Conservation reports and data

Historical Range of Variation for Potential Natural Vegetation Types of the Southwest (June 2007)

Descriptions of the Historical Range of Variation or Variability (HRV) characterize the change over time and space in the condition of the Southwest’s major vegetation types and the ecological processes that shape those types. HRVs enable land managers and the public to understand the drivers of change in our region’s major vegetation types.

• Alpine Tundra
• Aspen Forest and Woodland
• Chaparral
• Madrean Encinal
• Montane Subalpine Grasslands
• Mixed Conifer Forest
• Pinyon-Juniper Woodland
• Pine Oak Woodland
• Ponderosa Pine Forest
• Semi-Desert Grassland
• Spruce Fir Forest

Southwest Forest Assessment Project Peer Review Process (October 2006)

All of the reports and data sets developed for the Southwest Forest Assessment Project were subjected to external peer review to ensure conformance with the Forest Service’s Science Consistency Review Standards. This report includes a complete list of the resource professionals who reviewed the various components of this project.

Download file (<1 MB)

Ecosystem Diversity Reports for National Forests in Arizona and New Mexico (August 2006)

Ecosystem diversity reports were developed to support the Forest Service’s need for information on the species and ecosystems that occur on National Forests in Region 3. The reports contain data summaries and analyses of a variety of regional datasets. Each report is packaged with an introduction and chapters describing methods and data sources.

• Apache-Sitegreaves National Forest
• Carson National Forest
• Cibola National Forest
• Cibola NF (grasslands only)
• Coconino National Forest
• Coronado National Forest
• Gila National Forest
• Kaibab National Forest
• Lincoln National Forest
• Prescott National Forest
• Santa Fe National Forest
• Tonto National Forest

Participatory Learning on the San Pedro River: Designing the Crystal Ball Together (July 2006)

Published in the July/August 2006 issue of Southwest Hydrology, this paper outlines the key building blocks for sustainable water management in the upper San Pedro River. It describes the role of the public–private consortium - the Upper San Pedro Partnership, the development of information and scientific tools to help answer key questions and identify tradeoffs in water management alternatives, and the importance of cooperation, collaboration and commitment of scientists, stakeholders and elected officials.

Download file (1 MB)

Overview: Ecoregion-Based Conservation Assessments of the SW United States and Northwestern Mexico (July 2006)

Provides an overview of ecoregional assessments and the process used to create a standardized, cross-ecoregional dataset for six ecoregions within and adjacent to Arizona.

Download file (5 MB)

What is the Southwest Forest Assessment Project? (June 2006)

Brief overview describing a collaborative effort between The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Forest Service Region 3 in Arizona and New Mexico, a project designed to develop scientific information for forest plan revisions and to help in the restoration of ecosystems.

Download file (< 1 MB)

Historical Fire Return Intervals for Arizona and New Mexico (May 2006)

Synthesizes the scientific literature on historical fire return intervals associated with the major vegetation systems across Arizona and New Mexico. Included is a crosswalk table for use with the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project’s land cover dataset and three ArcGIS layer (.lyr) files that enable the user to mimic the report graphics.

Download file (<1 MB)

Report on the Biological Planning Process for Livestock Management at Las Ciénegas (May 2006)

Jointly authored by BLM and TNC, this report summarizes the monitoring information used and decision-making process for the 2005-2006 grazing plan at Las Ciénegas National Conservation Area. The report details how BLM, with input from partners, advisory teams, and the grazing permittee, are using upland monitoring data and pasture reconnaissance to make grazing management decisions.

Download file (5 MB)

U.S. Forest Service Region 3 Species Database (May 2006)

Provides an up-to-date, searchable excel database on the species that occur on Region 3 Forests in Arizona and New Mexico.

Download file (<1 MB)

Biotic Communities of the Southwest GIS Layer (January 2006)

TNC developed a digital version for the whole of David E. Brown and Charles H. Lowe’s 1981 map. Previously, GIS representations of this map were only available for its Arizona and New Mexico portions. Users: please note the relatively coarse source scale of the paper map (1:1,000,000) when using this digital version for analyses. A layer file (.lyr) which mimics the familiar color scheme of the paper map is also provided.

• Biotic Communities of the Southwest ArcGIS data (7 MB)
• Biotic Communities of the Southwest Google Earth KML (4 MB)