< Back  ||  Home > About

Research

Wildlife management, particularly elk, is a high priority for the State of Arizona. Since being reintroduced in 1914, the elk population has grown dramatically. This has resulted in escalating conflicts between elk advocates and ranchers and farmers who feel their operations are threatened by the demands elk make on range resources, and the damage that they do both to infrastructure (i.e., fences, water developments) and crops.

The CALS team chose to address this specific problem for three reasons. First, recent NASA science results and the data that will be provided by EOS are well suited to this extensive problem. Second, the results of any research that might shed light on elk population trends and movement would have immediate value to a whole host of other natural resource management issues in the region (e.g., management of other wildlife, livestock, land in general). Third, the high visibility of the elk issue would ensure that these other potential users would be made aware of this opportunity so that new alliances might be forged to extend the Infomart constituency.

In the first, or discovery, phase of the project conducted in 2000, our results suggest that the size of elk populations in different areas of Arizona is related to forage availability that is driven by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climatic events. Forage availability affects the viability of other wildlife species, as well as cattle production. Objective estimates of current and projected forage, and analyses of trends through prior years might guide management of these intertwined interests.

Based on findings from the discovery phase, the second, or product development, phase of the project is focusing on two components. The first is concentrating on solidifying and extending the research base on which the project is based. The second is concentrating on engaging the broader audience of this research in the design and delivery of information products based on assessments of current and projected vegetation conditions. In this latter effort, we are linking with related agricultural information extension activities that are currently underway with support from USDA. These will build from the same set of basic Infomart products, but will have different models for implementing them in their respective operational environments.

Wildlife Management  ^

The Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) is charged with providing the data necessary to manage State Trust lands in Arizona. This deals, in large part, with generating the information required to maximize return to the State from these lands. It also includes providing management information that ensures that the State is a "good neighbor" in planning with adjacent land owners, and that the State is in compliance with various federal laws and regulations that protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. Because of their function as a State-designated hub for geographic information, ASLD was our primary point-of-contact for the Infomart activity in Arizona and will continue to serve in this critical role.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) is another partner because of their role in managing elk and other wildlife. The work conducted with ASLD will be melded with AGFD in their current elk management effort. Beyond this pressing issue, AGFD have other responsibilities that require routinely updated information for (1) managing wildlife species other than elk, and (2) providing routine information about wildlife to the public-at-large who wish to hunt or observe different animals.

Range Management  ^

A range management dimension was added to phase one in October 2000. This allowed us to capitalize on the overlap between wildlife and range management and explore how ranchers might use these same data. It also permitted us to link with another project within CALS, the Range Management component of the USDA-sponsored Agricultural Network Information Center (AgNIC) for the National Agricultural Library. This project seeks to make information on range management generally available over the Web, particularly in the western U.S.

For phase two, participants include ranchers from local collaborative management groups including the Orme Ranch, V-V neighboring ranches, the neighboring ranch unit of the Hopi Tribe, rancher members of the V-V Advisory Council, and representatives from the Arizona Cattlegrower's Association. We are developing working partnerships with the range livestock industry in the use of this technology. They are participating in two ways. First, they contribute directly in product development and evaluation as we work on the V-V. Second, we hope to have them serve as a conduit to their colleagues and respective organizations to share Infomart developments.