Wildlife Specialist report

ecreational activities, game management, and other land disturbing actions that remove
vegetation and cause direct or indirect effects to species and/or their habitat.
The watershed cumulative effects analysis compiled a list of these different types of
activities within each 5 th -code watershed. This analysis reviewed this list of past, present
and reasonable foreseeable projects within each 5 th -code watershed, and used the results
of the watershed cumulative effects analysis to help focus in on areas of potential wildlife
concern; areas with the potential for higher levels of disturbance for threatened and
endangered species, sensitive species, high priority migratory bird species, forest
management indicator species, and the other wildlife.
The watershed cumulative effects section looked at activities within Gila National Forest
watersheds to assess if these activities had resulted in land disturbance that had reached
or exceeded a disturbance threshold (USDA Forest Service 2010d). The amount of
disturbance within each 5 th -code watershed was used to determine how much potential
wildlife habitat was being affected.
Where the 5 th code watershed analysis indicated higher levels of disturbance, a closer
look/analysis was completed at the 6 th code level.
Of the 33 5 th code watersheds analyzed none approached the 15% disturbance level
identified as the threshold level of concern in the watershed cumulative affects analysis
(Watershed specialist report). Under the existing condition (Alt.B) the three 5 th code
watersheds with the highest disturbance level were: Corduroy Canyon at 8.6%, Negrito
Creek at 5.7%, and the Upper San Francisco at 3.4%. Of the remaining 5 th code
watersheds analyzed 20 had a disturbance level of