Ironwood Forest National Monument

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Ironwood Forest National Monument
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)

Location:	Arizona, USA
Nearest city:	Tucson, AZ
Coordinates:	32°26′71″N, 111°28′99″W
Area:	129,022 acres (522 km²)
Established:	June 9, 2000
Governing body:	U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Ironwood National Monument is located in the U.S. state of Arizona. Created by Presidential proclamation on June 9, 2000, the 129,022 acre (522 km²) monument is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. A combination of federal, state and private holdings, are within the monument. The largest concentration of Ironwood (also known as Desert Ironwood, Olneya tesota) trees in the Sonoran Desert are found in the monument, which also has several federally recognized endangered and threatened animal and plant species. Over 200 Hohokam paleoindian archeological sites have been identified in the monument, dated at between 600 and 1450 A.D.

Ironwood is a long lived tree, with some examples dated to be more than 800 years old. Ironwood is considered to be a pivotal species as it provides the necessities that other species need to continue to exist in the region. The most important example of this is the Desert bighorn sheep, which uses the tree for large portions of their dietary supplement and for shelter from the oppressive desert heat. The desert bighorns located in the monument are considered to be the last remaining natural population of sheep in southern Arizona. The Ironwood also provides shade and nesting areas for hawks and owls and the Lesser Long-nosed bat, an endangered species. The threatened Cactus pygmy owl, Nichols turk's head cactus and the Sonoran pronghorn are highly dependent upon the Ironwood forest ecosystem. A total of 674 species have been identified in the SilverBell Mountains within the monument, including 64 species of mammals and 57 species of birds.