Wildlife-centered Drought Plan

Introduction (cont.)

Inventory

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• Average precipitation: About 15 inches per year, measured by a weather station at the ranch, with most precipitation occurring during the summer monsoon season and winter frontal storms.
• Landscape: About 3,200 acres of grasslands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, rocky uplands, and riparian corridors. Elevation ranges from around 4,500 to 6,000 feet. The property includes portions of Apache Creek and Bitter Creek and lies adjacent to the Apache Box Area of Critical Environmental Concern and a Wilderness Study Area, contributing to a larger network of protected and ecologically significant lands. The ranch supports habitat for a variety of wildlife species, including migratory nectar-feeding bats.
• Water resources: Six groundwater wells, three springs, seasonal and perennial stream reaches, stock tanks, and gravity-fed irrigation for a small orchard and garden area.
• Vegetation and habitat: Native grasslands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, riparian vegetation, established native Agave palmeri, and approximately 600 planted A. palmeri grown from seeds collected in the area.
• Livestock management: A small cattle herd is used to support land stewardship objectives. Grazing management emphasizes maintaining vegetation cover, protecting restoration investments, and preserving drought resilience.

Inventory (cont.)

Lessons Learned During Past Droughts

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During the drought of 2025, neighboring ranchers faced severe forage shortages. In response, the ranch opened portions of the property to neighboring livestock, without compensation, to help alleviate the emergency. While this action provided short-term relief, managers observed that cattle likely remained grazing the landscape longer than ideal, potentially contributing to impacts on vegetation.

This experience highlighted the importance of having clear guidelines for grass-banking during drought. As a result, the drought plan includes a structured grass-banking framework that links livestock use to drought conditions, forage availability, and ecological indicators. The framework provides flexibility to assist neighboring producers during times of need while helping protect vegetation, wildlife habitat, and restoration investments from unintended impacts.

The experience also reinforced the value of making management decisions before drought conditions become severe. Establishing clear triggers, monitoring indicators, and response actions in advance can help reduce uncertainty and support more effective drought management.

Building Long-term Resilience to Drought

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The drought plan includes a number of long-term strategies intended to build the health and resilience of the operation in order to better withstand future droughts. Key components include:

Building Long-term Resilience to Drought (cont.)

• Protect and maintain the mature agave and the approximately 600 planted agaves that support nectar-feeding bats.
• Protect mature and planted agave from wildlife and livestock.
• Improve watershed function through vegetation management and low-tech restoration approaches that reduce erosion and increase soil moisture retention.
• Install erosion control structures (e.g., one rock dams or Zuni bowls).
• Thin and redistribute dead pinyon and juniper to reduce fuels and increase infiltration.
• Protect springs.
• Make wildlife-friendly water troughs.
• Rotate water sources to reduce soil disturbance.
• Maintain and repair water infrastructure, including wells, tanks, and water distribution systems.
• Support research and monitoring to better understand groundwater, streamflow, habitat conditions, and ecological responses to drought.
• Maintain flexibility in livestock management and grass-banking arrangements.
• Protect lower Apache Creek through livestock exclusion.
• Maintain and repair fencing to control external livestock access.

Monitoring Long-term Health of the Land, Resources, and Operation

• Monitor vegetation condition, invasive species, and tree mortality to identify emerging drought impacts.
• Conduct periodic vegetation monitoring.
• Monitor key species (e.g., nectar-feeding bats and pinyon jay).
• Monitor well levels and water use.
• Monitor local air quality.

Strategies During Drought

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The ranch uses a tiered response approach that links management actions to drought severity. As drought conditions worsen, managers increase monitoring, evaluate water availability, and assess vegetation and habitat conditions to determine whether additional actions are needed. US Drought Monitor levels guide the general tiered approach, described in the box below.

The drought plan incorporates a grass-banking strategy that helps guide livestock use during dry periods. Access to forage is adjusted based on drought conditions, forage availability, and resource protection needs. The plan also includes provisions for reducing or suspending grass-banking activities during severe and exceptional drought. The grass-banking strategy is described below:

Because drought increases wildfire risk, the ranch coordinates drought response with its catastrophic wildfire plan. Managers monitor fire danger, maintain situational awareness during periods of elevated risk, and prioritize actions that protect people, infrastructure, restoration investments, and sensitive habitats. Together, these strategies help the ranch respond to drought while maintaining long-term ecological resilience.

Drought Contingency Plan

• Use drought indicators, precipitation monitoring, and field observations to track drought conditions.
• Increase monitoring of streams, springs, wells, and vegetation during drought periods.
• Adjust grazing and grass-banking activities based on drought severity and forage availability.
• Prioritize water resources for critical needs, including livestock, restoration plantings, and habitat conservation.
• Protect restoration investments by reducing pressure on sensitive areas when conditions deteriorate.

Critical Dates and Target Conditions

Management decisions may be triggered when precipitation falls below seasonal averages, drought conditions reach severe levels, forage production declines, or water availability becomes limited.

• April 1 - Assess winter precipitation (November to March) to make decisions about grass-banking.
• September 1 - Assess conditions for fall grass-banking operation.
• November 1 - Assess monsoon (July to October) rainfall.

Strategies During Drought (cont.)

Goal	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Critical Dates for Condition Assessment				X					X
Track Precipitation	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Ensure adequate water - check wells quarterly	X			X			X			X
Limit non-native grasses:monitor		X	X	X			X
Track drought conditions (USDM)				X	X	X	X	X
Assess agave bolting				X	X
Evaluate grass-banking				X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Fuel assessment (Southwest Coordination Center)				X	X	X	X
Monitor vegetation condition - photo points				X					X
Protect priority trees: consider watering					X			X
Assess 7-day fire risk						X	X
Limit outside cattle access by checking fences					X						X
Check annual fire danger dates for the season				X

Strategies During Drought (cont.)

What Is Monitored and How

The ranch uses a combination of drought monitoring tools and field observations to track changing conditions. Managers regularly review the U.S. Drought Monitor, precipitation records, seasonal climate outlooks, and forage production forecasts. Photo points provide a visual record of changes in vegetation and landscape condition over time. Water resources are monitored through observations of streamflow, stock tanks, wells, and other water sources. Together, these indicators help managers identify drought impacts early and guide decisions about restoration activities, grazing management. and water resource protection.

Variable	Data Source	Threshold	Measurement Timing	Decision Supported
Drought conditions	USDM	Drought classification	Weekly on Thursday	Drought response
Precipitation (monthly)	Local gauge	At or more than 75% of average	Monthly	Grass-banking
Production	RAP	100% of average	April to August	Grass-banking
Production forecast	Grass-Cast	Positive percent difference from normal	April to August	Grass-banking
Projected rainfall – seasonal outlook	Climate Prediction Center	Average or above average	April to August	Grass-banking
Fire risk assessment	7-Day Fire Risk	Moderate	Weekly in June and July	Increased awareness
Water availability	Well/tank checks	Reduced capacity	Ongoing	Infrastructure actions

Strategies During Drought (cont.)

The ranch keeps track of rainfall and updates it in a monthly decision calendar. The managers also track weekly drought conditions at the ranch in a worksheet, shown below.

Strategies for recovering from drought

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When drought conditions improve, the ranch conducts a post-drought evaluation to assess ecological recovery, document impacts, and identify lessons that can improve future drought preparedness.

Managers review repeat photo points and field observations to evaluate changes in vegetation cover, bare ground, erosion, juniper mortality, and overall landscape condition. Water resources including streams, springs, wells, and stock tanks are also assessed to determine whether they have recovered to pre-drought conditions. Because agave restoration is a primary conservation objective, the ranch evaluates agave survival, flowering, and recruitment following drought to determine whether restoration and bat habitat goals remain on track.

The ranch also reviews drought indicators and historical records to better understand the severity and duration of the event. This includes comparing recent drought conditions to previous droughts using U.S. Drought Monitor records, evaluating rainfall anomalies, and documenting monsoon performance.

Following each drought, managers hold a brief reflection meeting to discuss impacts, evaluate the effectiveness of response actions, and identify opportunities for improvement. Questions may include which impacts were most severe, which management actions worked well, whether water infrastructure performed adequately, and whether any unexpected ecological or wildlife responses occurred.

For more information, please contact Kristen Lear or Emile Elias.

To learn more about BCI’s Agave Restoration Initiative across the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, visit: https://batcon.org/agaverestoration