This proposal seeks to fund continued monitoring of songbird populations on the sagebrush steppe of eastern oregon

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) awarded a $186,740.14 cooperative agreement to the Klamath Bird Observatory under the Wildlife Resource Management program (CFDA 15.247) on September 24, 2025, with completion scheduled for September 23, 2030. This five-year project will conduct continued seasonal bird monitoring across the sagebrush steppe regions of Eastern Oregon and Washington using standard point count methodologies. Building on over 24 years of collaboration between the Klamath Bird Observatory and the BLM, the project will generate expert-verified data on land bird populations within Bird Conservation Regions 9 and 10 to assess spatial distribution, habitat use, and ecosystem health indicators. All monitoring data will be entered into the Avian Knowledge Network to ensure accessibility and comparability across regions.

The project includes deliverables consisting of detailed bird population monitoring data, annual summary reports, and public outreach materials to inform conservation and biodiversity protection efforts on BLM-managed public lands. The work will be conducted in collaboration with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies as a subrecipient, aligning protocols with their larger Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions project to ensure data standardization and broad comparability. The findings will directly support the BLM's wildlife habitat management objectives and provide critical information for land management decisions affecting bird populations and ecosystem functioning across the region.

With this proposal, we seek to build and expand upon our monitoring of eastern oregon and washington in collaboration with the BLM to provide important information on the spatial distribution and habitat use of songbirds, which are important indicators of ecosystem health. This project will include 5 years of seasonal bird monitoring activities following standard point count methodologies, building on over 24 years of collaboration between the klamath bird observatory and the BLM. This project will and generate detailed, expert-verified data on the land birds of bird conservation regions 9 and 10, which will benefit the BLM and the public through generation of high-quality data that will inform the conservation of biodiversity. All data will be entered in the avian knowledge network, and we will provide annual summary reports and public outreach activities and documents. This project will be conducted in collaboration with subrecipient bird conservancy of the rockies as part of their larger integrated monitoring in bird conservation regions project and will align with their protocols in order to make data broadly comparable across bird conservation regions.