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Cascabel Management Committee:
A Report to the Grasslands Conference
Dave Harris1
BACKGROUND
The Nature Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management purchased approximately 750 acres of
riparian lands along the San Pedro River near the unincorporated community of Cascabel during the years
1991 to 1993. Since 1993 Conservation Easements have been purchased on other tracts bringing the total
of protected lands to about 900 acres within the riparian corridor.
Concerns about future uses of the property and the need for a management plan have been raised by
TNC, members of the community and cooperators of the Redington Natural Resource Conservation District
since at least 1994. In 1995 the Redington NRCD board agreed to convene a committee of interested
parties to work with the BLM and TNC to develop a management plan that addresses the needs of the BLM
and incorporates the thinking and concerns of the community.
The committee held its first meeting sans BLM in July 1995 to discuss who should be involved, explore
the issues of significance to the community and to make decisions about how the planning process should
oroceed. The participants in this meeting agreed:
Process should be open to those residents of the river corridor, TNC, BLM and other agencies with
1ecific management responsibilities. Issues of particular concern included fire management, flood hazards,
fence maintenance, public access, preservation of streamflow, security of BLM lands, and exotic species.
The process should take place over a six month time frame, the plan should be concise and try to address
the major issues of the community, BLM and TNC.
Since that initial meeting there have been 10 formal meetings and several field trips which involved a
variet'J of community members, NRCD cooperators and TNC representatives. The meetings have been for the
most part facilitated by BLM personnel. Costs and the work of carrying out the process have been shared by
BLM, TNC and Redington NRCD. Information regarding the process and specific outcomes have been
communicated through direct mailings of minutes to participants and to the overall community by publication
of minutes in the Redington NRCD newsletter. The BLM was tasked to draft the plan and handle other
mandated public involvement processes.
At present the Cascabel Management Committee has completed the planning process and is reviewing
and revising the draft plan. The participants view this plan as a working document that will reviewed on an
annual basis and revised if necessary. The life of the plan is five years. There is an understanding that
funding and implementation of all components of the plan will likely require the involvement of the
community, Redington NRCD, TNC, BLM and other agencies.
1
Arizona Nature Conservancy, Tucson Arizona
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ISSUES AND OUTCOMES:
Hydrology
All parties agree that preservation of stream flow and water quality are the number one priority within the
planning area. All land use decisions will consider impacts to the hydrological and biological integrity of the
San Pedro River.
Fire
• This is an issue of great concern within the community and a great many recommendations were
developed in the course of the planning process .. There is a recognition that the areas of high fuel
buildup and high fire risk occur mainly on private lands within the community. The Nature Conservancy
and BLM have offered to provide expertise and recommendations regarding fire management issues but
the community is divided on how best to resolve fire threats to private lands. The BLM fire policy for its
own property is immediate and complete suppression of all wildfires.
Access And Recreation
• Access will be by non-motorized means only through two access points that have been specified by the
community. Parking at access points will be developed to accommodate a few ears and will include
gates so that the access areas can be closed as needed. Foot trails may be developed to guide visitors
to the river. Overnight camping is not allowed. Hunting will be allowed but information will be made
available to hunters that describe the locations of dwellings and property lines. Signage related to
hunting will be provided under programs of Arizona Game and Fish Department. Plinking or target
practice is not allowed.
Sanitation
• Litter control will be addressed on a site-specific basis but trash cans will not be provided to discourage
trash accumulation and wildcat dumping at access points.
• Sanitary facilities will be provided at parking areas to avoid sanitation risks.
Boundary Fencing
• Old internal fencing within the BLM properties will be removed.
• Perimeter fencing will be repaired or replaced as necessary and signage installed to delineate private and
public lands boundaries. Fencing materials will supplied to adjacent private land owners for maintenance
of fences.
Land Management And Stewardship
• The formation of a voluntary "friends" group is desirable and will be encouraged to assist the BLM in the
management of the public lands.
Vegetation And Wildlife
• Vegetative and wildlife biological diversity are important ecological values and should be considered in all
land management planning issues and resolutions.
• Exotic vegetative species are a concern to all parties and their control will be sought through a variety of
methods as this plan is implemented.
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Livestock Grazing
• The public lands within the riparian floodplain will not be grazed to allow riparian regeneration to occur at
the most rapid rate. The Cascabel community is exploring the possibility of developing a 11 Cascabel
Commons 11 grazing plan on private property to lessen fuel loading and achieve economic benefit to
livestock operators. The community is divided over the place of this concept within this public lands
management plan.
· · .'
Process Considerations
Many of the participants were veterans of the San Pedro River Coordinated Resource Management
Planning Process and this experience has played a role in the acceptability of certain concepts. A strict
consensus process was rejected by the group in favor of a limited consensus process that relies on the BLM
to play the role of referee in contested issues. Likewise there was some concern that the process be 11 0pen,
but not too openll to prevent uninvested parties from unduly influencing the process or outcomes strongly
supported by the community.
Certain issues that transcended the purely public lands management charge such as fire management
and grazing have become controversial and their inclusion is not favored by all members of the community.
While no decisions have been finalized it is likely these issues will not be addressed in the final plan but will
be transferred to some other arena for further discussion and resolution by appropriate sectors of the
community.
In general the basic issues of concern to the community, TNC, and BLM surrounding the public lands
have been discussed and addressed in a reasonable fashion that can be accepted by all the participants.
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