Sonoran Joint Venture: About Us

March 2005

In the Spotlight: The Western North American Migratory Landbird Project
(This new column will spotlight a different SJV-supported project each month. To submit information about your project, contact Jennie Duberstein.)

SJV staff Robert Mesta, Carol Beardmore, and Jennie Duberstein, together with Rob Hazelwood of Region 6 USFWS, Dick Hutto and Fernando Villaseñor from the University of Montana, and Eduardo Gómez-Limón of Monte Sonorense, visited a number of different riparian sites during a five-day tour of Sonora. Areas visited included the Río Sonora, the Río Cocóspera, the Río Moctezuma, and the Río Matape. The trip was part of the Western North American Migratory Landbird Project.

SJV staff and partners view Streak-backed Orioles on the Rio Sonora, Sonora

In 2004, the Sonoran Joint Venture, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, PPL Montana LLC, Inc., the University of Montana, the U.S. Geological Survey, and a group of diverse partners undertook an innovative international effort to bring together field research, on-the-ground conservation, and restoration activities to benefit breeding, migratory stopover, and wintering habitats of western North American Neotropical riparian bird species. With matching funds from two Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grants, the project aims to protect birds by identifying, conserving, and restoring riparian forests that serve as critical habitat throughout western North America . It focuses on breeding bird populations along the Madison and Missouri River corridors in Montana , and wintering and migrating bird populations in Sonora , Mexico. Many of Montana 's birds are presumed to spend at least part of the winter in Sonora, and this study will help identify and protect important sites for these species.

In the first year of this project, Sonoran biologists conducted bird surveys at over 600 points spread across nine major vegetation types throughout Sonora. This information will provide a solid foundation for deciding which habitats migrants (and residents) use in winter and the significance of riparian vegetation to these wintering birds. In total, biologists recorded 194 different species from point counts throughout the state of Sonora. In Montana , researchers implemented similar studies for breeding birds, including point-count and river surveys that focused on landbirds using both the river and habitat adjacent to the river system. The 310 point counts and 672 km river surveys yielded 136 different species. Researchers documented over 350 nesting attempts made by 19 open-cup nesting species, looking at riparian areas that differed in vegetation structure.

The project also has a GIS (Geographical Information System) component, using high resolution satellite imagery to create detailed maps of riparian vegetation patches. USGS researchers in Fort Collins have created maps for five study locations along the Santa Cruz , Cocospera, Altar, and San Pedro Rivers in Sonora. Researchers are also developing a database of riparian forests for the state of Sonora using existing Landsat images. This will aid conservation efforts by identifying areas where riparian forests are most likely to be threatened by human activities. Montana researchers are working on developing GIS layers for their study areas that will aid in analysis of factors that influence bird distributions.

The ultimate goal of this project is to identify riparian areas important to Neotropical migrants and provide information to public and private land managers in the U.S. and Mexico. This will help them to identify high quality riparian forests in need of protection, to improve restoration and management of degraded sites, and to monitor the success of those efforts.

The Nature Conservancy announces cross-border project to protect San Pedro River
PHOENIX, AZ - February 7, 2005. A cross-border partnership between The Nature Conservancy in Arizona and in Mexico will help to protect the largest and most ecologically important of the fresh water sources of the fragile San Pedro River—which flows to the north from Mexico into southeastern Arizona—by 2006, representatives of the two programs announced today. The Conservancy has been working in several ways to protect the entire San Pedro River watershed for 30 years.

Agua Dulce, Los Fresnos, Sonora

Toward that goal, the Conservancy and its Mexican partners plan to establish a 10,000-acre preserve at a lush and biologically rich site, known as Rancho Los Fresnos, at the river’s key source south of the international border in northeastern Sonora, Mexico, near Sierra Vista, Arizona. The historic working ranch has been sensitively managed by the same family for generations. The ranch also anchors the largest ciénega, an isolated desert spring or marsh, remaining in the San Pedro River watershed area, and links to one of the largest and highest quality grassland valleys in a region spanning several states and Mexico.

Grasslands at Los Fresnos, Sonora

The Nature Conservancy is working to assume joint management of Rancho Los Fresnos—with Mexican nonprofits Naturalia A.C. and Biodiversidad y Desarrollo Armónica (BIDA) and possibly other partners—by year-end. Funds for the $4.2 million project will be raised by the Conservancy through private and public sources primarily in the U.S.

Susan Anderson, Director of the Conservancy’s Northwest Mexico Program and SJV Management Board member, said that the conservation goals for Rancho Los Fresnos are three-fold: The property will serve as a source for reintroducing endangered species, a demonstration site for sustainable ranching and an example of grassland and riparian, or streamside, restoration.

Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands added to world list of 'hot spots'*

Pine-oak habitat. Photo by Miguel Guevara.

Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands have been added to a short list of 34 places around the world where rich biological resources are at risk from environmental threats. These woodlands include Mexico's main mountain chains, namely the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Sierra Madre del Sur, and the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, as well as isolated mountaintop islands in Baja California (particularly around the Sierra de la Laguna). Although the vast majority of the hotspot's 461,265 km² lie within Mexico, a few scattered patches occur in the southern United States (represented by the Madrean Sky Islands, a series of about 40 mountain-tops in southern Arizona and New Mexico).

A quarter of all Mexico's plant species are found here, many of them found nowhere else on Earth, as well as seven endemic and threatened bird species. Unfortunately, the destruction of pine forests due to excessive logging is the leading cause of habitat loss in this region.

*Information in this article comes from the Conservation International website.

New communication tool for environmental educators
The Arizona-Sonora Cross Border Collaborators group has set up a listserver to facilitate communication between those working in environmental education in the Arizona-Sonora border region. To join the listserver, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AZ-SON-CBC/.

Marshbird training workshop
The University of Arizona, the USGS, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department are offering a marshbird monitoring workshop from 21-23 March 2005 in Yuma, Arizona.

The main objective of the workshop is to train participants to distinguish all of the calls of the Yuma Clapper Rail. A secondary objective will be to train participants to identify other marsh bird calls which could potentially be confused with clapper rails.

For more details, contact Courtney Conway.

Upcoming grant deadlines

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.

Resource for Partners: Migratory Bird & Wetland Newslink
Migratory Bird & Wetland NewsLink is a bi-monthly news service that weaves together migratory bird & wetland information capturing their intrinsic connection and highlighting their international importance. Visit their website and sign up for a free subscription to this valuable resource.

New radio program teaches about birds
BirdNote is a radio series about the intriguing ways of birds. It strives to take you out of the daily grind and transport you into the natural world. Each show is scheduled to coincide with the time of year when you can see or hear the featured bird. ("Oh, that's what that is!")

BirdNote shows are two-minute vignettes that incorporate the rich sounds of birds with stories that illustrate the interesting-and in some cases, truly amazing-abilities of birds.

If you live in the Seattle area, BirdNote can be heard from 8:58-9:00am on KPLU 88.5 fm. For those of you outside of the listening area, BirdNote also has a website where you can listen to the show and more. BirdNote.org offers you resources to "dig deeper" into the world of birds, birding, and conservation.

News and Headlines

Job announcements
Click here for details about other available job and volunteer opportunities.

Development Director, Tucson Audubon Society. TAS seeks an individual to assist the Executive Director and Board of Directors in all aspects of organizational development and fundraising. Candidate will have frequent contact with Tucson Audubon staff, board of directors, donors, volunteers, and the public.
Director of International Programs, American Bird Conservancy. American Bird Conservancy, an international bird conservation organization,
has a new opening for a Director of International Programs to develop and direct bird conservation programs in Latin American and the Caribbean. Applications must be received by 10 March 2005. Read the full announcement.

Upcoming Meetings
Click here for details about upcoming meetings.