| 
September 2007
En Español
Printer-friendly version
 More accolades for SEAZ Birding Trail Map!
The Southeastern Arizona Birding Trail Map continues to earn high honors and was recently selected to receive the Silver Medal by the National Association for Interpretation. The award will be presented in November 2007 at the NAI Annual Conference in Wichita, Kansas.
This is the second award that the map has received is as many months (it won the Governor’s Tourism Award for Best Practices/Cooperative Marketing in July 2007).
The Southeastern Arizona Birding Trail map/guide showcases 52 bird-rich and visitor-friendly watchable wildlife viewing areas. Six counties – Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz, – are featured on the map. The SJV joined with more than 20 sponsors and supporters to produce and promote the map/guide.
Learn more about the SEAZ Birding Trail Map by clicking here.
Best Practices in Wetlands Education: Regional training for conservation biologists and
managers in the SJV Region
 The Environmental Education Exchange, with funding support from the Sonoran Joint Venture and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the North American Association for Environmental Education, and a number of other partners, organized four regional training workshops
geared towards conservation biologists,
project managers, and others in the SJV
region interested in using environmental
education as a tool for achieving
conservation goals. Participants worked
work through the process of creating an
environmental education resource for
their own specific program.
The four workshops were hosted during
the period of April-July of 2007 with a
total participation of 141 individuals
from NGOs, natural protected areas,
community groups and universities. The
workshops followed a participatory
approach, where the facilitator would
present the structure and a series of
materials that would serve as the basis
for the work that each group would
develop throughout the day. Workshops were held in Bahia de Kino (Sonora), Ensenada (Baja California), Culiacan (Sinaloa), and La Paz (Baja California Sur).
Government employees from agencies including CONANP and SEMARNAT made up nearly half of the workshop participants. Other participants came from non-profit organizations, academia, the private sector, or other areas.
To learn more about these or future workshops, please contact Pepe Marcos, Environmental Education Exchange Border Programs Coordinator.
Mexican biologists participate in bird monitoring workshop
 Four Mexican biologists who work in the SJV region recently participated in the Survey and Monitoring for Non-game Migratory Birds course offered in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The workshop was sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who provided full tuition scholarships for the Mexican participants.
The workshop included classroom instruction in bird identification, research design, statistics, and other important topics. The classroom instruction was supplemented by field trips to the San Pedro National Conservation Area, where workshop participants practiced point count techniques.
The Sonoran Joint Venture hopes to work with the BLM to translate workshop materials and facilitate workshops in Mexico. Stay tuned for more details or contact Jennie Duberstein with questions.
|
 |
Upcoming grant deadlines
We have recently added information about a number of new funding opportunities for those doing work in the SJV region. Please take the time to browse through the complete list of funding opportunities.
- Wildlife Without Borders
Deadline: 1 October 2007 (proposals must be submitted to both the USFWS and SEMARNAT)
Description: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico Program is currently soliciting proposals for projects that address the conservation and sustainable use of Mexico's wildlife and plant resources. Of particular interest are projects that strengthen Mexico's capability to conserve and use sustainably its biological resources, contribute to the integration of environmental concerns with sustained development processes, and results in specific and measurable on-the-ground management actions. VIsit the Wildlife Without Borders-Mexico Program grant application website for the official Request for Proposals and Assistance Awards Guidelines.
- Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant Program
Deadline: 1 October 2007
Description: Tourism Cares’ Worldwide Grant Program distributes charitable grants to worthy tourism-related non-profit organizations worldwide for capital improvements or appropriate. The 2007 Worldwide Grant Program goals for grantmaking call for a balanced distribution to U.S. and non-U.S. recipients. Based on merit and availability of funds, grants up to $100,000 will be considered.
- Fund for Wild Nature
Deadline: 2 November 2007
Description: The Fund for Wild Nature provides money for campaigns to save and restore native species and wild ecosystems, including actions to defend wilderness and biological diversity. The fund supports advocacy, litigation, public policy work, development of citizen science, and similar endeavors. The fund does not support basic scientific research, private land acquisition, individual action or study, or conferences, and rarely supports proposals from organizations with annual budgets greater than $250,000. The fund will only support media projects that have a clear strategic value and a concrete plan for dissemination of the final product. The fund gives special attention to ecological issues not currently receiving sufficient public attention and funding. The fund seeks proposals with visionary and yet realistic goals to create tangible change. All proposals must be highly cost effective and be for projects in the United States, Canada, or Mexico.
- Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act
Deadline: 15 November 2007
Description: We are pleased to announce the 2007 Request for Proposals under the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. The Act establishes a matching grants program to fund projects that promote the conservation of these birds in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Projects may include activities to benefit bird populations and their habitats, research and monitoring, law enforcement, and outreach and education. All grant requests must be matched by partner funds at least 3:1. Partner funds from a U.S. federal source may be involved in the project, but are not eligible as match.
- Musser Fund
Deadline: 28 November 2007
Description: Grants are available to promote collaborative process in environmental decision making. The Laura Jane Musser Fund proposes to assist public or not-for-profit entities to initiate or implement projects in rural areas to undertake consensus-based activities in environmental stewardship or dispute resolution. State and Federal agencies based in the U.S. are encouraged to apply. Grants maximum is $35,000.
Upcoming meetings and workshops
See complete details about upcoming meetings and workshops.
Western Field Ornithologists Meeting: 27-30 September 2007, Henderson, Nevada.
Colorado River Delta Shorebird Workshop: 6-8 November 2007, Yuma, Arizona. Contact: Robert Mesta.
Riparian Habitat Joint Venture Conference: Integrating Riparian Habitat Conservation & Flood Management in California: 4-6 December 2007, Sacramento, California.
4th International Partners In Flight Conference: 13-16 February 2007, McAllen, Texas.
|
