The project will reduce habitat loss and information gaps on 114,000 acres, which form the nuclei of ecological corridors in northern ecuador

The U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 9 Headquarters awarded a $674,360 Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation (CFDA 15.635) project grant to Fundacion De Conservacion Jocotoco, a non-profit organization in Ecuador. The two-year project aims to reduce habitat loss and information gaps on 114,000 acres, forming ecological corridors in northern Ecuador. Key activities include patrolling the Jocotoco Narupa Reserve to mitigate threats, monitoring migratory bird populations across the reserve and Napo Buffer Zone, expanding the Narupa Reserve by 1,870 acres to improve connectivity, and strengthening local monitoring capacities. This work is expected to benefit dozens of migratory bird species, including the Cerulean Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Canada Warbler.

Jocotoco s narupa reserve (6,200 acres) protects the andean foothills in northeastern ecuador. First, jocotoco will reduce current threats by patrolling the narupa reserve. Second, they will monitor migratory birds in 10 transects within the targeted reserve and the napo buffer zone (NBZ) (107,466 acres) to understand their abundance, richness, and density. Third, they will expand narupa reserve (by 757HA 1870AC) to increase connectivity to an adjacent national park. Lastly, jocotoco will increase the spatial scale of its monitoring program by strengthening local capacities and their involvement with local communities surrounding narupa reserve. The proposed activities will benefit dozens of species of migratory birds, including the cerulean warbler, olive-sided flycatcher and canada warbler.