Show me the money! SJV Awards Program Snapshot
The Sonoran Joint Venture has awarded more than $1.3 million dollars to partners in our region. Learn about where and how the funding has been put to good use.
Home Range and Dispersal of Juvenile Northern Aplomado Falcons
The Northern Aplomado Falcon is close to disappearing from Chihuahua. To better understand the ecology of this bird of prey, researchers estimated the home range of juvenile birds using satellite telemetry.
Searching for the Sierra Madre Sparrow
Endemic to subalpine grassland habitat and highly endangered, the Sierra Madre Sparrow population is limited to just a few isolated areas in Mexico. A dynamic team of researchers is searching for the species in the Sierra Madre Occidental in Durango to update their population status, learn more about their genetic structure, and identify priorities for conservation.
JV8 Central Grasslands Conservation Initiative
Through the JV8, eight Migratory Bird Joint Ventures — representing over 63 federal, state, provincial, non-profit, and industry conservation partners from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico — are collaborating to stem grassland losses and the negative impacts to migratory birds.
Tree-age Decision Support Tool
Thanks to a NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant, the SJV and partners are working to develop Tree-age, a web-based tool that land managers can use evaluate the effects of different grassland management actions on bird populations.
Filling in the Gaps on Arizona’s Birds
Are you looking for a safe, meaningful, and exciting way to volunteer for bird conservation efforts this year? Participate in AZFO’s eBird Gaps project to help fill in the gaps in our knowledge of Arizona’s birds!
Reproductive Ecology of the Eared Quetzal
Organización Vida Silvestre and its partners present habitat characteristics and reproductive ecology of the Eared Quetzal based on a 20 year study in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Baja California’s Belding’s Savannah Sparrow
Belding’s Savannah Sparrow is one of the many birds whose life depends on the coastal wetlands of southern California and northwestern Baja California, but faces many threats. SJV partners are working to learn more about the species and implement conservation actions.
Refining the Important Bird Areas of California’s Deserts
With funding support from the SJV, Audubon California revised 21 IBAs in California’s Colorado and Mojave Deserts, incorporating current science and land use changes that will better inform priorities for conservation and management planning.
Feathers in Flight
The Bird Genoscape Project was featured in a stunning short documentary, Feathers in Flight, about the importance of understanding the full annual cycle of migratory birds. Check it out!
Borderlands Wins Big for Bats and Bacanora
Congratulations to our partners at Borderlands Restoration Network for winning the $100,000 Connectivity Challenge prize for their Bacanora for Bats: Binational Conservation and Sustainable Agave Spirit project!
Riparian Restoration Gives Birds a Chance
With hard work from River Partners, restoration sites in southern California are seeing the fruits of their labor with the return of Least Bell’s Vireo to the habitat.
Community Tools: Land Conservation to Protect Wildlife
Arizona Land and Water Trust takes a collaborative approach to conservation of southern AZ’s western landscapes. Check out some of their recent wins, safeguarding working landscapes and securing habitat for numerous species of birds and other wildlife.
The Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve Implements Shorebird Conservation
The reserve is the first natural protected area in Mexico to adopt the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy, and to incorporate shorebirds as one of the main conservation objectives in the new edition of its Management Program.
Purple Martins, a Desert Apparition
The Tucson Audubon Society and their team of community science volunteers are leading the way to learn more about the secretive natural history of desert nesting Purple Martins in southeast Arizona.
Tracking Springs through Community Science
Springs across the Sky Islands provide remarkable contributions to the wildlife, ecosystems, and human communities of the region, but are at risk from numerous threats. Sky Island Alliance has launched the Spring Seeker program to document spring locations and track their health.
Community Scientists reported 165 species on Big Day 2020
The Urban Birds Program is a citizen science effort that helps gather information about birds in the Colorado River Delta region, provides environmental education opportunities, and promotes community involvement in restoration and conservation projects.
The Sonoran Joint Venture Awards Grants to Five Projects in 2020
We are pleased to announce that the following projects were awarded funds for the 2020 cycle of the SJV Awards Program.
Masked Bobwhite: Hope for the Future
Jennie Duberstein and Lacrecia Johnson describe the Masked Bobwhite Quail Recovery Program’s efforts in Arizona and Sonora in the October 2020 Conservation & Community Issue of American Birding Association’s Birding magazine.
Enhancing our Knowledge of Thrashers in Sonora
Knowledge about thrashers in northwest Mexico is almost completely unknown. The Great Basin Bird Observatory received an SJV grant to begin working in partnership with researchers and local institutions in Mexico to study them.