|
February 2005
En Español
Printer-friendly version
SJV awards wetlands workshop scholarship
Alfonso Gonzalez of the Sonoran Institute was the recipient of a Sonoran Joint Venture-sposored scholarship to attend the "Séptimo Curso-Taller sobre el Manejo y Conservación de Humedales de México", to be held in Michoacan.
Alfonso manages the Sonoran Institute's efforts in San Lazaro, a small ejido located on the Santa Cruz River in Sonora. For the last several years he has been working with community members on a variety of projects, including education, outreach, and habitat restoration. Alfonso has been instrumental in the creation of the Santa Cruz River Community Conservation Center in San Lazaro and the youth ecology club, Los Halcones.
The wetlands workshop in Michoacan is co-organized by the National Natural Protected Areas Commission (CONANP), SEMARNAT, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and Ducks Unlimited Mexico, with the support of the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, the RAMSAR convention, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and various non-profit organizations and universities in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. The workshop will be led by a group of well-known researchers and natural resource managers in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada with years of experience in the management and conservation of wetlands.
The Eighth Workshop about the Management and Conservation of Wetlands in Mexico, which the Sonoran Joint Venture is helping to sponsor, will be held in La Paz in 2006.
Two new conservation NGOs forming in Sonora
Those working in bird and habitat conservation in Sonora now have two more potential partners.
The objective of the non-profit "Monte Sonorense" is to support the conservation and sustainable use of natureal resources through monitoring and scientific investigation for the generation and analysis of biological, ecological, geographic, and socionomic information that contributes to the protection and conservation of the flora, fauna, critical habitats, natural areas, and ecosistems of Sonora and the world. Contact Eduardo Gómez-Límon to learn more.
Biodiversidad y Desarrollo Armónico, A. C. (BIDA) is an organization that focuses on conservation of the biodiversity of different ecosystems in the state of Sonora and other areas in Mexico. The organization includes an interdisciplinary group that works in four areas: the Sonoran Desert Ecoregion, fire management, private land conservation, and environmental education and outreach. Their primary function is active participation with academic institutions, non-profit organizations, research centers, and government agencies in the protection and care of natural resources. You can read more about them by visiting their new website, www.bidaac.org.
Conservation in Perpetuity of the Guadalupe Wetland in Baja California
Pronatura Noroeste is one of the Sonoran Joint Venture's principal partners in Mexico. On 14 December 2004, Pronatura facilitated the signing of contracts to establish a chain of five land easements on the private properties surrounding the Guadalupe Wetland, north of Bahía de los Angeles, in the coast of the Gulf of California. These contracts legally assure, for the first time in Mexico, the conservation of a coastal wetland in perpetuity.
This chain of land easements covers a total area of 456 hectares involving five properties owned by Alfonso Ceseña Meza, Rosa Villavicencio Romero, Manuel Prieto Villavicencio y Joel Prieto Villavicencio. Joel Prieto, owner of two of the properties, was a key collaborator in the negotiation of these contracts that formally restrict the uses and activities that might negatively affect the natural characteristics of the land surrounding the wetland.
Land owners will not lose their rights to carry out economic activities on their properties when those activities are compatible with the conservation of the area. The restrictions, which will be maintained in perpetuity even if the properties are sold or trespassed, are defined in the easement contracts and in the management plan of each property, which were designed and agreed upon with the land owners. At the same time, Pronatura Noroeste assumed the commitment to legally guard the properties against any action that might violate the contract terms, affecting the conservation value of the wetland.
The contracts for land easements involving two properties located in the "El Quemado" Bay, adjacent to "La Unica" Beach, were signed by their owners, Ana María Arce and Octavio López Pinto. The properties surrounding "La Unica" Beach have been protected by land easements since December 2003 and constitute the first private coastal reserve of Mexico. Landowners have operated a low-impact ecotourism camp on the site since October 2004.
Twelve land easements have been established so far in the Bahía de los Angeles coastal corridor, which extends from La Asamblea to San Francisquito points. This land easement chains has been established following a strategic priorization plan, which has as main goal to assure the conservation and promote the sustainable use of the most important and pristine wetlands and sandy beaches in the region.
This project is part of the Bahía de los Angeles Conservation and Sustainable Development Program carried out by Pronatura Noroeste. A key element in this program is the creation of a federal marine protected area covering 1.9 million acres of one of the most productive regions in the Gulf of California. By applying private land conservation instruments it will be possible to assure the conservation of the coastal habitat that frames the proposed protected area.
SJV Technical Committee meets in Tucson
The SJV Technical Committee met in Tucson on 26-27 January 2005. The goal of the meeting was to continue the species ranking process for the SJV region, to identify and describe focus areas, and work on other important items for the SJV Conservation Plan. For more information about the Technical Committee, including how you can become involved, please contact Carol Beardmore. The next meeting is tentatively planned for May 2005, in El Palmito, Sinaloa, where the focus will be on monitoring needs for the SJV region.
Free COS student memberships available
The Cooper Ornithological Society is always interested in getting more graduate students involved and provides free student memberships each year. These awards cover costs of membership for two years (beginning in 2006) and carry full membership benefits, providing an important launch into ornithological careers at an early stage. To apply, simply send a CV of the student and a cover letter from the major professor that describes why the student deserves the award. Deadline for receipt of applications is 15 March 2005. Send application materials by email or post to: Sheldon J. cooper, Department of Biology and Microbiology, 800 Algoma Blvd., University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI 54901-8640 (cooper@uwosh.edu).
|
 |
COS Student Travel Awards
Limited funding will be available to defray travel expenses for undergraduate and graduate students attending the Cooper Ornithological Society meeting at Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 15-18 June 2005. Students must be members of COS and present an oral or poster paper at the meeting to be eligible for the award. Students must be senior authors but papers may be co-authored with other students or non-students. A travel award will be granted only after the presentation is accepted for the annual meeting by the program committee. Instructions for applying for a travel award are available on the Cooper Ornithological Society website. COS Student Travel Award applications are due by 31 March 2005.
Upcoming grant deadlines
- CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE GRANTS. CPI is a voluntary program established to foster conservation partnerships that focus technical and financial resources on conservation priorities in watersheds and airsheds of special significance. Under CPI, funds are awarded to State and local governments and agencies; Indian tribes; and non-governmental organizations that have a history of working with agricultural producers. The deadline to submit proposals is 17 February 2005.
- NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP GRANTS. The NFF will accept applications from non-governmental, nonprofit organizations to accomplish ecosystem restoration-related work in Congressionally designated Forest Service Wilderness Areas. Community-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, Resource Conservation and Development Districts, Native American tribes and educational institutions, especially those with a focus on wilderness areas, are eligible to apply. State and county governments are also eligible, provided that their matching funds are not federally sourced. The deadline to submit proposals is 4 March 2005.
- PRIVATE STEWARDSHIP GRANT PROGRAM.
The Private Stewardship Program, a program of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, provides grants and other assistance on a competitive basis to individuals and groups engaged in local, private, and voluntary conservation efforts that benefit federally listed, proposed, or candidate species, or other at-risk species.The deadline to submit proposals is 21 March 2005.
- CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS.
Up to $15
million is available for conservation projects through the USDA's Conservation Innovation Grants Program. The program's goal is to provide farmers and ranchers with the
opportunity, through innovation, to address some of the country's most
pressing natural resource conservation needs. The 2002 Farm Bill
established these grants as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program, administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The deadline to sumbit proposals is 28 March 2005.
IMBD fast approaching
International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD)
celebrates the incredible journeys of migratory birds between their breeding grounds in North America and their wintering grounds in Mexico, Central, and South America. The event, which takes place on the second Saturday in May each year, encourages bird conservation and increases awareness of birds through hikes, bird watching, information about birds and migration, public events, and a variety of other education programs.
Although this year's official date is May 14th, IMBD may be celebrated at any time, depending on the local migratory bird schedule.
Join us in the celebration!
Information is available by visiting the IMBD website. You can also register your event(s) and purchase a wide range of education materials from IMBD organizers by visiting the IMBD online store.
Comments sought for migratory bird policy
Regulations.gov is the federal government's one-stop public participation website. This searchable database provides links to information regarding proposed projects and opportunities for public comment for agencies throughout the government. Several important reports and critical habitat designations were recently published in the Federal Register with implications for the future of migratory birds. By visiting the site, you can read reports and even submit comment directly from Regulations.gov. Please take a few minutes to read the reports and submit your comments.
- MIGRATORY BIRD COLLISIONS WITH FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS TOWERS. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been investigating factors that contribute to migratory bird collisions with communications towers and has released for comment a report entitled, "Notice of Inquiry Comment Review Avian/Communication Tower Collisions, Final." The report is part of the FCC's Migratory Birds Notice of Inquiry proceedings. A Notice of Inquiry released by the FCC on August 20, 2003, sought comment on existing scientific research concerning the number of migratory bird collisions with communications towers and the role that specific factors, such as lighting, height and type of antenna structure, weather, location, physiographic features of sites, and migration paths, may have in increasing or decreasing the incidence of such collisions. Comments are due by February 14, 2005.
- CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATION FOR WESTERN SNOWY PLOVER. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed 35 critical habitat units comprising 17,299 acres along the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington for the Pacific coast population of the Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus). Biologists estimate no more than 2,600 Snowy Plovers breed along the Pacific Coast of the United States, with an equal number breeding on the west coast of Baja California. Click here to read the Federal Register notice (large file). Comments are due by 15 February 2005.
- CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATION FOR SOUTHWESTERN WILLOW FLYCATCHER. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the extension of the public comment period for the proposal to designate critical habitat for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax extimus traillii). The proposed rule was published and the public comment period opened on October 12, 2004 (69 FR 60706). Click here to read the Federal Register notice. Comments are due by 31 March 2005.
News and Headlines
January 5, 2005 - Sonora will end vehicle permits. By Ignacio Ibarra, Arizona Daily Star
January 21, 2005 - Only Sonora is revived while checkpoint is built. By Ignacio Ibarra, Arizona Daily Star
February 1, 2005 - Pygmy owl decision pending; southern Arizona bird could be taken off endangered species list. By Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star
Job announcements
Click here for details about available job and volunteer opportunities. |
