Excerpt from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; Ecological Monitoring Program; Monitoring Protocol Manual, Vol. 11: Special Report, September 1995
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (orpi), established in 1937, is located in southwestern Arizona and is geographically near the center of the Sonoran Desert. The monument encompasses a. Ha), of which 95% is designated wilderness. On 26 October 1976, the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (unesco) recognized and designated orpi as a Biosphere Reserve. Although the monument includes only a small portion of the vast Sonoran Desert, it preserves many elements of that ecosystem. Its boundaries encompass not only mountain ranges, but also rich habitats of baj ada, valley floor, riparian systems and expanses of arid creosote plains. Although originally conceived as a monument to preserve a unique species of columnar cactus, orpi now stands as one of the most diverse protected areas of the Sonoran Desert ecosystem in the United States or Mexico.
Like other natural preserves, orpi is vulnerable to rapidly changing land uses beyond its boundaries. Of Special concern is the southern boundary, which borders the neighboring state of Sonora, Mexico. In the late 1960s, the Mexican government encouraged and subsidized agricultural development in the Sonoyta Valley, where previously only subsistence farming had been practiced. Approximately 165 wells were serving a. Ha) by 1988. Although a moratorium on the construction of new wells is now in effect, groundwater depletion in the Sonoyta Valley aquifer is a constant threat, as current capacity for water withdrawal exceeds current rates by one-half. Other concerns to orpi have included the effect of herbicide and pesticide drift on native plants and animals, increased vehicle traffic, and the invasion of nonnative flora and fauna. With the recent passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, increased urbanization, agricultural development, and manufacturing have become new threats to orpi desert ecosystems.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
