Vekol Valley is a north trending valley that is drained by Vekol Wash, a tributary to the Santa Cruz River. Vekol Wash originates on the northern edge of the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, and then traverses a portion of Sonoran Desert National Monument, largely draining Table Top Mountain and the Sand Tank Mountains. The valley bottom supports a fragmented, relictual tobosa grassland. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Soil Conservation Service built many “spreader dikes” along the upper portion of Vekol Wash. Those dikes were designed to slow water movement and, theoretically, increase growth of grasses upstream of the dikes. Instead, they have become impoundments that fill during monsoon rains and are prime habitat for seven species of frogs and toads, creating one of the most diverse anuran communities in Arizona.
Conservation Goals
- Maintain anuran and Arizona mud turtle breeding habitats created by spreader dikes.
- Restore native grassland habitats, including tobosa grasses.
- Remove/exclude wild horses and trespass cattle from sensitive habitats.
- Reintroduced and establish population of Sonoran pronghorn.
- Develop artificial waters for wildlife.
Map
Primary Threats
1. Agriculture
9. Natural System Modifications
Potential Conservation Actions
2. Land and Water Management
- Improve management and protection of artificial water features that are home to a diversity of anuran species.
3. Species Management
- Remove trespass cattle and wild horse populations that can adversely affect sensitive species.
Habitats Present
Strategy Species
Amphibians
Couch's Spadefoot, Great Plains Toad, Lowland Burrowing Treefrog, Red-spotted Toad, Sonoran Desert Toad, Sonoran Green Toad
Birds
Elf Owl, Gilded Flicker, Varied Bunting
Mammals
Antelope Jackrabbit, Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Sonoran Pronghorn
Reptiles
Arizona Mud Turtle, Regal Horned Lizard, Sonoran Coralsnake, Sonoran Desert Tortoise
Fish
See Associated Aquatic COAs for fish species.
Protected Areas and Other Areas of Conservation Value
- Barry M. Goldwater Range
- Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation
- Table Top Mountains Wilderness
Potential Partners
- Tohono O'odham Nation
- Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC)
- Friends of Sonoran Desert National Monument
- Bureau of Land Management
Relevant Conservation Plans
- Candidate Conservation Agreement for Sonoran Desert Tortoise
- Sonoran Pronghorn Recovery Plan
- Sonoran Desert National Monument Resource Management Plan
- Pinal County Wildlife Connectivity Assessment
Associated Aquatic COAs
- No associated Aquatic COAs