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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Area Manager <br />DRAFT <br /> <br />22 <br /> <br />Its breeding range includes far western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern California, <br />southern portions of Nevada and Utah, southwestern Colorado, and possibly extreme northern <br />__--L:____ _L'..,__ "1___:___ C'l....~...__ _L'n_:_ r"'l_1:.L"__:_ ...:1_1 '),.T_-4-_ C"...___... __..3 r\..:l....,\....n flT....;t+ 1Q27\ <br />l'Vl LJUIUS Vl UJC JVJCAll,;Wl o.Jl'1LC;~ U1 UclJel '-'aJ.,UU.l.lUa UI,;;I l"IUll\,..., ....,Ul1UI a., Q..I1U '-'11.J.I1UUJ.J""" \ "-'Uu. . "'....,.,. <br /> <br />The flycatcher was listed as endangered without critical habitat on February 27,1995 (U.S. Fish <br />and Wildlife Service 1995). Critical habitat was original]y designated on July 22, ]997 (U.S. <br />Fish and Wi]dlife Service 1997a,b). On May 11,2001, the lOll> Circuit Court of Appeals set <br />aside designated critical habitat for the flycatcher. The Service sent out a scoping letter to more <br />than 800 interested parties requesting information to develop a new critical habitat proposal in <br />May 2002. Scoping meetings are planned for January and February 2004 in the seven States <br />within the range of the flycatcher to gather further public input and identify other information for <br />a critical habitat proposal. <br /> <br />A recovery plan for the flycatcher was prepared by the Southwestern Willow F]ycatcher <br />Recovery Team and finalized by the Service in August 2002 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <br />2002). The recovery plan includes: I) Threats and reasons for endangerment; 2) the biology, <br />ecology and current status of the flycatcher; 3) recovery units, objectives and criteria; 4) <br />prioritized recovery actions; and 5) detailed papers on management issues and threats. Much of <br />the infonnation summarized in this section of the opinion is from Chapter 2 of the recovery plan <br />on "Biology, ecology and status." <br /> <br />Life History <br /> <br />The flycatcher breeds in relatively dense riparian tree and shrub communities associated with <br />rivers, swamps, and other wetlands, including lakes (e.g., reservoirs). Most of these habitats are <br />classified as forested wetlands or scrub-shrub wetlands. Habitat requirements for wintering are <br />not well known, but include brushy savanna edges, second growth, shrubby clearings and <br />pastures, and woodlands near water. The flycatcher has experienced extensive loss and <br />modification of breeding habitat, with consequent reductions in population leve]s. Destruction <br />and modification of riparian habitats have been caused mainly by: I) Reduction or elimination <br />of surface and subsurface water due to diversion and groundwater pumping; 2) changes in flood <br />and fire regimes due to dams and stream channelization; 3) clearing and controlling vegetation; <br />4) livestock grazing; 5) changes in water and soil chemistry due to disruption of natural <br />hydrologic cycles; and 6) establishment of invasive non-native plants. Concurrent with habitat <br />loss have been increases in brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) <br />(cowbird), which inhibit reproductive success and further reduce population levels. <br /> <br />Suitable Habitat Characteristics <br />The flycatcher breeds in different types of dense riparian habitats, across a large geographic and <br />e]evational area, from sea level in California to approximately 8,500 feet in Arizona and <br />southwestern Colorado, Although other willow flycatcher subspecies in cooler, less arid regions <br />may breed more commonly in shrubby habitats away from water (McCabe 1991), the <br />southwestern willow flycatcher usually breeds in patchy to dense riparian habitats along streams <br />or other wetlands, near or adjacent to surface water or underlain by saturated soil. Common tree <br />and shrub species comprising nesting habitat include willows (Salix spp.), seepwillow (aka <br /> <br />001413 <br />