondrat, E Masters, and R Norvell. 2020. Survey methods, habitat models, and future directions for conservation of Bendire’s and LeConte’s Thrashers: A comprehensive report of region-wide surveys in 2017-2018. GBBO General Technical Report 2019-1.Great Basin Observatory, Reno, NV.

Desert Thrasher Working Group

Lesser long-nosed bat

Upland Sonoran Desert, Lower Sonoran Desert, Semidesert Grassland, Madrean Woodlands

USFWS. 2019. Draft post-delisting monitoring plan for the lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae). Region 2 USFWS, Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, Phoenix, Arizona.

USFWS

Mexican spotted owl

Petran montane conifer Forest, Petran subalpine conifer Forest

USFWS. 2012. Final Recovery Plan for the Mexican Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida), First Revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

USFS Lead, USFWS

Mexican wolf

Subalpine Grasslands, Petran montane conifer Forest

USFWS. 2017. Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan, First Revision. Region 2, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

AZGFD, USFWS

Monarch butterfly

Various

Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. 2019. Western monarch butterfly conservation plan, 2019–2069. Version 1.0.

WAFWA Monarch and Native Pollinator Working Group, Arizona Monarch Collaborative

Mt. Graham red squirrel

Petran montane conifer forest

USFWS. 2011. Draft Recovery Plan for the Mount Graham Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis), First Revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, NM..

AZGFD, USFWS

Narrow-headed gartersnake

Semidesert Grassland, Great Basin Conifer Woodland, Petran montane conifer Forest, Chaparral

Ryan, MJ, AB Smith, S Lashway, KK Smith, SB Riddle, CM Akins, BR Blais, and KT Krahn. 2019. A five-year narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) survey summary from Canyon Creek, Arizona-Revised. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 323. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD, USFWS, USFS

New Mexico jumping mouse

Subalpine Grasslands, Petran montane conifer Forest, Petran subalpine conifer Forest

USFWS. 2014. Draft Recovery Plan for New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius luteus) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

AZGFD, USFWS, USFS

New Mexico ridge-nosed rattlesnake

Madrean Woodland, Montaine Conifer Forest

USFWS. 1985. New Mexico Ridgenose Rattlesnake Recovery Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

USFWS, NMGFD, AZGFD

Nightjars

Various

Nightjar Survey Network. Center for Conservation Biology.

AZGFD, The College of William and Mary

Niobrara ambersnail (includes populations formerly called Kanab ambersnail)

Springs, Great Basin Desertscrub

Sorensen, JA and CB Nelson. 2002. Interim Conservation Plan for Oxyloma (haydeni) kanabensis complex and related ambersnails in Arizona and Utah. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 192.

AZGFD. 2017. Ambersnail Survey Protocol - April 2017. Arizona Game and Fish Department.

AZGFD, USFWS, NPS, UDWR, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Northern leopard frog

Great Basin Desertscrub, Great Basin Woodland, Petran montane conifer Forest, Lentic, Lotic, Wetlands

USFWS. 2007. Chiricahua Leopard Frog (Rana chiricahuensis) Recovery Plan. USFWS, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, NM.

AZGFD, USFS, USFWS

Northern Mexican gartersnake

Semidesert Grassland, Plains and Great Basin Grasslands, Upland Sonoran Desertscrub, Great Basin Conifer Woodland, Petran montane conifer Forest

Boyarski, VL, MJ Ryan, and TB Cotten. 2019. Monitoring Program for Northern Mexican Gartersnakes (Thamnophis eques megalops) at Page Springs and Bubbling Ponds Fish Hatcheries. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 317. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD, USFWS

Page springsnail

Springs

USFWS. 2015. Species Status Assessment Report for the Page Springsnail. Version 1.0.

 

Sorensen, JA. 2021. Monitoring program for Page springsnail. Version 9/16/2021

AZGFD, USFWS

Quitobaquito Tryonia

Springs

Quitobaquito Tryonia Working Group. 2021 (Draft). Monitoring program for Quitobaquito tryonia springsnails.

AZGFD, USFWS, NPS, ASDM

Relict leopard frog

Springs, Mohave Desertscrub

Relict Leopard Frog Conservation Team. 2005. Conservation Agreement and Rangewide Conservation Assessment and Strategy for the Relict Leopard Frog (Rana onca).

AZGFD, BLM, USFWS, BOR, NDOW, NPS, UDWR, UNLV

San Bernardino springsnail

Springs

AZGFD Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Conservation Plan July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2032.

AZGFD, USFWS, ACNC-Phoenix Zoo, private

San Xavier talussnail

Upland Sonoran Desertscrub

Cooperating Partners of the San Xavier Talussnail Working Group. 2018. Strategic Conservation Plan for San Xavier talussnail in Pima County, Arizona.

AZGFD, USFWS, KinderMorgan (El Paso Natural Gas Company, LLC), Arizona G&T Cooperatives, Pima County

Sonoran Desert Breeding Birds

Upland Sonoran Desertscrub, Lower Sonoran Desertscrub

Corman, TE, EA Juarez, JE Arnett, Jr., and CJ Beardmore (Eds.). 2018. Sonoran Desert breeding bird monitoring: 2012-2014 Summary Report. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 298. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD

Sonoran desert tortoise

Upland Sonoran Desertscrub, Mohave Desertscrub, Semidesert Grasslands

Averill-Murray, RC. 2000. Survey protocol for Sonoran desert tortoise monitoring plots: Reviewed and revised. Arizona Interagency Desert Tortoise Team.

AZGFD, USFWS, BLM, NPS, DOD, CBP, USFS, NRCS, ADOT

Sonoran pronghorn

Lower Sonoran Desertscrub

USFWS. 2016. Recovery Plan for the Sonoran pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis), Second Revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Region, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

AZGFD, USFWS

Sonoran tiger salamander

Plains and Great Basin Grassland, Madrean Woodlands

USFWS. 2002. Sonora tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum stebbinsi) recovery plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD, USFWS

Southwestern willow flycatcher

Riparian areas within most habitat types found in Arizona

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Plan. Albuquerque, New Mexico..

USFWS

Three Forks springsnail

Springs

Nevada Springsnail Survey Protocol (Adapted from AZGFD). October 2016. Arizona Game and Fish Department.

AZGFD, USFWS, USFS, ACNC-Phoenix Zoo

Various

Lower Sonoran Desertscrub, Lentic, Lotic, Wetlands

Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program. 2004. Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, Volume II: Habitat Conservation Plan. Final. December 17. (J&S 00450.00.) Sacramento, CA

BOR

Various

Lower Sonoran Desertscrub, Upland Sonoran Desertscrub, Semidesert Grasslands, Lentic, Lotic, Wetlands, Springs

Pima County. 2016. Multi-species Conservation Plan for Pima County, Arizona:

Final. Submitted to the Arizona Ecological Services office of the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Tucson, Arizona.

Pima County, USFWS

Various

Semidesert Grasslands, Plains and Great Basin Grasslands

Gori, D, GS Bodner, K Sartor, P Warren, and S Bassett. 2012. Sky Island Grassland Assessment: Identifying and Evaluating Priority Grassland Landscapes for Conservation and Restoration in the Borderlands. Report prepared by The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico and Arizona.

TNC, NFWF

Various

Semidesert Grasslands, Plains and Great Basin Grasslands

Gori, DF, and CAF Enquist. 2003. An Assessment of the Spatial Extent and Condition of Grasslands in Central and Southern Arizona, Southwestern New Mexico and Northern Mexico. Prepared by The Nature Conservancy, Arizona Chapter.

TNC, NFWF

Various bird species (breeding birds)

Various

USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. North American Breeding Bird Survey.

USGS, AZGFD lead, various State, Federal, and private entities.

Various bird species (grasslands)

Semidesert Grasslands, Plains and Great Basin Grasslands

Sparks, RA , DC Pavlacky, JP Beason, and E Juarez. 2017. Monitoring Grassland Birds in BCR 34, Arizona: 2016 Field Season Report. Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Brighton, Colorado.

AZGFD

Various bird species (riparian areas)

Riparian

Corman, TE, EA Juarez, JE Arnett., and CJ Beardmore. 2018. Riparian habitats breeding bird Monitoring: 2009-2012 Summary Report. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Technical Report 297. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona.

AZGFD

Various snail species: Huachuca woodlandsnail, Huachuca mountainsnail, Huachuca talussnail, Bear Canyon talussnail, Garden Canyon talussnail, Ramsey Canyon talussnail

Petran montane conifer Forest

AZGFD. 2016. AZGFD Land Snail Survey Protocol - October 2016. Arizona Game and Fish Department.

AZGFD, USFWS, Maricopa County, City of Phoenix, City of Glendale

Various snail species: Phoenix talussnail, Superstition talussnail, Eastern desertsnail, undescribed Sonorella species

Upland Sonoran Desertscrub

AZGFD. 2016. AZGFD Land Snail Survey Protocol - October 2016. Arizona Game and Fish Department..

AZGFD, USFWS, Maricopa County Parks, City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation, City of Glendale Parks and Recreation

Various snail species: Pinaleño talussnail, Wet Canyon talussnail, Mimic talussnail, Clark Peak talussnail, Pinaleño mountainsnail, Cross snaggletooth, Shortneck snaggletooth

Petran montane conifer Forest

Pinaleño Land Snail Working Group. 2018. Conservation Agreement for Land Snails in the Pinaleño Mountain on the Coronado National Forest in Arizona.

AZGFD, USFWS, USFS

Various snail species: Kingman springsnail, Grand Wash springsnail, Virgin (Desert) springsnail, Bylas springsnail, and Gila Tryonia

Springs

AZGFD. 2018 (Draft). Monitoring Program for Springsnails on BLM Lands in Arizona.

AZGFD, USFWS, BLM

Various snail species: Page springsnail, Verde Rim springsnail, Fossil springsnail, Montezuma Well springsnail, Brown springsnail, and two undescribed Pyrgulopsis species

Springs

Central Arizona Springsnails Strategic Conservation Plan (2021, in review)

 

AZGFD. 2021 (Draft). Monitoring Program for Central Arizona Springsnails.

AZGFD, USFWS, USFS, NPS

Western burrowing owl

Various

AZGFD Western Burrowing Owl Management website

AZGFD, BLM, USFWS

Western yellow-billed cuckoo

Riparian areas within most habitat types found in Arizona

Halterman, M, MJ Johnson, JA Holmes, and SA Laymon. 2015. A Natural History Summary and Survey Protocol for the Western Distinct Population Segment of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Techniques and Methods.

USFWS, Pima County

Yuma Ridgway's rail, other marsh birds

Wetlands

Conway, CJ. 2015. National protocol framework for the inventory and monitoring of secretive marsh birds. Inventory and Monitoring, National Wildlife Refuge System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.

USFWS, AZGFD