Grand Canyon Ecoregion
Paul G. Sneed
Environmental Studies , Master of Arts Program, Prescott College, 4906 Box Canyon Road, Billings, MT 59101; (406)
245-9117; (fax) (406) 245-0787; psneed@prescott.edu
Abstract
As part of a regional conservation planning initiative, this study is being undertaken to determine
the biophysical and socioeconomic feasibility of reestablishing a top carnivore, the gray wolf
(Canis lupu
s), in the Grand Canyon Ecoregion (GCE). The GCE is a roughly 1.5 million km 2area located on the southern Colorado Plateau. The last remaining gray wolves were probably
eradicated in the 1920s and 1930s. Because of an interest in restoring extirpated native species
to this ecoregion, and the desire to increase the size of the gray wolf metapopulation in the
Southwest, there is need for an objective and spatially explicit landscape-scale model of potential
gray wolf habitat. The first phase of this conservation GIS analysis involves utilizing six habitat
characteristics or factors—vegetation cover, surface water availability, prey density, human
population density, road density, and land ownership—to identify and describe potential reintroduction
sites in the Arizona section of the Grand Canyon Ecoregion. Initial results show that
there are at least two localities in northern Arizona suitable for reintroduction of around 100
wolves. This paper is a preliminary report on observations, results, and some recommendations
deriving from the feasibility study.