In a day and age of widespread extinctions and ever-diminishing natural areas, every square foot of habitat matters. Enter your “backyard.” Whether you own ten square feet of barren turf or hundreds of wild acres, you have a genuine opportunity to bolster the biodiversity of the Sky Islands. Added up, formally protected areas simply do not equate to sufficient habitat to support our local biodiversity in the long term. We need a groundswell of people transforming their yards into genuine wildlife habitat—collectively adding up to a de facto national park, if not in name then certainly in its positive ecological effects. In this two-part article I will chronicle some personal habitat restoration success stories, hoping to inspire you to become—or continue to be—an Earth steward.
Unless your backyard or land is already in a perfectly natural state with only native plant species—a rarity these days—chances are there is much room for managing it better to increase biodiversity. Fortunately, several key habitat restoration initiatives are underway in our area. Each organization is committed to restoring habitat for the benefit of our local flora, fauna, and fungi. You can do the same and, as encouragement, I’ll share the example I’m most familiar with: our 42-acre Raven’s Nest Nature Sanctuary.
In 2008, Claudia and I purchased the 42 acres owing to its location—a short walk to the nearly 10,000 acres of Sonoita Creek State Natural Area and a five-minute drive from Patagonia Lake State Park—as well as the land’s varied topography and its great potential to support local biodiversity in this prominent wildlife corridor. We saw exciting ecological restoration opportunities both around the house and across the land at large.
We began in earnest around the house because, while we loved it, the land ringing it looked like a moonscape: largely devoid of native vegetation, with mostly mowed, nonnative grasses as well as a few nonnative trees. Pursuing an aggressive and hands-on “out with the bad, in with the good” strategy, the first thing we did was to remove the foreign trees—two Chilean mesquites and a lone African sumach. Both species support little in the way of local wildlife and, even more insidiously, are known to escape into the wilds at large. Don’t be afraid to “rock the boat” by removing nonnative vegetation essentially useless to wildlife. Oleander is another example of something that can be replaced with native plants that have coevolved with local wildlife. All around our house we planted dozens of native species—mostly trees, shrubs, vines and succulents—with the goal of creating an open woodland underscored by diverse xeriscaping. We knew that a successful habitat restoration project would not only attract far more wildlife, but also improve year-round temperatures inside the house—warmer in winter, cooler in summer. Efficiently landscaped houses also have increased property values.
As a wildlife biologist and ethnobotanist, I based our selection of native plant species on their natural distribution in the area, their value to wildlife, and their human utility—most of our selected plant species furnish food, medicine, or other useful items. We were looking for species that naturally occur within about 50 miles from our home and within 500 feet of our 4,000 ft. elevation. This approach maximized survivorship of the young plants. Some of our key species include evergreen sumach, hopbush, velvet ash, Arizona rosewood, desert honeysuckle and spiny hackberry. The actual list is much longer, as we strove for overall plant diversity as well as multiple individuals of certain species. While they occur outside of our 50-mile radius, we also planted a handful of Arizona cypresses for their evergreen shade and wildlife value.
We often grouped plantings in “habitat islands,” minimizing water use via our custom soaker system. This also maximized value to wildlife by providing dense thickets where shade, food, and protective cover all come together. One example of this successful planting strategy is a habitat island anchored by a huge evergreen sumach, growing cheek-by-jowl with a scrub oak, an Arizona rosewood, a yellow trumpet, numerous wild cotton shrubs and a hollyleaf barberry. This particular habitat island has grown into its own world, hosting countless birds and other wildlife over the years. It has created favorable conditions for a good number of volunteer velvet mesquite saplings, enlarging the size of the island, its value to wildlife, and the overall beauty.
Meanwhile, our Arizona grapevines and clematis vines have reproduced and spread, as have the desert honeysuckles (the blossoms are a favorite food of hummingbirds), fragrant mariolas, whitethorn acacias, hopbushes, daleas, cane chollas, various prickly pear cacti, Palmer agaves, and others. Thus, the woodland and xeriscaping around our home continues to build upon itself—all allowed to evolve naturally without pruning.
As we planted we also created a series of berms and swales, allowing our sometimes scant Arizona precipitation to deeply penetrate the soil to benefit the plants. Augmenting these passive rainwater harvesting techniques, we used smaller dead plant parts as mulch around our new plants, helping them keep hydrated. This approach also keeps our house “firewise.” We purchased truckloads of rocks—from fist-sized to massive boulders—and added logs of various sizes to serve as more or less permanent mulch in our restored wildlife habitat. Demarcating the perimeter of our near-house habitat restoration project, we built various “free-stack” rock walls containing countless refuges for smaller wildlife such as ornate tree lizards. All of these non-plant habitat features not only increase water infiltration into the ground and reduce drying winds, but also add much beauty to our home’s landscape. Finally, we created two small, linked wildlife ponds on a former parking area which are now a magnet for thirsty animals.
Needless to say, we are thrilled with the results of our home’s habitat restoration. Our 170-species-strong backyard bird list includes the likes of Elegant trogon and Montezuma quail—all without bird feeders. Other wildlife appreciated from our home has included mountain lions, bobcats, coyote, common gray fox, ringtail, collared peccary, desert cottontail, antelope jackrabbit, various reptiles, and huge Sonoran Desert toads. It has been an ongoing bestiary that never fails to inspire.
Next month, I will share the habitat management practices at large at Raven’s Nest Nature Sanctuary.
Vincent Pinto and his wife, Claudia, run RAVENS-WAY WILD JOURNEYS, their Nature Adventure & Conservation organization devoted to protecting and promoting the unique biodiversity of the Sky Islands region. RWWJ offers a wide variety of private, custom-made courses, birding & biodiversity tours. Visit ravensnatureschool.org