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Pronatura Noroeste: Habitat enhancement for endangered rails at the Ciénega de Santa Clara, Sonora, Mexico Objectives: 1) Conduct prescribed burns on 1,100 ha (about 20%) of the mid-western section of the Ciénega de Santa Clara to enhance habitat for Yuma Clapper Rail, California Black Rail, and other birds; and 2) Assess the effectiveness of this management action by conducting marshbird surveys during the breeding seasons before and after prescribed burns. Project Description: The Ciénega de Santa Clara is the largest marsh wetland in the Sonoran Desert, extending over 5,800 hectares. The importance of this wetland has been recognized internationally by the Ramsar Convention and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, as well as in Mexico, where it is protected as the Core Zone of the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve and has been declared an Important Area for Bird Conservation. The Ciénega de Santa Clara supports nearly 75% of the total population of the Yuma Clapper Rail, an endemic marshbird of the Lower Colorado River and its delta that is protected as Endangered in the United States and Threatened in Mexico. The Ciénega de Santa Clara also supports significant numbers of California Black Rail (Endangered in Mexico), Virginia Rail (Under Special Protection in Mexico), and American and Least Bittern, as well as hundreds of thousands of shorebirds, ducks, and geese. The purpose of this project is to conduct prescribed burns on some portions of the Ciénega de Santa Clara (approximately 20% of the Ciénega; about 1,100 ha) in order to rejuvenate the emergent vegetation and enhance the habitat for Yuma Clapper Rail, California Black Rail, and other birds. The fires will be conducted in areas that have been identified as showing an increase in cattail density, an accumulation of dead vegetative material, and a reduction in marshbird densities. These activities will be conducted by a binational team that has been involved with rail conservation along the Lower Colorado River, including the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve, the Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, the Bureau of Land Management, and Pronatura Noroeste. Marshbird surveys, following the Standardized North American Marshbirds Monitoring Protocols, will be conducted prior to the prescribed burns and at least three years after the prescribed burns as an assessment tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the project. Contact: |
