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January 2007
Capacity-building for Park Rangers in the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve, Baja California Sur, Mexico
By Victor Anguiano, Biologist, Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve
(Editor’s note: As part of our Resource Awards Program, the SJV recently donated four copies of the Kaufman Guía de Campo a las Aves de Norteamérica to the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve in Baja California Sur, Mexico. This report from Victor Anguiano discusses what they have been able to accomplish with these guides. To learn more about this program, contact Jennie Duberstein) Special thanks to the Black Swamp Bird Observatory and Tucson Audubon Society for helping to make field guides available to SJV partners.
The Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve is located in the extreme south of the Baja California peninsula. It includes 112,437 hectares and three principle ecosystems: tropical deciduous forest, oak forest, and, in the highest regions, pine-oak forest. Over 14 million years of evolution and adaptation have created high numbers of endemic plants and animals. The pine-oak forest is a region that has been isolated and can be thought of as an island surrounded by a sea of desert. The closest pine-oak forest to the Sierra La Laguna is more than 1800 km away by land (on the Baja Peninsula) and more than 500 km away if you cross the Gulf of California. This isolation has allowed for limited interactions between species living in different mountains and what was once a single species has, in some cases, evolved into multiple species or subspecies. One example of this is the pine tree that is shared with forests in Sinaloa and Sonora. Pine trees in Sierra La Laguna currently have such different characteristics from their mainland cousins that they are considered an endemic species, Pinus lagunae. Over 900 species of plants have been identified in Sierra La Laguna, of which nearly 18% are endemic.
There are approximately 40 endemic breeding subspecies or distinct forms of birds the Reserva, including Northern (Cape) Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma hoskinsii),Band-tailed (Sierra de la Laguna) Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata vioscae),American (San Lucas) Robin (Turdus migratorius confinis), Yellow-eyed (Baird's) Junco (Junco phaeonotus bairdi), Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus cineraceus), White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis lagunae), Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis cineritius), Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus victoriae), Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus angustifrons), and Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni cognatus).
Improvements in training and capacity building of park rangers and biologists have allowed us to update and correct the bird list for Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve. For example, the management program for the Reserve notes the presence of Aphelocoma coerulescens (Florida Scrub-Jay). We now know that this species is restricted to Florida and the species we have in the Reserve is Aphelocoma californica (Western Scrub-Jay). There are a number of other examples like this.
Part of the Reserve’s management program includes biological inventory of the flora and fauna. This year we are working to update these lists, beginning with birds. We began this effort with capacity building of the four park rangers who live in the Reserve and have shown an interest in learning more about the resources around them. With the support of the Sonoran Joint Venture, who donated four Kaufman Field Guides to the Birds of North America, we have been able to implement a capacity-building workshop for the park rangers and we now have a more effective monitoring program that allows us to update and quantify the resident and migratory birds that use the Reserve. It has been a great experience for me to spend time with the park rangers and learn from their field experiences. They are able to identify many species of birds by song and local common names, can identify different types of nest construction, and are learning what areas are preferred by different species of birds. Each of the park rangers is in charge of a specific area of the Reserve, for which he keeps field notes about the bird species observed and works to improve the Reserve checklist and make new sightings. We will continue to work with the park rangers to mprove their skills in bird identification and monitoring, as well as field guide use.
Marismas Nacionales Regional Alliance
Hires Coordinator
by Areli González, Coordinator, Marismas Nacionales Regional Alliance
Marismas Nacionales is a coastal area on the Pacific in central Mexico, generally located between Mazatlán, Sinaloa and San Blas, Nayarit. In March 2006, with support from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act-Mexico (NAWCA-Mexico), biologist Areli González was hired to coordinate the Marismas Nacionales Regional Alliance for the Conservation of Birds and their Habitats, Sinaloa-Nayarit.
In 2001, the NABCI Trinational Committee identified Marismas Nacionales as one of five sites to pilot the development of regional alliances, entities that would parallel the bird habitat joint venture partnerships that operate in the United States and Canada. The regional alliances would promote the development of trinational projects and help provide strong links in Mexico for these continental partnership activities. Like joint ventures, the Marismas Nacionales Regional Alliance has the principal aim of involving federal, state, and municipal agencies and non-governmental organizations in the sustainable management of Marismas’s wetland habitats to protect and restore the bird populations that depend upon them.
Marismas Nacionales is a treasure of biodiversity. Its vast coastline supports 113,248 hectares of mangrove swamps and estuaries, representing 15 to 20 percent of Mexico’s mangroves ─ the most extensive stretch of these habitats along Mexico’s Pacific coast ─ including four mangrove species under protected status. Scientists have recorded a total of 446 bird species in Marismas, representing almost 44 percent of Mexico’s avifauna. The coastal habitats support numerous birds listed as priority species by the NAWCA, including 83 percent of priority ducks, 41 percent of priority shorebirds, 66 percent of priority colonial waterbirds, 71 percent of priority marshbirds, and 5 percent of priority land birds. Twenty percent of the world population of American avocets uses this ecosystem.
The numerous wetlands in Marismas Nacionales generate significant economic benefits by supporting commercial fisheries, especially shrimp, reducing impacts of wave surges and cyclones, filtering pollutants, and providing wood and medicines. Marismas Nacionales is a RAMSAR wetland of international importance, a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserves Network site of international importance, and a Mexican Area of Importance for the Conservation of the Birds (AICA). Nevertheless, conservationists are faced with an array of significant environmental problems in Marismas, including habitat destruction due to expanding shrimp farms, agrochemical contamination of water, sea water incursion through human-made canals, and domestic sewage in water from upriver cities. The Regional Alliance is working to protect the Marismas ecosystem through sustainable development and use of natural resources, environmental restoration, and protection from chemical contamination. Through a series of workshops and meetings, the Regional Alliance has formalized its Steering Committee, membership, declaration of principles, and a master action plan that establishes roles, mechanisms, and commitments. The workshops were funded by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, local partners, Mexican agencies, the Sonoran Joint Venture, NAWCA-Mexico, NABCI-Canada and NABCI-US.
Members of the Marismas Nacionales Regional Alliance are currently working on an action plan that proposes a budget and timeline for research, monitoring, habitat conservation, environmental education, training, and sustainable development projects. For more information, contact Areli González.
Important online resource for SJV partners
Are you looking for details about Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the SJV region or elsewhere in the United States? The IBA program now has a National IBA Search website which provides detailed information about IBAs in Arizona, California, and the rest of the U.S. The site allows visitors to search the database using multiple characteristics, including state, species, habitat, and a number of other topics. It includes detailed information about the birds and habitat of each IBA. Click here to access the website.
Join us on the San Pedro!
Save the date! The Sonoran Joint Venture, the Friends of the San Pedro, and the Bureau of Land Management are again collaborating to put together an IMBD Festival at the San Pedro House in Sierra Vista on Saturday, May 12, 2007.
Please contact Jennie Duberstein if you are interested in setting up an information table, leading a workshop or walk, or participating in another way.
Endangered Species Bulletin and state Wildlife Action Plans
The latest issue of the Endangered Species Bulletin focuses on state Wildlife Action Plans and their goal of conserving species before they decline to the point where Endangered Species Act protection is needed. Access the Bulletin by clicking here.
Upcoming grant deadlines
A complete list of funding opportunities is available by clicking here.
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)
Deadline: 2 February 2007
Description: The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies while leveraging Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production. CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches (such as market-based systems) into NRCS technical manuals or guides, or to the private sector. CIG funds projects targeting innovative on-the-ground conservation, including pilot projects and field demonstrations. There are three CIG components available in FY 2006: Natural Resource Concerns Component, Technology Component, and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Component. - USFWS Private Stewardship Grants
Deadline: 14 February 2007
Description: 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. - Five Star Restoration Grants
Deadline: 9 March 2007 Description: The Five Star Restoration Program brings together students, conservation corps, other youth groups, citizen groups, corporations, landowners and government agencies to provide environmental education and training through projects that restore wetlands and streams. The program provides challenge grants, technical support and opportunities for information exchange to enable community-based restoration projects. - Captain Planet Foundation
Deadline: 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007, 30 September 2007
Description: The Captain Planet Foundation will fund projects that promote understanding of environmental issues, focus on hands-on involvement, involve children and young adults 6-18 (elementary through high school), promote interaction and cooperation within the group, help young people develop planning and problem solving skills, include adult supervision, commit to follow-up communications with the Foundation. The Foundation only funds projects to organizations or sponsoring agencies that are exempt from federal taxation under the Internal Revenue Code Section 501. Grants typically range from $250-$2500 USD. In an effort to conserve paper the Captain Planet Foundation requires grant applicants to apply for funding using the online application form. Should you have any questions regarding the grant application or the small grants program, please contact Taryn Murphy, CPF's program director.
Upcoming meetings and workshops
Bird Education Conference: 5-8 February 2007, Austin, Texas. Contact: Marc LeFebre.
Bird Monitoring and Detectability:
Understanding and Applying Appropriate Methods: 27 February - 1 March 2007, Fort Collins, Colorado. Contact: David Klute.
2nd National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration: 22-27 April 2007, Kansas City, Missouri.
