The Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) just released the first Southwest Climate Podcast, the first in a regular series. Each month CLIMAS scientists will discuss the causes and consequences of climate change and what they mean for Arizona and New Mexico. You can listen and subscribe to this new climate podcast on iTunes or SoundCloud.
A new study (partially funded by the SJV) has been published by SJV partner Janet Ruth and colleagues in The Condor. They used radar and satellite land-cover data to determine the habitats with which birds are associated during migration stopover. Bird densities differed significantly by habitat type at all sites in at least one season. … Read more
Since 2007 SJV partner Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory has been leading a binational effort to inventory and monitor wintering grassland bird populations in the most important grasslands in the Chihuahuan Desert. This project has produced, for the first time, rigorous information on the distribution, density, and habitat use of nearly 30 grassland species throughout most … Read more
Did you know that the Sonoran Joint Venture is active on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest? If you aren’t already following us, please take a moment to join! Take part in discussion about conservation issues, share opportunities and other important news, and just stay connected with the broader conservation community. Our Facebook page recently surpassed … Read more
In 1986 Canada, Mexico, and the United States adopted the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP, or Plan), aimed at conserving continental waterfowl populations and habitat. In the intervening years, NAWMP partners have conserved and restored 15.7 million acres (63,000 square kilometers) of wetlands, grasslands and other key habitats for ducks, geese and swans shared … Read more
The American Ornithologists’ Union recently separated Sage Sparrow into two species: Bell’s Sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli) and Sagebrush Sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis).
The Sonoran Joint Venture is pleased to announce the request for proposals for the 2013 funding cycle of the SJV Awards Program. The objective of the SJV Awards Program is to support the investigation and conservation of birds and their habitats within SJV boundaries by providing funds through a competitive program. Interested in Submitting a … Read more
The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) has released the first-ever conservation plan for grassland bird species that winter in the Chihuahuan Desert. Grassland birds have declined more steeply than any other group of North American birds. The Chihuahuan Desert Grassland Bird Conservation Plan was developed with support from the Rio Grande Joint Venture and American … Read more
This report identifies best practices based on innovations and lessons learned from the years since SWAPs were developed. The best practices may be used voluntarily by state fish and wildlife agencies that aspire to improve conservation work and create greater consistency across SWAPs, thereby making them more relevant to partners and large landscape-level efforts. Download … Read more
In 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) leadership endorsed Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC) as the conservation approach the agency would use to achieve its mission. SHC uses an adaptive management framework to focus on a subset of shared conservation targets, set measurable biological objectives for them, and identify the information, decisions, delivery, and … Read more
In August 2012, 35 managers and biologists from protected areas in the U.S. and Mexican Sonoran and Mojave deserts met in Phoenix, Arizona to discuss management strategies to promote adaptation of natural communities and species in the region to climate change. During the workshop participants learned about the results of a climate change vulnerability assessment … Read more
Researchers recently published a paper in Western Birds about Roseate Spoonbills nesting on the central coast of Sonora at Bahía de Kino. The work is a result of the Prescott College Kino Bay Center for Cultural and Ecological Studies’ Waterbird Monitoring Program and was supported by the SJV Awards Program. Read the entire article here. … Read more
HabiMap™ Arizona is a user-friendly, web-based data viewer that allows users to visually explore the distribution of the state’s wildlife, wildlife conservation potential, and stressors to wildlife.
A momentous workshop was held in October 2011 in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, to develop the first-ever standardized shorebird-monitoring protocol for Mexico.
By Eduardo Palacios On 14-17 January 2012, two teams of two-observers each surveyed the Snowy Plover population wintering in Bahía de San Quintín, Baja California, Mexico. Results are shown by type of habitat and locality of Bahia de San Quintin in Table 1. On 18 January 2012 we also surveyed the barrier beach of Estero … Read more
PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) recently completed a landscape prioritization analysis within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) planning area that identifies areas of high and low value to 66 breeding bird species and associated vegetation. Their analytical approach can be used to include other wildlife species for a more robust landscape prioritization. Their results … Read more
The Montrose and Luckenbach Trustee Councils and the Government of Mexico have announced a $4 million dollar award to a U.S-Mexico partnership that will implement a comprehensive five-year program focused on restoring seabird populations on seven islands off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Improvement of nesting grounds in Mexico will create more stable and viable … Read more
The seventh Ensenada de La Paz Christmas Bird Count was hugely successful. A total of 23 participants documented a record 153 species. Some highlights included 541 Marbled Godwits, one Hermit Thrush, twenty-two Reddish Egrets and one Pomarine Jaeger.
A new effort aimed and better understanding the predicted impacts of climate change to birds and habitats within the SJV region and beyond.
The main objective of our research is to undertake an ecological study of Sierra Madre Sparrow to fill basic information gaps.