A vegetative model showed the Armendaris offered highly suitable habitat for aplomado falcons. To promote high quality hunting for several quail species, water and grain stations are common throughout portions of the ranch. The bison herd includes approximately 500 individuals, mostly cows and calves, which are managed to have minimal impact on the grasslands. for livestock production of plains bison ( Bison bison). The Armendaris is privately owned and managed by Turner Enterprises, Inc.

Ranch habitats include desert grassland and scrub, bajadas, lava flows, and riparian areas. Topography consists mostly of an open valley plain, bordered by the Fra Cristobal Mountains to the west, the Jornada del Muerto Volcano and lava fields to the north, the White Sands Missile Range to the east, and the Jornada Experimental Range to the south. TESF terminated field work on behalf of the aplomado falcon in 2013.Īrmendaris Ranch comprises approximately 1,439 km² in Sierra and Socorro counties in south-central New Mexico, east of the Rio Grande. The ranch lies within the Jornada del Muerto basin in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Reduction in the abundance and availability of prey (probably due to drought and shrub encroachment to the grasslands) and high rates of mortality from raptor predation appear to preclude the falcon’s restoration to New Mexico, including the Armendaris Ranch and environs. No releases were conducted in New Mexico in 2013 and none were planned for 2014 or beyond. By 2013, there was no evidence that any aplomado falcons occupied the Armendaris or environs.ĭespite the release of another 225 birds elsewhere in New Mexico between 20, there was no evidence that any of the animals or any progeny occurred in the state. No pair persisted for more than one breeding season. Annual spring surveys revealed that only three nesting pairs established themselves on the ranch, fledging five offspring. Generally, very few falcons utilized the ranch for any notable period of time. Unfortunately, increased short-term survival did not seem to lead to long-term survival. Providing food daily related to an increase in the short-term survival of falcons. From 2009 through 2011, food was provided every other day. From 2006 through 2008, supplemental food was provided daily. To promote their survival, TESF implemented an extended supplemental feeding program.

In 2006, TESF helped to lead an effort to restore the species to its former range in New Mexico with the release of 11 birds at the Armendaris Ranch in the south-central portion of the state. Through 2011, 112 birds were released at the Armendaris. In 1986 the species was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The aplomado falcon inhabited the inland and coastal grasslands of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona until about 1930 when populations began to decline. Therefore, that year we terminated field efforts on behalf of the species. By 2013, it was apparent that ecological circumstances precluded restoration of such a population. Listed as endangered under the ESA in 1986īeginning in 1997, our goal was to collaborate with The Peregrine Fund and the USFWS on efforts to reintroduce falcons to restore a viable population to the Chihuahuan grasslands of the Armendaris Ranch and environs, which would count toward federal recovery of the species per the ESA.

Aplomado falcon