Saguaros in the Haley Hills

This is the final published update concerning the status of activities with regard to saving the Haley Hills. While activities have not ceased, publication about them has for security reasons. In order for these activities to remain effective and unhindered, it is wise to follow the example of law enforcement. Details disclosed can work against an operation if they fall into the wrong hands. And so it is with saving the Haley Hills.

Let it be said and proudly known however, that we are winning and that we will prevail, thanks in large part to the single-handed efforts of some tireless volunteers who remain anonymous.

The reality of the matter is that within the next decade the area in all likelihood will become a regional park managed by the City of Maricopa. We have been assured by city officials that such a park will remain closed to motorized vehicles. In that case, our preservation efforts will not have been in vain.

While it would be ideal and preferable for the area to obtain official status as a "wilderness island," it is simply not on a scale large enough to interest or make it feasible for those who could make that ideal a reality. Therefore this blog is once again in the throes of transition. Look for it to become a new front for a more radical exploration and expression of concepts and ideas related to the connection between animal rights and global warming. Did you know that 40% of the world's greenhouse gases are directly caused by commercial animal factory/farming?

For more information about the most important issue of our time, please watch the award-winning film Earthlings. It will change your life like no other. Thank you.

Haley Hills Report (8/8/07)

It's ready! Go see at http://www.judykennedy.com/august82007.htm

Hey -- Is anybody out there?

I think it's important for the public to see my Haley Hills Report newsletters in the same format that the BLM, AZ Game & Fish, Pinal County, and the other recipients see them. Therefore, I've decided to post them "as is" on my website -- photos and all. That way the layout is preserved, and you don't have to visit a separate link for the photos.

I will continue to post general summaries here, but most of the content will be posted on my website here:

www.judykennedy.com/haleyhillsreports.htm

See ya around .... or not.

Judy

Haley Hills Report (7/11/07)

THE HALEY HILLS REPORT

for photos accompanying this report please visit

www.judykennedy.com/july102007.htm

JULY 11, 2007, Wednesday

Purpose: to keep the general public and relevant government agencies informed as to the ongoing status of the environmental degradation due to illegal off-road vehicle (ORV) activity in the BLM region known as the Haley Hills in northwestern Pinal County in the heart of the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

Scope: biweekly and/or monthly in general

Summary: New illegal ORV tracks through sensitive areas;

LIVE DESERT TORTOISE and BURROW FOUND NEXT TO VEKOL WASH!

New report reveals solutions to ORV abuse of public lands; PEER kicks off campaign to raise awareness regarding ORV “Wreckreation” and its impact on public employees; Haley Hills campaign broadens outreach and online exposure.

June 22, 2007- June 30, 1007

June 22, Fri: We took the main road almost all the way to the west ridge. On the way back just north of the Vekol Wash, I saw Granddaddy’s tracks crossing the road for the first time this year! Granddaddy is the name of a huge rattlesnake that I see each summer in that particular vicinity. Of course I have no idea if it’s a male or female – I just chose that name to reflect its size and age. The width of his track is 3 inches in some places. June 23, Sat: Covered the west wash which parallels Ivory and the southernmost boundary of the BLM land. Saw a red-tailed hawk flying back and forth between the trees in the wash and the west side of the hill.

June 26, Tues: A fence wire was cut again and the gate was lying flat on the ground. The ORVs ran over it and just left it there. So this time I put it back together very well with the materials at hand. Added a new wire and a few wood posts to make it more secure and harder to cut.

June 27, Wed: Patrolled the first east wash and the far east Vekol. ORVs had been all over the place. June 28, Thurs: Patrolled the west Vekol and found fresh tracks there too. Saw 2 red-tailed hawks flying together around the west side of the hill and then northward into the canyon. This was the third time in recent weeks that hawks were sighted over the hill and I realized that these may have been the same two that were circling overhead when I was filming Glow the Gila Monster a few weeks earlier on the east side of the hill. I’ve found abandoned nests on both sides of the hill before. Could this be a breeding pair?

Around 10:00 a.m. we saw a huge dust cloud coming out of the Vekol heading north toward the west ridge. My friend Marshall got in his truck and went back there. He came across a group of ORV riders – 8 or 9 of them. They were riding up the road to the top of the west ridge. Two had already made it to the top and the others were on their way. The guys on the top told the guys below to go see what he wanted. Marshall warned them that if they didn’t stay on the road they could get fined. They replied that they were staying on the road, but he told them that we saw their dust cloud way to the east of the road. They said “Oh we came down the wash.” So he told them they were not supposed to be there either. They said “they didn’t know that” even though the signs are clearly posted in the middle of the wash. He also told them that someone had cut the fence and that there was a fine for that too, so if they knew who might have done it, to pass the word around. They thanked him for the information and then they all turned around, got on the road, and left the area. I filmed all of them as they rode past.

Then they turned on Ivory and headed east. We saw all of them leave except for the two on top of the hill. We don’t know where they went. According to Marshall, their ORVs were yellow, which leads me to suspect they were the same guys I had that uncomfortable encounter with a few weeks back and who frankly admitted they didn’t care what the law said. In any event, all these guys looked like they were in their early twenties. They did not return that day at least. June 30, Sat: Fence was still up although we saw where ORVs had driven up to it and turned around. A full size vehicle had come down the east Vekol. All over the road just a little north of the arroyo and south of the gate, we saw tracks in the dirt that looked like a Gila Monster’s. Could have been some other kind of lizard but I doubt it because they were pretty wide. Wasn’t a snake because the feet/claw marks were barely visible. They led to a small hole on the east edge of the road.

July 1, 2007 – July 9, 2007

July 2, Mon: Late morning -- a guy wearing a helmet on a red ORV puttered up on the road next to our house and then turned around, heading south on Sage. Around 7:00 pm, 2 guys without helmets with a cooler on their ORV sped out of the Vekol. After dark I heard another ORV out there somewhere but never saw it go by.

July 3, Tues: Saw where the guys with the cooler had been. They’d driven up to the very secure fence and just sat there drinking a six pack. They tossed their beer cans under a creosote bush with some other litter. But at least the fence was still intact. Behind the hill on the west Vekol plain, found recent small ORV tracks coming out of the highly vegetated west Vekol and going less than 10 feet from a large burrow – possibly tortoise. They went up the west side of the hill a ways, stopped, turned around and went back into the west Vekol. This was much to close to the hawk nests.

July 4, Wed: An ORV had crossed the Vekol at the road, veered off road to the east, and just weaved in and out of the east Vekol over a half mile or so. When crossing the first east wash it ran right over a bush. Then to my horror, it found my foot trail and followed it into the east Vekol. This is the very first time ORVs have used this entrance to the Vekol. It’s very narrow, steep, and brushy so only a smaller ORV could do this. What’s so horrific about it is that it is a highly sensitive vegetated area and exactly where I’ve sighted desert tortoise before. When the ORV got back into the Vekol they blazed a new illegal trail right across the island over some brush next to some baby Palo Verde trees into the south lane. On the south bank of the east Vekol, we found a small skull hanging from a branch. Looked canine – baby coyote or fox perhaps? Also looked like someone placed it there deliberately.

July 6, Fri: I’d planned to check out the west Vekol, but saw more ORV tracks veering off the road to the east so I followed them. Glad I did because they led me to the first east wash and the foot trail where to my delight I saw the desert tortoise! It was in the exact spot where I previously sighted one 1-2 years ago. This tortoise was about 7-8 inches in length and from what I’ve read, I believe it is a female because she didn’t have those lumps under her chin and her tail was short. Therefore I named her “Gloria” because it was glorious to find her. Gloria was peacefully grazing on dried grass. I quickly took a few close-up stills for identification purposes and then backed off quite a ways to video with zoom so as not to disturb her. After a while she started to walk and headed straight for the Vekol and into a burrow underneath a creosote bush less than 3 feet from the wash. Her grazing location was right over some old ORV tracks, and along with her burrow, less than 12 feet from the foot trail where ORV tracks were spotted for the first time a few days earlier! The whole area is less than 80 yards from the east trail that is frequently and illegally used by ORVs. The burrow was in typical half moon shape which I understand is common for tortoise burrows near dry washes.

And here’s the video: Desert Tortoise in the Wild

All my desert tortoise sightings in the Haley Hills (4) have been within a quarter mile of each other. Same with all the suspected burrows.

Gloria’s appearance calls for more immediate and effective measures for stopping ORV abuse here. The US Fish & Wildlife’s top recommendation is:

Reduce or prohibit vehicle travel off existing roads. Disturbance to desert soils increases the potential for alien plants to invade and become established, causing significant and deleterious alterations to the flora. And, although washes and washlets constitute only a small portion of desert habitats, they have a disproportionate share of the forage plants favored by tortoises and are frequented by tortoises a significantly greater amount of the time. Therefore, vehicle travel off existing highways and established roads—particularly in desert washes and washlets—in desert tortoise Critical Habitat should be minimized and, where possible, prohibited (see USFWS, 1994).

Therefore, all major vehicle access points into the Vekol Wash should be barricaded as the posted signs are having little effect.

July 7, Sat: Very hot and humid – even at 6:30 a.m. Walked down the road to the gate which was still intact fortunately. Saw 3 separate snake tracks over the ORV tracks on this road that should be closed.

Hiked down the west trail a bit and came back down the west Vekol. ORVs had made fresh tracks over some bushes and a highly vegetated island. That night we found 6 Sonoran Desert Toads all clustered around the AC drip by the side of the house.

Seeing several each morning now around sunrise.

July 9, Mon: Went back to check on Gloria. Didn’t see her anywhere but there were no new ORV tracks fortunately. I’m hoping those tracks were just a fluke and that whoever made them never goes back there again. But just in case, I disguised the narrow entrance into the Vekol with some brush so it doesn’t look so obvious. There are other places near by where people and horses can enter the Vekol but I haven’t seen evidence of others using this particular foot trail but me for the past couple of years. From what I understand, the desert tortoise in this particular part of the Sonoran Desert is not technically “threatened”, but is listed as a “sensitive” species with the BLM. Previous scientific plots have shown the tortoise population in Arizona to be stable except for in the Maricopa Mountains region which is less than 5 miles from the Haley Hills. Likewise, the flora and fauna of the Haley Hills is facing permanent damage and degradation due to ORV abuse unless effective action is taken immediately.

New Report: “Six Strategies for Success: Effective Enforcement of Off-Road Vehicle Use on Public Lands,” explores solutions in these times of limited resources and tight budgets.

What you permit, you promote.

- - Rick Lint, District Ranger, Ocala National Forest

The ORV abuse issue on public lands and the role of the responsible public agencies has been very much in the news lately. Here are just a few stories that warrant your attention:

Outdoor damage: Former land managers are right: ATVs are threat, Salt Lake Tribune.

Reckless off-roaders called scourge, LA Times, June 29, 2007.

Off-Road Vehicles Rev Up Controversy, CBS News, July 3, 2007.

Driven to fight: A retired BLM special agent finds herself battling the very agency she once worked for, High Country News, March 19, 2007.

Finally, published in full for your convenience, a copy of the press release regarding the new report revealing solutions to ORV abuse on public lands. I’ve read this report and it contains excellent remedies that are particularly relevant to our problems. For instance, in remote locations like the Haley Hills where live law enforcement may not be practical or realistic – closing off an access road that is no longer used except by ORVs to illegally access the rest of the area can have a powerful impact. Check it out:

New Report Reveals Solutions to Off-Road Vehicle Abuse of Public Land

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact:

May 24, 2007 Jason Kiely, Wildlands CPR, 406-543-9551, 406-239-9432 (cell)

Jim Furnish, former deputy chief, Forest Service, 240-271-1650

For Forest Service response: Joe Gallagher, Acting Off-Highway Vehicle Program Manager, 202-205-0931.

MISSOULA, Mont. – Motorized vehicle abuse has been called one of the biggest problems facing public lands – but many solutions are within reach, a new report says.

Public interest groups released a report today on successful strategies for enforcing the law on public lands to stop off-road vehicle abuse. Five case studies illustrate how authorities have combined six strategies to protect safety, recreation opportunities, wildlife habitat, water quality, and private property.

“Everyone has a right to access our public lands, but no one has the right to abuse these lands or ruin the experience of others enjoying America’s Great Outdoors,” said Jason Kiely of Wildlands CPR, a Montana-based group who commissioned the report. “Fair and effective law enforcement helps everyone who values public land, whether you ride a machine, mount a horse or rely on your own two feet.”

The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have struggled to prevent environmental damage, conflicts, and even violence sometimes associated with the abuse of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dirt bikes, and other powerful off-road vehicles. Former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth called unmanaged motorized recreation one of the greatest threats to public land.

The report, “Six Strategies for Success: Effective Enforcement of Off-Road Vehicle Use on Public Lands,” explores what can be done to solve this problem, in these times of limited resources and tight budgets. Read the report and related materials at http://www.wildlandscpr.org/Reports/EnforcementReport.html.

The report is based on more than 50 interviews with public land managers, law enforcement officials, and community leaders, landowners and volunteers. Joe Gallagher, Acting OHV Program Manager for the Forest Service called the report “thoughtful and insightful” and is concerned that funding is not adequately prioritized to enable the use of many of the strategies detailed in the report.

Nonetheless, the report highlights case studies where officials and citizen groups have succeeded after making enforcement a priority. Rick Lint, a District Ranger on the Ocala National Forest in Florida requested additional officers and trained 15 existing field staff to make contact with riders. He said, “What you permit, you promote. We’ve permitted largely uninhibited access to public lands for so long that it’s come to be seen as a right. We’re putting in a structure to manage motorized use to sustain the quality of the land over time.”

In most cases, however, public lands agencies are overwhelmed by enforcement challenges. Lawbreakers too often scar the land, muddy streams and wetlands, damage habitat and create conflicts with law-abiding forest visitors. In the worst cases, these conflicts have erupted into violence and injury. (Visit http://www.wildlandscpr.org/Reports/EnforcementReport.html to read recent news of off-road vehicle abuse and a western Montana case study.)

Jim Furnish, former deputy chief of the Forest Service, tackled the issue in the early 1990s when he developed the management plan for the Oregon Dunes (see update on page 30 of the report). Furnish recently said, “What’s been lacking is the assurance of tough enforcement and the backbone needed to bring the runaway problem under control. Folks visiting our public lands expect enforcement that protects natural resources, ensures visitor safety, and reclaims a family-friendly atmosphere.”

-- 30 --

PEER reports Off-Road “Wreckreation” Plagues Public Lands

The brave folks at PEER.ORG -– Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility whose slogan is “Protecting Employees Who Protect Our Environment” – have adopted the ORV issue as one of their most urgent and important. PEER protects and gives voice to public employees with a conscience who dare to tell the truth about where our taxpayer dollars are really going or not going as the case may be. Whistle-blowers and undercover activists find them an excellent resource and support system. PEER and Rangers for Responsible Recreation are campaigning to draw attention to the growing threat posed by ORV misuse and to assist overmatched state and federal land managers. For more information, please visit http://www.peer.org/campaigns/publiclands/orv/index.php.

Our public campaign is revving up as well. We are broadening outreach and exposure in many venues. For instance, my Sonoran Desert wildlife videos are in the process of cross-posting to several other video hosting sites across the Web: Revver, Magnify.net, Google, AOL, and MySpace.TV to name a few. Our YouTube audience has grown to over 3000 viewers a month. That number is expected to increase exponentially very soon as a result of these multiple postings. For instance, a video that would take a couple of days to get 30 hits on YouTube only takes a couple of hours on Revver and other sites due to better promotion, selectivity, and quality of resolution. So take care, enjoy, and stay tuned for more news about Gloria and her fellow reptilians in the Haley Hills.

For the Haley Hills,

Judy Kennedy

www.judykennedy.com
www.waywardmuse.com

P.S. CORRECTION TO A POSTING IN THE 6/21/07 HALEY HILLS REPORT: THE RATTLESNAKE IN THE VIDEO IS NOT A WESTERN DIAMONDBACK. IT’S A MOHAVE! VIDEO DETAILS HAVE BEEN UPDATED ACCORDINGLY.

____________________________________________________________________

This report is published online at Judy Kennedy’s Haley Hills Blog

For more info: Save the Haley Hills

*NEW VIDEOS* Gila Monster’s Return and Desert Tortoise in the Wild

More Haley Hills Wildlife Videos on the Waywardmuse Channel

Contact:

Judy Kennedy
PO Box 1211
Maricopa, AZ 85239

E-Mail

Haley Hills Report (6/21/07)

For photos that accompany this report, please go to my AOL PHOTO GALLERY.

May 20, 2007 – June 2, 2007

May 21, Mon: Saw small ORV tracks along the east Vekol. May 22, Tues: On the far east side, the broken AZ Game & Fish sign was hanging down so I propped it up again. Fresh ORV tracks prominent everywhere. Found two additional entrances to the Vekol on the south bank further east. May 23, Wed: West trail -- for the first time in a long time, saw small ORV tracks there. It’s a shame because it was starting to see some recovery. Also, it is still evident that ORVs are ignoring the AZG&F signs. They are actually making a new trail around the one that says “No Vehicular Travel – Restoration in Process.”

May 24, Thurs: Man on a horse rode by into the Vekol. Later a man on a blue ORV sped past and into the Vekol. By the dust cloud, it appeared that he went straight back and then turned around but he never emerged from the Vekol on to the road. So I’m certain he exited the area illegally off-road somewhere. May 25, Fri: Saw where the blue ORV headed east down the Vekol as suspected, cutting across some of the islands. May 26, Sat: At least two ORVs and a motorcycle were riding around north of the Vekol. May 28, Mon: Man on a horse rode by again. May 30, Wed: Two red ORVs emerged from the Vekol – an adult and a child. May 31, Thurs: Received an email from BLM’s Patrick Brasington asking for license plate numbers on the vehicles involved in the suspicious activity as it might relate to illegal immigration and/or smuggling. Though I did not have the numbers, I sent him what video footage I had. I also asked him what he thought the chances were of getting the road closed and his recommendation on how to proceed. Have yet to hear back from him on that one.

June 3, 2007 – June 21, 2007

June 6, Wed: Saw 4-5 cattle grazing on the west side of the fence just north of the Vekol. One of them was the big black bull previously seen at the Mesquite Bosque a few weeks ago – had a green tag in his ear but couldn’t get close enough to see any other identifying marks.

Followed some new wide vehicle tracks down the middle trail. They crossed the first east wash and continued down to the second east wash after riding around in circles on the plain. Same tracks were also in the east Vekol. At one point they exited the Vekol on the north bank just west of the 1^st east wash and traveled through a very densely vegetated area and uneven terrain through a deep arroyo. Looked like they got stuck and then got out after making some large ruts. Then they kept going north over vegetation and small arroyos back toward the middle trail.

June 7, Thurs: Small ORV tracks all over the west Vekol – north and south lanes, and through the densely vegetated island.

Saw man on horse again. June 8, Fri: Saw a huge rock squirrel run across the west Vekol up on to the south bank next to the hill. June 10, Wed: A man in a baseball cap came driving out of the Vekol in what looked like a green Subaru station wagon. June 11, Mon: New illegal trail forming across the island in the east Vekol just west of where our small wash merges with the Vekol.

Man rode by on his horse again, but this time it was in the afternoon – not in the morning like usually. June 12, Tues: Late afternoon – 5^th Gila Monster sighting this year!

It was traveling northwest across the front of our property. It went into our backyard and parked under a creosote bush while I proceeded to film it. When I compared the photos to the other sightings, I confirmed it was Glow – the Gila Monster that I sighted on May 17, Thursday morning, on the west side of the fence. I named him or her Glow for identification purposes since this was not this lizard’s first appearance. While I was videotaping, I heard two noisy ORVs in the distance north of the Vekol. At one point they were coming our way but stopped at the wash. I heard one of them yell something about “barbed wire” and then they turned around. By the noise and the dust cloud, it appeared that they went north again and then west. June 13, Wed: Sure enough, those ORVs had cut the fence in two places. They cut the bottom wire of the fence in the portion that crosses the Vekol, leaving a gap just big enough for them to go under. On the other side their tracks continued west and directly up on to the north bank through a densely vegetated area on the west side of the fence. They also cut, tore down, and ran over the gate going west. Before that, they veered off the dirt road and made loops around some creosote bushes. I notified AZ Game & Fish so they could locate the cattle owner and get someone out to repair the fence.

June 14, Thurs: Saw where the ORVs on Tuesday had traveled all over the east Vekol as well, up on to the banks, and slicing through the islands. Found a discarded cigarette pack on the ground in the middle of the Vekol. June 15, Fri: Did the lower ridge trail. Found a full water bottle directly east of the location in the first east wash where the illegal immigrants previously camped. Saw my first Desert Toad of the season. Our puppy chased it off the deck and it disappeared before I could film it. June 16, Sat: Starting to really heat up now. Did the south lane of the west Vekol, checking out likely desert tortoise burrows. One of my dogs smelled the 2^nd one obsessively but I did not see any scat or tracks.

Found some strange dig marks in the dirt on the steep south bank just across the arroyo near the Saguaro strand. Looks like they were done with a shovel. The dogs smelled something there as well but the dirt did not look freshly dug. This is very near where I found the abandoned blue backpack and recorded moving dolly tracks some time ago.

June 18, Mon: Saw more tracks where the little ORVs are going northwest off the trail around the signs in the west Vekol. Saw interesting animal tracks in the south lane near the Saguaro strand – looked like something jumping. June 19, Tues: Noticed the little ORV tracks going right past and around the bush where one of the sighted Gila Monsters took refuge on May 17, 2007. This particular lizard is featured in my Gila Monster’s Journey video, in which I include educational information about the ORVs and what’s happening out here. (I filmed this threatened species crossing the road TWICE.) This bush is on the south bank of the east Vekol not far from the main access road. Also noticed more tracks through the island and coming from the south bank of the east Vekol a little further east of the road as if they’re trying to avoid going down it.

June 21, Thurs: Saw a huge hawk (possibly Ferruginous) flying low right over my head. Walked down to where the fence was cut and wired it back together as best as I could with the existing materials laying on the ground out there – old rusty barbed wire previously discarded. Not a permanent solution but at least the gate is standing up now so that the cows can’t get out. After I returned I got an email from Dan Urquidez with the information regarding possible cattle owners. He also forwarded the info to the BLM’s rancher/cattle grazing coordinator. I replied with a thank you note and let him know that I got the fence temporarily wired for now. Update on the Pinal County Open Space and Trails Master Plan: They got a draft out and it’s up for more committee review and public commentary. No specific action is proposed concerning the Haley Hills. Only reference to the area is regarding the City of Maricopa’s plans to convert it into a regional park. I contacted Marty McDonald, the City’s Director of Parks & Recreation to find out more about that. Evidently, the plans are still in the conceptual phase and he reported that dialogue with the BLM has yet to take place. But he assured me that in the event of a regional park, the City wants to “preserve the area and create regulations that prevent ATV use on the trails, which will ultimate destroy the terrain.” I brought him up to date with what’s happening and asked for his feedback and participation in this process, especially since the City of Maricopa has a vested interest now in preventing future harm to the area. I let him know that while our preference is for the Haley Hills to receive a formal designation of natural open space with restricted usage – nonmotorized and nonfunctional, we would be receptive to the formation of a regional park similar to South Mountain or San Tan, especially if it is the only way to stop the ORVs from destroying this fragile ecosystem. Meanwhile we’re doing more outreach and seeking guidance from conservation groups and wildlife experts, especially in light of the extraordinarily frequent Gila Monster sightings.

For the Haley Hills,

Judy Kennedy

www.judykennedy.com/haleyhills.htm

www.waywardmuse.com

Haley Hills Report (6/21/07)