Rick Miller

Arizona Game & Fish

Effects of Drought On Wildlife

Ø Reduced Food and Cover

Ø Reduced Water

Ø Reduced Reproduction

Ø Reduced Effective Habitat

Ø All These Effects Probably Last At Least 3 Years Following a Serious Drought

Ø Moderate to Severe Drought Has Lasted as Long as 75 Months in the Last 100 Years

Things We do to Make It Worse

üWe have lowered water table

üWe have reduced vegetative diversity

üWe have added to barriers and fragmentation

•Highways and Freeways

•Cities and Towns

•Fences

•Canals

Drought or other rare events may make existing problems worse. In One Day in 2002 near Tusayan, AZ Game & Fish hauled 135,000 gallons of water and still could not offset the drought

Management Possibilities Between Events

Ø We can improve plant diversity between major events – By using fire, restoring forests savannas and grasslands, controlling grazing, reducing recreation impacts.

Ø We can manage for drought as a norm – A suggestion has been made that we target wildlife and livestock populations at levels that do no harm through at least six months of drought.

Ø We can put physical structures such as water tanks, passable fences, and bentonite seals, in place.

Management Possibilities During an Event

Ø During an event we should carefully set priorities to emphasize practicality and effectiveness.

Ø We should recognize how slowly the ecological system usually responds to positive change, in other words, the effects don’t end when the event ends.

Ø During an event we should focus on rarest species which can benefit from what we can do.