Ironwood Forest National Monument

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A UNIQUE NATURAL AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE IN
SOUTHERN AZ February 2012 Bureau of Land
Management Tucson Field Office
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Ironwood Forest National Monument

• Established June 9, 2000 by President Bill
  Clinton
• Preserve an important desert ecosystem and
  evidence of human occupation spanning 5,000 years
• Managed by the Department of Interior, BLM-Tucson
• Encompasses approx. 128,400 acres (almost 300
  square miles)
• Over 600 species of plants and animals

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Sawtooth Mtns
Samaniego Hills
West Silverbell Mtns
Ragged Top
Silverbell Rd.
Silverbell Mtns
Avra Valley Rd.
Waterman Mtns
Roskruge Mtns
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Geologic Jewels
Wolcott Peak and Ragged Top
Ragged Top is one of the dominate features in
the landscape. Example of a volcanic neck, or
plug 22 million years old rhyolite vent
Elevation 4,261 ft Microclimates resulting
from weathering of rock creating deep crevasses
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Waterman Mountains
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Sawtooth Mountains
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Ironwood Ecological Value
Flowers for native bees
Roosting sites for hawks and owls
Dense canopy for nesting of white winged doves
and other birds
Leaves foraged by bighorn sheep, pronghorn
antelope and mule deer
Trellis for vines
Protection against freezes for saguaro and senita
Lower branches protect nursery plants from being
trampled and foraged by larger animals
Wildflower nursery foraged by rabbits and bighorn
Protection against sunburn for night blooming
cerus and other nursery plants
Burrows for tortoises in and around roots
Leaf litter provides nitrogen and organic matter
for soil enrichment
Seeds for doves, quail, and rodents
Symbiotic bacteria and fungi create islands of
fertility
Air temperatures may be 15 degrees cooler under
ironwoods than in the open desert sun five feet
away.
microhabitat
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Ironwood Tree

• Found only in the Sonoran desert
• Ironwood Forest NM contains the highest density
  of these trees ever recorded
• Member of the legume family
• A hardy, slow-growing tree, can live to 800 years
  or longer
• Evergreen with pink to lavender flowers in May
• Flowers and roots used as medicine
• Population is dwindling in U.S. and Mexico due to
  woodcutting, development, and invasive species.

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Bufflegrass Enemy of the Desert

• Buffelgrass is native to arid and semi-arid
  regions of Africa, Asia and the Middle East
• Grows densely and crowds out native plants of
  similar size
• The Sonoran Desert evolved without fire as an
  ecological factor and most of its plants cannot
  tolerate it
• A single buffelgrass fire kills nearly all native
  plants in its path
• Rapidly converting formerly rich biological
  communities into monocultural wastelands

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Wildlife
Rattlesnake
Big Horn Sheep
Desert Tortoise
Mule Deer
Lesser Long Nosed Bat
Gila Monster
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Ecological Highlights
Nichols Turks Head Cactus is seen in the
limestone rich Waterman mountains, and is on the
endangered species list.
Nichols
Turk Head Cactus
There is only one organ pipe cactus in the
monument, causing a person to wonder how it came
to be here.
Organ Pipe Cactus
Barrel Cactus in bloom
Elephant Tree
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Botanical Diversity

• The steep, rugged, shady canyons on Ragged Top
  support a remarkably diverse flora includes over
  70 of the total Ironwood Forest NM plant
  varieties
• A total of 76 plant varieties in the Monument
  were found only on Ragged Top

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Saguaro

• The largest cactus in the USA
• Can live to be hundreds of years old
• Plays an integral part of the desert, providing
  food and shelter for many desert species
• Ironwood Forest NM has extensive forests of
  saguaros, growing in densities exceeded only in
  Saguaro National Park.

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Hohokam Culture

• Hohokam is a Pima (O'odham) word used by
  archaeologists to identify a group of people that
  lived in the Sonoran Desert.
• There is evidence from campsites to villages
  suggesting the Hohokam people had settlements in
  the area.

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History of Silverbell

• Silvebrell Mountains,24 miles west of Marana, AZ
• High grade ore discovered in 1860s
• Established as Silverbell in 1904
• In 1910 the population was listed at 1,118
  persons in 327 households
• Chain of ownership
• Development Company of America (DCA)
• Imperial Copper Company
• Southern Arizona Smelting Company (ASARCO)

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For More Information

• Bureau of Land Management
• http//www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas
  /natmon/ironwood.html
• Laura Olais Acting Manager
• Ironwood Forest National Monument
• 3201 E. Universal Way
• Tucson, AZ 85756
• [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• HANDS ON THE LAND
• www.handsontheland.org
• Gail W. Corkill, Ed D Education Consultant
• North Star Learning Solutions, LLC
• P.O. Box 243
• Sonoita, AZ 85637
• northstarlearn_at_gmail.com
• [phone]

5/1/2012