Sonoran Joint Venture: About Us

April 2007

New Online Catalog of Conservation Science Tools Available

The Society for Conservation Biology's Social Science Working Group (SSWG) is pleased to announce the launch of its online Catalog of Conservation Social Science Tools. The Catalog is a searchable database containing practical tools and other useful resources to help researchers and practitioners to better understand and address the social challenges of biodiversity conservation. Along with the resource database, the Catalog presents an overview of the main social science disciplines, challenges, and methodological approaches related to conservation practice written by expert members of the SSWG. The catalog and research database is available online by clicking here.

ABC report: Top 20 Most Threatened Habitats in the United States
The American Bird Conservancy recently released a special report on the top 20 most threatened bird habitats in the United States. Although it is not much to boast about, four of these habitats are found within the Sonoran Joint Venture region: #2 (open ocean/seabird nesting areas), #5 (southwestern riparian), #7 (coastal beaches and marsh), and #14 (southern California chaparral). The report gives a description of each habitat, including priority bird species, threats, and geographical region, and discusses habitat loss and the economic importance of birds. Click here to read the entire report.

Money available to develop, improve wildlife habitat
Nearly $300,000 is available to Arizona private and tribal landowners who want to develop or improve wildlife habitat on their land. Proposals are being accepted until April 13 for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the program.

The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) is a voluntary program authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. Through WHIP, NRCS provides technical assistance and 75 percent of the cost for projects that establish and improve fish and wildlife habitat. Projects that directly benefit federally listed threatened or endangered species are eligible to receive 90 percent of the project cost.

Projects involving large landscapes, with multiple partners and multiple landowners, are the focus for this year’s WHIP program in Arizona. Emphasis is being placed on projects focusing on the following areas:

· Grassland restoration
· Riparian restoration
· Wetland restoration
· Bat habitat protection
· Threatened or endangered species.

Contact Steve Smarik, NRCS Environmental Specialist, at 602-280-8785 or visit the program website for more information.

Scholarships available for bird monitoring course

The Sonoran Joint Venture, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are offering five scholarships for Mexican biologists who work in the SJV region to attend a “Survey and Monitoring for Nongame Birds” workshop. The workshop will take place in Sierra Vista, Arizona from 30 July – 2 August 2007.

The workshop will include monitoring techniques for bird species and their habitats, conducting point count inventories, incorporating priority habitats into management plans, field exercises daily to practice species identification and data recording, and field exercises to focus on difficulties encountered in monitoring, using local species for the training. Upon completion of this course students will be able to understand the rationale behind the use of the point count method for bird monitoring, discuss the history, objectives, structure, and role of Partners in Flight, and learn bird identification techniques and use these techniques to correctly identify bird species during daily field sessions.

Scholarships cover the workshop tuition, but students will be responsible for paying for their own travel, food, and lodging costs during the workshop (the SJV will assist in making hotel arrangements).

Requirements:

Applicants must be Mexican nationals working in the Mexican portion of the SJV region (Sonora, Sinaloa, Baja California, or Baja California Sur).
Applicants must be currently working or preparing to work on a bird monitoring project in the SJV region.
The workshop and all materials will be entirely in English. Applicants must be able to read and speak English proficiently.

To Apply:
Send an email with the following information to Jennie Duberstein:

Complete name
Complete mailing address
Email
Phone number (daytime/nighttime)
Cell phone number
Organization for which you work, school where you study, etc.
Area where you are working (e.g., Alamos, Sonora; El Palmito, Sinaloa, etc.)
A brief description of why you want to participate in the workshop and how you will use the information from the workshop in your own research. Applicants who show that participation in the workshop will have a direct positive impact on their research will be given preference

Upcoming grant deadlines
A complete list of funding opportunities is available by clicking here.

Fund for Wild Nature
Deadline: 27 April 2007, 2 November 2007
Description: The Fund for Wild Nature provides money to projects in the United States, Canada, or Mexico for campaigns to save and restore native species and wild ecosystems, including actions to defend wilderness and biological diversity.
Wilburforce Foundation
Deadlines: 18 May 2007 and 17 August 2007
Description: Wilburforce Foundation is dedicated to protecting nature's richness and diversity through funding programs that help preserve our remaining wild places. We focus our funding on organizations that work to protect habitats that are critically important to sustaining abundant ecological communities in Western Canada and the Western United States.
North American Wetlands Conservation Act Program
Deadline: 1 June 2007 (Mexican Standard Grants); 27 July 2007 (U.S. Standard Grants); 30 November 2007 (U.S. Small Grants)
Description: The North American Wetlands Conservation Act provides matching grants to private or public organizations or to individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The program provides US, Mexican, and Canadian Standard Grants (between $50,000 and $1,000,000) and US Small Grants (up to $75,000). For more details on how to apply, visit the NAWCA section of the SJV website. And be sure to check out the Playa Lakes Joint Venture's Timeline for preparing a NAWCA Proposal. Important note: Anyone considering applying for a U.S. grant should coordinate their application with SJV Science Coordinator Carol Beardmore (602-242-0524 ext. 248). The SJV will need to be involved not only to provide guidance but also because we rank all applications that are submitted (Mexican applicants do not need to coordinate with the SJV, although we are happy to provide assistance).
The Christensen Fund
Deadline: 31 August 2007
Description: The Christensen Fund makes grants to organizations that work towards maintaining the rich diversity of the world—biological and cultural—over the long run, including the persistence and adaptation of indigenous systems for managing landscapes that sustain cultural and biological value and diversity.

Upcoming meetings and workshops

Climate and Riparian Areas Workshop: Connecting the Dots
Climate Change/Variability and
Ecosystem Impacts in Southwestern Riparian Areas: 11-13 April 2007, Casa Grande, Arizona.

California Environmental Quality Act Scoping Meeting: Proposed Wetland and Riparian Area Protection Policy: 19 April 2007, Los Angeles, California (10:30am, 1st Floor, Junipero Serra Building
320 W. 4th Street, Los Angeles). Contact: Glenda Marsh.

2nd National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration: 22-27 April 2007, Kansas City, Missouri.

American Ornithologists' Union: 8-11 August 2007, Laramie, Wyoming.

See complete details about upcoming meetings and workshops.