ORGAN MOUNTAINS RMP RAPTOR SURVEYS

Background
The Bureau of Land Management Las Cruces District Office is in the process of developing a Resource Management Plan for the Organ Mountains Desert Peaks (OMDP) National Monument. The goal of this project is to obtain presence-absence information and map nesting sites for raptors across the most frequently visited subunits of OMDP, focusing on the northern Organ Mountains. The target species for the habitat and region include: Golden Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Prairie Falcon, and Peregrine Falcon. These species are known to nest in cliff habitats in southern New Mexico.

Work Details
The contractor is responsible for conducting two raptor surveys per month within 10 specific areas in the northern Organ Mountains. If sites have no raptor activity by mid-nesting season, they may be dropped from repeat surveys so efforts can focus on occupied sites.

The contractor will also conduct habitat assessments at each siting location, qualitative assessment of recreation levels and types, breeding pair monitoring if detected, and monitoring of territorial and/or breeding pairs of raptors to assess their habitat use, habitat characteristics, prey availability, breeding behavior, and productivity. Additionally, UTM locations of all raptor sightings and nest locations will be collected. Monthly survey and monitoring updates are required to be provided to BLM-LCDO. A draft report summarizing raptor surveys and monitoring at the end of year 1 and a final project report at the end of year 2 are also expected.

Period of Performance
The contract time is from September 23, 2022 to December 16, 2024.

Place of Performance
The proposed project is to take place across 10 recreational climbing and hiking areas in the northern Organ Mountains from highway 70 south to Bishop cap. The specific areas include Sugarloaf, Organ Needle, Indian Hollow, Pine Tree Trail, The Needles, Rabbit Ears, Baylor Peak, Soledad Canyon, Peña Blanca, and Bishop Cap.