The Rimrock Report
The University of Arizona,
School of Natural Resources and the Environment
Jan 24, 2011
Volume 4, Issue 1
La Niña, La Niña, wherefore art thou La Niña?
Inside this issue:
Depending on where you are in Arizona, you may be wondering where La Niña is or
wishing she would go away. Or, you may be asking who or what is La Niña? She is not
as well known as her “brother” El Niño, so here is a little background info on them
both. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tell us that:
“El Niño was originally recognized by fisherman off the coast of South
America as the appearance of unusually warm water in the Pacific
ocean, occurring near the beginning of the year. El Niño means The
Little Boy or Christ child in Spanish. This name was used for the
tendency of the phenomenon to arrive around Christmas. La Niña means
The Little Girl. La Niña is associated with cooler than normal water
temperatures in the in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean…”
Most of us have probably heard
of the effects El Niño has on our
weather patterns. In the southwest
for instance, El Niño tends to
bring us wetter than normal
winters and by contrast, La Niña
tends to mean warm and dry
during this time of year. But as
we all know, the weather does not
always behave as we think it will
and this year so far has been no
exception. See the following excerpt from an article by the University of Arizona
Climate Science Extension Specialist, Mike Crimmins:
La Niña Throws a Curveball in December
December turned out to be surprisingly wet for most of the state after an ominous dry
spell set up through much of November. Exceptionally warm and dry conditions,
associated with a strong and possibly La Niña-fueled ridge of high pressure, dominated
the weather scene across Arizona for the first half of December. This ridge was beaten
down by a series of strong and cold low-pressure systems that traveled down from the
La Niña, La Niña,
wherefore art thou La
Niña?
1
Az. Section Society for
Range Management
Summer Meeting
3
John’s Plant of the “week” 4
The View From the Rim
6
Just Me Talking
6
“…we had better be
ready to make
grazing adjustments,
keep an eye on the
dirt tanks, and tune
up the fire truck.”
The Rimrock Report
La Niña, La Niña, wherefore art thou La Niña? ...continued
Bering Sea along the West coast and eventually through the Southwest. Several storms were also able to tap
into a deep subtropical plume of moisture originating from the tropical equatorial Pacific Ocean (i.e.
'Pineapple Express'). The combination of strong low pressure and plentiful moisture made several of these
storms epic precipitation producers across southern California up through northwestern Arizona. Several day
rainfall totals in excess of 10 inches caused localized flooding and damage in portions of Mohave County,
Arizona. Overall, storms between December 17 and December 31 brought several inches of rain to low desert
areas in central Arizona and several feet of snow to high country areas in northern Arizona, along the
Mogollon Rim, and to Sky Island ranges in the southern part of the state. Extreme southeastern Arizona did
miss out on much of the action with these storms, though. Less than an inch of precipitation was observed
across much of Cochise County where December totals were less than 50% of average.
The Climate Assessment for the
Southwest webpage has a La
Niña Drought Tracker which
illustrates this occurrence very
well (Figure 2). In Arizona, the
northwest quarter of the state is
above average in precipitation,
but most of the state is average
or below. Talking to producers
in the southeastern part of the
state recently, they all say that
things are getting dry there, and even though we have been under snow or wet here at the V Bar V, we are
starting to kick up a little dust now as well.
We grew a lot of grass here last year in many places but again, there were a few spots that did not get much
monsoon moisture. We have noticed a big decline in snakeweed in the mid elevation pastures, probably a
left-over effect from dry conditions last year. On the flipside to that our desert country haired over pretty well
in most places, but we are seeing some recruitment of snakeweed to go along with the grasses. Black grama,
bush muhly, and sand dropseed seem to be the most improved perennials in our lower elevation range. Vine
mesquite was the most noticeable gainer in the P-J areas. The higher elevations just seemed to have more of
the same species.
So, we are fortunate to have gotten some moisture over the holidays in a La Niña year. Time will tell if she
holds on and brings us the remainder of the winter warmer and drier, or if she has another curveball in store.
We should have residual forage (or fuel) from last year to work with, but the quality of that forage may leave
something to be desired. Overall, I am thinking we had better be ready to make grazing adjustments, keep an
eye on the dirt tanks, and tune up the fire truck.
Page 2
The Rimrock Report
Arizona Section Society for Range
Management Summer Meeting
Tentatively Scheduled for
August 3-5, 2011
At the University of Arizona’s
V Bar V Ranch in Mahan Park
To view a video announcement for this event,
Click here
Check back with the V Bar V Ranch or the
Arizona Section websites for
further details as they become available.
For more information contact Doug Tolleson at
dougt@cals.arizona.edu
Page 3
Volume 4, Issue 1
John’s Plant of the “week” by Jeff Schalau*
Thorny Native Shrubs of the Verde Valley
Plants have a range of unique adaptations to help them survive in arid environments. Some desert plants
are ephemeral: taking advantage of moisture when it comes and completing their life cycle over the span of
weeks if need be. Cacti have succulent stems and their leaves have become spines. Cactus spines not only
protect them from herbivory, but can also shade the plant from the intense sun. Other arid plant adaptations
include: pubescent (hairy), waxy, small, and/or folded leaves; extensive or deep root systems, and dormancy
during drought periods.
During dry periods, woody plants are sometimes the only forage available to grazing/browsing animals in
arid environments. Some woody plants, such as creosote bush, have chemical compounds that inhibit or prevent herbivory. Others have prickly leaves or thorny stems that make them less palatable to browsers. Their
thorniness also keeps them from being trampled by animals including humans. Below, I have listed several
thorny native shrubs (and small trees) found in the Verde Valley area. If you have them on your property,
don’t be in a hurry to rip them out. They are well adapted to our climate and soils. Some of them are also being grown by for sale in nurseries.
Catclaw acacia (Acacia greggii) is widespread in the southwest at elevations below 4,500 ft.
It is often a shrub but become a small tree with age. Bipinnate compound leaves are gray
green and deciduous. Pale
yellow, fragrant flower spikes bloom in spring and mature
into flattened, twisted bean pods. Short, curved spines occur singly along twigs. These can
rip clothing and skin. Cultivated by nursery industry.
Crucifixion thorn (Canotia holocantha) grows in Arizona, southern Utah, southeastern California, and northwestern Mexico between the elevations of 2,000
and 4,500 ft. Leaves small and deciduous. Branches are green and tipped with
spines which appear sharp but are relatively soft. White inconspicuous flowers.
Rarely taller than 15 ft. Very unique plant that grows in almost pure stands in
areas of the Verde Valley. May never be grown for sale commercially due to
limited range and odd appearance.
www.prescottnatives.com
www.prescottnatives.com
Algerita (Mahonia fremontii) grows in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, California, and
New Mexico between the elevations of 4,000 and 7,000 ft. A dense erect shrub
with very spiny, evergreen, gray-green, compound pinnate leaves. Has yellow
flowers in spring which ripen into bluish-black berries. This plant has tremendous potential for use in low water use landscapes. Some growers appear to
propagate it, but availability may be limited.
www.prescottnatives.com
Page 4
The Rimrock Report
John’s Plant of the “week”...continued
Wait-a-minute (Mimosa biuncifera) is widespread in the southwestat elevations
between 3,000 and 6,000 ft. Bipinnate compound leaves are deciduous and dark green
(smaller than those of catclaw). Cream colored flower clusters bloom in spring and
mature into flattened bean pods. Short, curved spines occur in pairs along twigs.
Paired spine arrangement also makes it easy to discriminate from catclaw acacia. This
plant is not available in nurseries, but has some potential for use in landscapes.
www.naturesongs.com/vvplants
Velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina) is widespread in the southwest at elevations below
5,000 ft. Shrubby when young but becomes a medium sized tree with age. Bipinnate
compound leaves are gray green and deciduous. Pale yellow-green flower spikes
bloom in spring and mature into flattened bean pods. Roots can grow deep to extract
water. Prized as firewood and cultivated by nursery industry.
www.prescottnatives.com
Graythorn (Ziziphus obtusifolia var. canescens) grows in Arizona, Utah, Nevada,
California, and Mexico between the elevations of 1,000 and 5,000 ft. A dense erect
shrub with small, deciduous leaves. Grayish twigs are tipped with sharp spines. Small
flowers are followed by blue-black berries which are excellent feed for quail and
doves. This plant is not available in nurseries, but has some potential for use in
landscapes.
www.naturesongs.com/vvplants
To see larger photos of these and other plants in various stages, you may visit the Yavapai County Natives and
Naturalized Plants site or “Blue Collar Plants” website at: www.prescottnatives.com. The “Blue Collar Plants”
site was created to “provide educational information to aid Master Gardeners in plant identification and to aid
the community in selecting the appropriate native and water wise plants for their habitats”.
You may also visit Doug Von Gausig’s Plants of the Verde Valley and Sedona web site at:
www.naturesongs.com/vvplants/.
* Jeff Schalau is the University of Arizona Yavapai County Director of Cooperative Extension and Associate
Agent Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Page 5
The view from the Rim
From the “I couldn’t make up my mind department…”
Click here to see the Top 10 pictures from the V Bar V Range Program
for 2010. As you will see, it turned out to be the Top 25. I can just hear
all the college football fans among you calling for a playoff…
The University of Arizona
School of Natural Resources and the Environment
V Bar V Ranch
2830 N. Commonwealth Drive Suite 103
Camp Verde, AZ 86322
Just me talking...
Phone: 928-554-8999
Fax: 928-554-8996
Cell: 928-821-3222
E-mail: dougt@cals.arizona.edu
Web: http://cals.arizona.edu/aes/vbarv/
Note: Please email me if you would like to be added
to the “mailing” list for this newsletter.
As with other recent tragedies; Oklahoma City, Columbine, Virginia Tech… we saw the best and the
worst in people represented in Tucson recently. One young man did a terrible thing. Many men and
women were forced to rise above and display skill, compassion, or courage. As I did with President
Bush after 9-11, I thought President Obama delivered a great speech at the U of A. I agree that we need
to “tone down”. I don’t think this means that we water down our beliefs or that we should be afraid to
stand up for what we think is right; but I do mean that I think we can have different opinions,
vigorously express or debate those opinions, and still be civil to each other. I hope Washington gets the
message. Washington politics is not the only place where I think we could take a step back and try to act like grown-ups.
We see similar conflicts in agriculture and natural resources. Some of us are vegetarians, some love to eat beef. Some
enjoy RV’s, others like to backpack. Some want organic food, others see chemicals as a tool to increase efficiency. Some
rope and drag, some use a calf table… but anyway. In my line of work I run across a lot of people with very different
opinions on such issues as grazing, prescribed fire, global warming… and some of those people with different
viewpoints than mine really tick me off from time to time. But I’d like to think I would still stop and help them change a
tire if I saw them on the side of the road. Now, this is not the same as the Tucson situation, but I hope this small story
will illustrate my point. I remember talking to some University of Texas alums not long after the bonfire fell at Texas
A&M in 1999. I worked on campus at A&M then. For those of you not familiar with the two schools, or the event, we
are big rivals to say the least and 12 A&M students were killed while building the bonfire that represents the Aggies
burning desire to beat the Longhorns in the annual football game. These UT folks were very gracious and showed a lot
of class during that time period. We all agreed that we would be glad to see the time come when we could “get after it”
again. Time passed, that time came, and we do. So, I pray that someday I might be able to go to Tucson, stand in line at
a “Congress on the Corner” event, and “get after it” with Representative Giffords about some issue, then shake her hand
and thank her for her service. I hope you understand what I am saying here.
Till next time,
Doug
Page 6