Sonoran Joint Venture: About Us

January 2006

SJV 2006 Awards Program Request for Proposals
The official Request For Proposals for the 2006 SJV Awards Program is now available online. The objective of the Sonoran Joint Venture Awards Program is to support the investigation and conservation of all birds and their habitats within SJV boundaries by providing funds through a competitive program. Proposals for projects that support the SJV mission and objectives are eligible for funding. This includes: habitat management, research, monitoring, education, community involvement, outreach, ecotourism, and training. SJV Awards range from $1,000-$10,000, with an average of $5,000.

Please visit the grants section of the SJV website to download the application cover sheet, proposal requirements, and view frequently asked questions and other important information. All proposals must be emailed to both Robert Mesta and Carol Beardmore . The deadline to submit a proposal for the 2006 funding cycle is 3 April 2006.

Juan Butron receives Currier Environmental Award
On 5 December 2005 the New Mexico Community Foundation and the North American Institute awarded Juan Butron the third Michael S. Currier Environmental Service Award. Butron, a native of northwestern Sonora, Mexico, has worked for decades to protect La Cienega de Santa Clara, a rare and extraordinary wetland in the eastern Colorado River Delta. The Cienega is home to hundreds of bird species, including the endangered Yuma Clapper Rail, and is a major stopover for migratory waterfowl and shorebirds along the Pacific Flyway. It is one of North America's most significant, endangered, and unusual natural areas.

Butron was selected for the $20,000 award among many outstanding and dedicated citizens from around the Four Corners and border regions for his tireless efforts educating communities and government agencies in both Mexico and the U.S. about the wetland's vital ecological significance. In so doing, Butron has become the leading defender and advocate of the Sonoran Desert's most important marsh wetland.

"The most satisfying part about this award is that the community where I live now sees the significance of the Cienega, and they're expressing interest in protecting this place," said Butron from his home in Ejido Luis Encinas Johnson in northwest Sonora, a community of about 200 people. "The most touching thing to me was my 12-year-old daughter, who said she now understood why I did all the things I do, and wants me to come and talk at her school." Butron added, "Protecting this Cienega is the legacy that I want to leave for my family, all the people who live here, and the birds who come to visit."

Delta marshlands were once extensive where the Colorado River meets the Sea of Cortez. Since the 1930s, however, massive hydrologic development has altered the flow of the Colorado River, particularly in its lower basin. Among the few remaining marshlands are those of the Cienega de Santa Clara, which depend on saline drainage from Arizona's Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation District.

Butron had the vision to connect the protection of the Cienega to its potential as an ecotourism destination. He has assisted in developing an environmentally appropriate tourism infrastructure (shelters, restrooms, etc.); represented the cause of the Cienega to a wide range of water and land management agencies, generating grassroots support for the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve; and performed survey and research work within the Cienega. In addition, Butron has led canoe tours in the Cienega for more than 1000 people, including water and
wildlife management agency personnel, and currently leads about 10-12 public trips a year, mostly for bird watchers.

The Currier Award, sponsored and funded by the Thaw Charitable Trust, is made not more often than every two years to honor the late Michael S. Currier who was devoted to underprivileged children, human rights, environmental causes and health research.

Report on biodiversity of isolated wetlands
Some of the wetlands and other waters that are “isolated” from navigable waters are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act as a result of a 2001 Supreme Court decision (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County vs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC), 2001). NatureServe has recently completed an assessment of the potential impacts of the SWANCC decision on the at-risk species and communities that are associated with these isolated wetland systems in all 50 U.S. states. The information and analyses contained in this study are designed to assist policymakers and land managers at federal, state, and local levels to better understand the biodiversity value of isolated wetlands in their jurisdiction and plan for their protection.

The complete report and supporting data are available for viewing and download on NatureServe’s website.

San Pedro River IMBD celebration planned
The Sonoran Joint Venture, Tucson Audubon Society, the Bureau of Land Management, and other partners, with funding support from the US Forest Service International Program, will host an International Migratory Bird Day Celebration at the San Pedro House in Sierra Vista, Arizona, in May 2006. Stay tuned for more details.

AMNH Biodiversity symposium details and call for posters
The American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) will focus its eleventh annual symposium on conserving bird diversity in the areas most heavily impacted by human activities. This conference will examine new approaches for managing bird diversity in urban, suburban, agricultural, and industrial areas and explore possibilities for conservation in the face of an increasingly developed and industrialized world.

Poster abstracts will be considered for inclusion in the symposium's poster session. Abstract submissions will be accepted until March 1. Special student pricing and early-registration discounts are available.

In conjunction with the Symposium, the CBC will host the Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series Lecture, featuring renowned ecologist Gordon Orians on "Biodiversity and the Evolutionary Roots of Beauty." This lecture, on Thursday, April 27, at 7:00 pm, is free, and open to the public. Registration is recommended, as seating will be limited.

For detailed information about the Symposium, Poster Session, and Mack Lipkin Lecture, please email biodiversity@amnh.org or visit the CBC website.

Upcoming grant deadlines

USFWS Private Stewardship Grants. The Private Stewardship Program 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. Diverse panels of representatives from State and Federal Government, conservation organizations, agriculture and development interests, and the science community assess applications and make recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior, who awards the grants. A 10% match of cash or through in-kind contributions is required. The program is available to private landowners and their partners. Deadline to submit proposals is 23 January 2006.
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. Deadline to submit proposals is 3 March 2006.
Partners For Fish and Wildlife. This program of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service focuses on protecting, restoring, and enhancing wetland and streamside (riparian) habitats that will benefit Federal trust species, federally listed threatened and endangered species, waterfowl, shorebirds and migratory songbirds. The Service will provide technical and financial assistance to Arizona landowners who voluntarily want to increase the value of their lands as wildlife habitat. For questions, comments and/or more information, please e-mail Kris Randall, Arizona Partners for Fish and Wildlife Coordinator.

News and Headlines
Please contact Jennie Duberstein with any publicity or press that your organization or project receives or information about newspaper and journal articles of relevance to SJV partners.

Upcoming Meetings and Workshops

Partners In Flight Western Working Group: 15-17 March 2006, Missoula, Montana. Check back for details.

Partners in Flight Workshop on Conservation Design - Exploring methods for linking bird population goals with spatially-explicit habitat objectives: 11-13 April 2006, St. Louis, Missouri. Contact: Jane Fitzgerald.

Conserving Birds in Human-Dominated Landscapes: A Biodiversity Symposium: 27-28 April 2006, New York City, New York. Contact.

Border Institute VIII - Cooperation on Planning and Operation of Transboundary Watersheds:
Sharing Data across Borders: 22-24 May 2006, Rio Rico, Arizona. Contact: D. Rick Von Schoik.

Click here for complete details about upcoming meetings.