IPM action plan for Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments

Currie, William

This Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan for two National Monuments, comprised of three separate units (MOCA, MOWE, TUZI) in central Arizona, provides basic pest management guidelines to help preserve stored artifacts, museum resources and prehistoric structures, as well as assist with the protection of the health and safety of staff and visitors. When new information and better low-risk IPM methods are developed, this plan should be reviewed and updated periodically. The Superintendent is responsible for pest management at the sites and designates the IPM Coordinator to implement the low-risk IPM plan. The IPM Coordinator will work with the Chief of Maintenance, Chief of Cultural Resources and other staff in the plan’s implementation as outlined in NPS-77 (Natural Resources Management Guidelines). The use of pesticides will be in accordance with service-wide policies found in NPS-77. Pesticides will be applied by or under the direct supervision of an Arizona Office of Pest Management certified pesticide applicator. All pesticides used on Monument grounds or sites will conform with NPS policies and guidelines and will be approved before use (on NPS IPM PUPS software). Residents, contractors, staff and non-NPS personnel will conform to NPS policies and guidelines. It is the goal of this low-risk IPM plan, in compliance with NPS policy to use low-risk pesticides if necessary, to accomplish these desired objectives. At year’s end, the IPM Coordinator is to compile a list of the pesticides and quantities used on the site, and to send a copy of the report to the Washington Area Support Office IPM Coordinator. Preventive methods such as exclusion, sanitation and habitat modification are described in this plan, as well as direct actions such as trapping and the use of directed, low-risk pesticide applications. Inspection and monitoring of pest populations and conducive conditions will determine the extent of pest presence and direct pest management actions. Thorough inspections for pests impacting the three units, structures, environment, staff and visitors were conducted. This report provides inspection findings for the sites, the extent of pest presence or issues posed by pest species, and recommends low-risk pest management measures that mitigate potential pest damage or presence. Implementation of the recommendations will greatly exacerbate the potential adverse impact of pest presence and damage to the resources, staff and the visiting public. Protecting the prehistoric resources from pest presence and subsequent deterioration is the prime objective of this work. Additionally, protecting staff and visitors from potential pest presence is another important objective. Key pests present are mice in structures and the potential for exposure to the deadly Hantavirus; ground and rock squirrels digging and nesting in ruins or historic structures and disrupting archeological artifacts; birds roosting or nesting in historic, archeological or modern structures causing damage from their fecal whitewash; and wood borers or termites damaging wood structural members in the ruins and archeological structures.