Haley Hills Report (5/23/07)

For photos that accompany this report, please go to my AOL Public Photo Gallery.

Week of May 3, 2007 - May 10, 2007

May 4, 2007, Friday: We did the west Vekol route. The gallon of water remains untouched. Picked up a brown Budweiser beer bottle discarded at the foot of the gate. Found vehicle debris in the west Vekol at the first major crossover between the north and south lanes.

In the south lane near the steep bank of the southernmost hill with the large Saguaro strand was an abandoned blue backpack.

Around noon a newer model white passenger van drove down the road past our house and parked at the entrance to the Vekol. They sat there for about 45 minutes before they turned around and came back, crossing Ivory and continuing southbound on Sage. The driver was a dark-skinned man with shoulder-length black hair, wearing a mustard yellow sleeveless shirt. I got him and the van on video.

May 5, 2007, Saturday: We went down to the Vekol to see if we could determine the white van’s activity. Saw nothing except for some vehicle debris (a gray plastic bumper with red paint on it) on the west side of the road north of the Vekol. We walked up and around the west hill just south of the Vekol. On the west side about midway up I could see some recovery over the creosote plain. No ORVs had been back there lately.

Later that afternoon what looked like an old Chevy Blazer followed by a guy on a yellow ORV rode northbound past our house and into the Vekol. By the dust cloud that followed them it appeared that they stayed on the road heading straight back to the canyon rather than turning eastward on the Vekol. In about an hour they returned. The yellow ORV guy was wearing a black cowboy hat. He went by first and then waited for his friends in the Blazer to catch up before they both turned left on Ivory heading east. Around 6:00 p.m. another yellow ORV with a helmetless driver recklessly sped past our house and into the Vekol. He was going too fast for me to capture on video but I got his enormous dirty dust cloud. By the deafening noise of his engine and the direction of his obnoxious pollution he headed east down the Vekol.

Motorcycle tracks and smaller ORV tracks were also visible near the gate, down the middle trail, and across the first east wash. The ORV tracks continued down the east trail. The motorcycle tracks veered south past a prominent desert tortoise sighting location and down into the north lane of the east Vekol right through a fragile area of the bank I call the swimming hole. It’s where the first east wash empties into the Vekol down a cascading series of mud steps. The lowest one fills up with water when it rains making a great play pool for the dogs. The motorcycle tracks weaved in and out of the Vekol along the north bank near an empty cigarette pack and beer bottle.

Saw many musical Phainopeplas and beautiful bouncing cottontails.

May 9, 2007, Wednesday: Discovered a new ORV entrance to the east Vekol on the north bank not far from the location of my desert tortoise sighting. This illegal, ugly, and destructive activity has got to stop.

May 10, 2007, Thursday: Pleasantly surprised to spy another Gila Monster crossing the road on the north bank of the Vekol toward the gate, but my camera battery was dead! After taking the dogs home I went back to track it but it was gone. Discovered an interesting mushroom, however.

Afterwards I went down to the far east area of the Haley Hills range. The AZ Game & Fish “no motor vehicles” sign on the southernmost leg of the east trail was still down so I propped it up between some dead branches. Lots of litter and vehicle debris still lying around and absolutely no recovery in sight.

Around noon we saw two Mexican men walking southbound from the Vekol each carrying a gallon of water. Then a compact silver pickup truck with a hard-shell bedcover suddenly emerged from the Vekol and they turned around to walk toward it. The truck stopped and they got in. The truck then continued south across our wash and then east on Ivory. I got it all (including their footprints) on video. It was almost exactly a week ago around the same time of day when I spotted the white passenger van back there. Is a pattern beginning to emerge? Is this becoming a popular pick up spot for illegal immigrants?

Week of May 11, 2007 – May 18, 2007

May 11, 2007, Friday: Photographed some new illegal ORV tracks in and out of the first east wash just north of the Vekol including some beer litter they left behind.

That evening around 11:30 p.m., the sounds of two vehicles going past our house and into the Vekol woke us up. I went outside to keep an eye on them. It sounded like they stopped in the Vekol, got out, and slammed their doors. We heard male voices but couldn’t distinguish words. Then they walked around flashing lights here and there for about 45 minutes. Finally, both vehicles emerged from the Vekol and returned to Ivory where they stopped again. After a few minutes, one went back to the Vekol. Then after a while it came back out followed by two more vehicles. They all stopped on the other side of our wash at the corner of Sage and Ivory. By that time I’d made out that one of the trucks was a Pinal County Sheriff vehicle. Around 1:00 a.m. a tow truck appeared. I could only catch fragments of their conversation from my front steps, but from what little I heard I ascertained that all the fuss was over another abandoned vehicle. The neighbor must have reported it and the cops thought maybe the suspects might still be on the BLM land across the Vekol assuming that’s where they came from. Finally, they all left around 1:30 a.m. and we could finally get back to sleep. I got as much of the event as I could on video – lights and voices mostly – as it was much too dark for anything else. May 14, 2007, Monday: When we went back to survey the weekend damage, we saw no visible evidence of ORVs, but the Sheriff vehicle’s tracks were everywhere. It had to have been their oversized back country truck because the tracks were deep, wide, and ugly. To my horror, they actually drove down the middle trail, ignoring the AZ Game & Fish sign banning vehicular activity due to restoration efforts. At one point when the trail got too narrow, they went around some creosote bushes until they could get back on it. When they arrived at the first east wash, they veered to the south toward the Vekol and then stopped. They must have gotten out there to look around. Then they backed up, turned around, and proceeded northwest across the creosote plain until they met up with the road again. Fortunately, they missed most of the bushes but regrettably left some very disfiguring scars. They had also driven over some freshly made animal burrows. In my opinion they did not have to do this. If this were a rescue effort, then perhaps understandably. But for chasing suspects, they could have covered the area just as well on foot in just a few minutes. It’s not that large. I do it all the time almost every day.

May 15, 2007, Tuesday: Went almost all the way to the back of the canyon on the road, then hopped into the northernmost end of the first east wash (otherwise known as the ridge trail) and headed south. It is one of my favorite hikes – very secluded and shady. Lo and behold we came across footprints in the wash identical to those I photographed on the road belonging to the Mexican men. Sure enough, we came upon their abandoned camp where we found the discarded evidence of various prepared food items from Mexico and a really nice backpack. An inventory:

• Tuny Pavo: Ensalada de Pavo con Verduras
• Tierra Grande Salsa Casera Mexicana
• La Costeña: Elote Dorado Entero
• 3 Barritas Marinela Fresca con Salvado (galletas con salvado mermelada de fresa adicionales con vitaminas y minerales)
• Tortilleria “Chela” de Sonoyta Sonora
• Black Jio Backpack
• 2 limes
• label from Wrangler size 32 (largo) Mexican jeans, boot cut, western fit
• used toilet tissue

Got it all on video as we found it. Then gathered it all up (except for the toilet tissue) and took it home for a group photo.

May 17, 2007, Thursday: Visited the west Vekol again. No changes. On the way back the dogs had gone up ahead and cornered something because they were doing their alarm bark. It was another Gila Monster on the west side of the fence in front of the hill just south of the Vekol. John took the dogs home while I proceeded to film it. While doing so, two hawks flew by overhead – a male Northern Harrier and a Red Tail. Got them both on video. Wow! Another Gila Monster and two hawks in the same video! Yes, it will be on YouTube shortly.

My tape ran out so I took some additional stills and headed for the house. While I was inside getting a new tape, John and the dogs spotted yet another Gila Monster in our backyard! He brought the dogs in and I spent the next several hours tracking and filming this second one. It crossed the road, and at one time looked as if it were headed straight for where the other Monster was. Excitedly I thought, could this be a mating pair? The first one had already disappeared however. Then this second one crossed the road again and eventually slipped into a dense bush on the south bank of the east Vekol where I suspect it has a burrow. I waited for about a half hour but it never resurfaced.

Later I compared the stills of all three Gila Monsters recently sighted – the one in my initial video and these two. All are three separate and distinct individuals! What I don’t know is if the one I sighted the previous week on the north bank of the Vekol was one of these or again a fourth individual. Four sightings of Gila Monsters in less than four weeks is incredibly rare. What’s going on here? Now that I have evidence that this is a high traffic area and that they are indeed crossing the road and probably frequently, the BLM should do the right thing and SHUT THE ROAD DOWN – whether it’s on their inventory or not. This could be a highly significant reproductive clutch. May 18, 2007, Friday: We decided to do something different for a change. First we went to the far west end of the area to check the AZ Game & Fish signs and their fence repair. While there were plenty of ORV tracks going on and off Power Line Road and into the west Vekol, the signs were still up and the fence in place. We spotted small hoof prints to the right of the road – possibly mule deer, and free ranging cattle in the Bosque separating the Haley Hills from the Booth Hills. Then we headed down Vekol Road through the Vekol Valley toward the South Maricopa Mountains and hiked the Vekol in that general area. Plenty of ORV tracks in the wash. Spent some time in the old reservoir which is an entirely different ecosystem this time of year – a greenbelt surrounded by a humid little forest. There were many bunnies, bugs, and cow pies. Also saw some Javelina tracks and one of the largest funnel spider’s webs I’ve ever seen. Then we drove through part of the Sonoran Desert National Monument, followed the Vekol Road south to IH-8 and headed home.

After traveling through the Vekol Valley and across part of the Monument, I have a better appreciation for the vastness of the area and for just how difficult it must be for the public officials assigned to police it to do so in a thoroughly efficient manner given their limited resources in the socio-ecological drought of the Bush administration. It must be overwhelming and so frustrating. And while the Haley Hills range comprises an area that is so much smaller, comparatively speaking (about 3 miles lengthwise), it is still only 2.5 miles from the boundary of the Monument and its wilderness areas. Given the unique richness and diversity of its biological and ecological resources, its significance as a major wildlife corridor to those areas, and its proximity to a populated area that only continues to grow, it is imperative that it be given priority in these efforts. Its northern boundaries will soon see incorporation into the City of Maricopa.That fact alone should be setting off an alarm bell for those who genuinely care about the threatened plant and animal species that inhabit this area. They were here first – this is their home. We are merely guests, uninvited and unwelcome. The least we can do is to do no further harm than we already have.

For the Haley Hills,

Judy Kennedy

www.judykennedy.com
www.waywardmuse.com

The Haley Hills Report 5/2/07

For photos that accompany this report, please go to my AOL Public Photo Gallery.


Week of April 21, 2007 – April 26, 2007

The day after the last report, Saturday, 4/21, was a very active day for the ORVs on account of the great spring weather. What looked like 2 brand new ones – red & blue -- whizzed passed our property and into the Vekol Wash. Later on, while John was standing outside, 2 ORVs departed the Vekol heading toward our house, then stopped. They were yelling at each other. One of them didn’t want to ride past our property, but the other one did. The bold one finally convinced his friend to follow him and as they rode by he waved at John. John did not wave back. Later, a blue ORV sped past followed by a dirt motorcycle. Both riders were helmeted and suited up like racers, each with a number on the back of his uniform. I carry my video camera with me practically all the time now so I try to catch them on film as they pass by, but sometimes they’re just too fast. The next day, Sunday, was much quieter fortunately. Saw a Red Tail Hawk circling over the hill. Monday morning I noticed that several different ORVs had gone up and down the Vekol. Also, a full size pickup truck had been in the north bank of the East Vekol. It made a u-turn where the north lane merges with the south and headed back in the other direction. Looked like most of the ORVs kept to the old rancher access road and the middle and east trail where the Arizona Game & Fish “no motorized vehicles” signs are posted. In fact, there were new ORV tracks through the first east wash just north of the Vekol. Also someone dumped an ashtray in the middle of the east Vekol. Gross!

Saw a Curved-Bill Thrasher next to the Vekol just singing away. A wide assortment of wild birds (including Orioles, Gila Woodpeckers, Cardinals, and Finches) visit my feeder now regularly.

John saw two Mexican men – probably illegal immigrants – walking eastward through the wash on the south side of our property. The dogs saw them and started barking. Think that scared them because they exited the wash and started running.

Friday morning, 4/27, we went through the cattle gate and hiked down the west trail, through the Vekol, then around the hill next to our property. Hop Bush and Creosote are blooming everywhere now.

The beginning of the west trail had no recent ORV tracks. A gallon of water was lying on the ground near the west gate. It looked like it had been deliberately placed there so we left it. Might save a life.

Week of April 28, 2007 – May 2, 2007

Sunday morning, 4/29, the dogs & I took a nice long stroll through the west wash – the southernmost boundary of the BLM land where ORVs hardly ever go. A couple crows flew over and several buzzards were flying low, riding the thermals. The Saguaro crowns are blooming.
I was extremely fortunate to witness one of our resident Gila Monsters out and about. Got some great film footage -- lots of action shots and close-ups in its natural setting.

Gila Monster in the Wild at YouTube !

This sighting was less than fifty feet from the main access road to the BLM land. In fact, at one time, the lizard was walking in that direction. The Gila Monster is a threatened species in Arizona and it is against state law to harass, harm, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, and trap or collect this gorgeous reptile. Yet that is precisely what ORVs regularly do when they’re driving off-road over burrows and other critical habitat. I’ve informed the authorities more than once of the likelihood of a healthier than normal population in this area on the basis of my frequent sightings. This amplifies the issue; as such sightings are reported to be rare.

On Monday morning, 4/30, we checked out the west trail and west Vekol again. Two huge piles of horse manure were on the west side of the cattle gate. The good news is that the westward trail north of the Vekol has not seen any ORVs in quite a while (probably due to the fine fence repair that Troy Christensen of Arizona Game & Fish did) and is beginning to see some recovery. Did not see any new ORV tracks in the West Vekol but did see new full-size pickup tracks again. Looked like they had come down the south lane of the west Vekol, cut across the island when they got near the fence, and made a U-turn at the gate, went back across the island and back into the Vekol. They had actually gone up onto the south bank of the Vekol at one time across a heavily vegetated area before returning to the south lane. When they cut across the island they left a lot of unsightly tracks. This is also near the location of the mountain lion tracks.

Since it did not appear that they went through the gate, I wonder if they were the ones who left the water and perhaps that was their sole purpose for going back there.

We had a nice little rain storm last evening (5/1). I love it when it rains because it softens and smears the ORV tracks in the dirt making it easier to spot and monitor new tracks. Saw some this morning (5/2) on the middle trail just east of the old access road, but they did not look like ATV or full-size pickup tracks. More like a jeep or dunebuggy. They crossed the first east wash and kept on going.

A few minutes ago, the little Latino boy that lives on Miller Road flew past our house on his red ATV coming from the Vekol Wash. He never wears a helmet and he was bouncing all over the place. Someone should talk to his parents. Got him on video again for whatever it’s worth. While Kevin Harper and Melinda Mahoney of the Bureau of Land Management promised additional signage almost two months ago and are receiving these reports, no action on their part yet is evident. That’s it for now.

For the Haley Hills,

Judy Kennedy

www.judykennedy.com

www.waywardmuse.com