A new center hosted by the University of Arizona’s Institute of the Environment will link science with the needs of decision makers to offer innovative and practical management options
The North American Grasslands Alliance: A Framework for Change document lays a strong foundation to bring about the deep changes that are required for a continentally integrated planning and management approach to achieve lasting sustainability of the North American grasslands. It contains foundational principles, objectives and priorities to sustain working landscapes, conserve biodiversity, and … Read more
In 2007 the SJV and Pronatura Noroeste received funds from the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act and the U.S. Forest Service International Program to develop a program and train residents of communities in or near important conservation sites to be bird guides. The idea was to provide incentives for conservation as well as a way … Read more
Rapid ongoing climate change presents new challenges to natural resource managers. Effects are usually at large landscape scales and management actions must account for future uncertainty, often based solely on locally available data. Because birds are known to be indicators of ecosystem health and function and are cost effective to survey at multiple scales, they … Read more
Six champions of bird conservation were recognized in Snowbird, Utah on August 28, 2013, at the 5th Annual International Partners In Flight (PIF) Conference including the SJV’s own Jennie Duberstein. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding achievements in bird conservation throughout the Americas in the areas of communications, education, innovative leadership, insightful ecological investigation, lifetime achievements, … Read more
After the Partners in Flight V International Conference SJV staff and partners toured the Great Salt Lake, where the Audubon-managed South Shore Preserve and Lee Creek Area is located.
The 5th International Partners in Flight Conference brought the bird conservation community together to create a unified vision for full life cycle needs and addressed them with innovative approaches. The meeting focused on linking regions throughout the Western Hemisphere, working together in geographic-based work sessions to develop implementable projects. SJV Science Coordinator Carol Beardmore and … Read more
By Paulina Martinez Sarabia This May I had the honor of attending the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival as the recipient of the Tim Schantz Memorial Scholarship. Tim Schantz, well known birder and guide, died suddenly from coronary artery disease in 2001 at the age of 36 while guiding a trip to St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. … Read more
“Boots on the ground—4:15!!” Doug Loney’s booming voice echoed in our ears as we drove away from Desert Rat Studio, in Maricopa, Arizona. We were three days into a week of field work trapping Turkey Vultures as part of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s New World Vulture Project. From 1996-1997, SJV Education and Outreach Coordinator Jennie Duberstein … Read more
When land does well for its owner, and the owner does well by his land; when both end up better by reason of their partnership, we have conservation. —Aldo Leopold, The Farmer as a Conservationist On July 2, 2013 the 2013 U.S. State of the Birds Report was released, the nation’s first review … Read more
By John Arnett, Edwin Juarez and Kurt Licence The Sonoran Desert, an environment with blistering summer temperatures, frigid winter nights, and months of no precipitation, tests many of its residents to the thresholds of their physiological tolerances. Over 60 species of birds breed in this environment and many populations are naturally small and typically at … Read more
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2013 SJV Awards Program small grants. Congratulations to all recipients, and stay tuned in the months ahead to hear more about these important projects. Learn more about the SJV Awards Program on the SJV website, including details about projects we have funded in the past and … Read more
By Vicente Rodríguez and Diana Venegas The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is a large-scale, long-term bird monitoring program originally designed to understand population trends of various species that were affected by DDT in the middle of the 20th century. Now, with more than 30 years of accumulated data, the results from the BBS are one … Read more
By Robert Murphy, USFWS Southwest Region Protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, western North America’s Golden Eagles are increasingly threatened by multiple factors such as collision with wind turbines, electrocution on power lines, and lead poisoning (from eating carcasses left by hunters who used lead ammunition). The … Read more
The latest edition of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s (NABCI) All Bird Bulletin has a special focus on exploring the human dimensions of bird conservation. “Human dimensions” is a broad term that basically refers to the social side of conservation: What do people think and feel about different issues? How do they behave? What … Read more
A new article about the status of climate change research for bird conservation in Mexico (Jennie Duberstein, SJV Education and Outreach Coordinator, is a co-author) was just published in HUITZIL, the Mexican ornithology journal. Abstract Global climate change is affecting the world’s biodiversity. In Mexico, several lines of research have been developed to forecast the … Read more
By Emily Wittman Trudging through waist high water, losing shoes in 12 inch deep mud flats, kayaking to remote sections of estuaries, and feeling the breeze whipping against your face on the boat ride to Isla Alcatraz are all in a day’s work if you are a Research and Conservation Fellow for the Waterbird Monitoring … Read more
The climate crisis is already changing the playing field for wildlife and urgent action is needed to preserve America’s conservation legacy, according to a new report released recently by the National Wildlife Federation. Wildlife in a Warming World: Confronting the Climate Crisis examines case studies from across the country illustrating how global warming is altering wildlife habitats. … Read more
In early February 2013, thirty attendees took part in a workshop about wetlands and bird conservation in Mexico. The workshop was organized by Sonora’s Commission of Ecology and Sustainable Development (CEDES), in collaboration with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and with support of the Sonoran Joint Venture and Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y … Read more
Each month CLIMAS scientists discuss the causes and consequences of climate changes and what they mean for Arizona and New Mexico. February’s podcast focuses on snowpack conditions in the West (which continue to be low in many regions), streamflow and precipitation forecasts, and the recent “blizzard” and its relation to climate change. [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/84774786″ params=”” width=” 100%” … Read more