Research & Conservation
Arizona Plant and Wildlife Research & Conservation The Boyce Thompson Arboretum plays a pivotal role to many research and conservation efforts. Our main research is supported through our Desert Legume Program (DELEP) and the University of Arizona, however, we also have many partnered organizations sharing the same goals. There are on ground and off ground efforts being done by many organizations ranging from, state, federal, non-profit and private.
ARIZONA
HEDGEHOG
CONSERVATION
In October of 2008, BTA made its first relocation of Endangered Arizona Hedgehog Cacti, Echinocereus triglochidiatus var. arizonicus, to the Arboretum from construction sites within the Tonto National Forest along Highway 60. Twenty of the specimens were returned to the Tonto National Forest and test seed plots were established. Desert Botanical Garden (DBG), a member of the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC), were given spine samples and a specimen for testing. In June 2012, the Arboretum gathered over 20,000 seeds and kept them identified by plant accession. A second salvage was conducted in the fall of 2014. The arboretum has continued working with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), DBG, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tonto National Forest, Resolution Copper Company and private contractors in an effort to protect and preserve the species.
QUEEN CREEK 2017 AQUATIC SPECIES AND HABITAT SURVEYS FOR ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT Excerpts from Arizona Game and Fish Department survey report currently in Draft; provided by Dana Warnecke with Habitat, Evaluation and Lands Program Region VI.
In October of 2017, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGF) conducted fish and aquatic herpetological surveys to document the presence or absence of native aquatic species (fish, amphibians and reptiles), sampled water quality and investigated the flow regime of an approximate 1 mile reach of Queen Creek between the Town of Superior and the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA) in Gila county, Arizona. Surveys were conducted on Tonto National Forest (TNF) and State Parks (BTA) lands downstream of the Superior Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and FR 989. The Department conducted a visual encounter survey on October 23, 2017, to determine presence/absence of aquatic herpetological (herp) species (amphibians and reptiles). Four surveyors walked both sides of the stream along the wetted greenline and narrow floodplain to efficiently detect aquatic herp species.
12 | Boyce Thompson Arboretum | Fall 2018
