According to the conservation plan for the pineoak forests of central america and the migratory bird setophaga chrysoparia (2020 2030) (pcbpecamsc) developed by the alliance for the conservation of…

This $710,788 federal Project Grant award from the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (CFDA 15.635) will support the development and implementation of a conservation plan for the migratory route of the Golden-cheeked Warbler (GCWA) and other priority neotropical migratory bird species in the Sierra Plegada region of Mexico's Sierra Madre Oriental. The grantee, Habitats Resilientes, A.C., aims to: 1) establish standardized monitoring to identify key stopover sites for GCWA and 60 other migratory bird species; 2) enhance pine-oak ecosystems affected by wildfires through partnerships with local ejidos and communities; and 3) raise awareness of fire management practices to mitigate threats to the migratory bird habitat. The project seeks to contribute to the comprehensive conservation of GCWA and other priority neotropical migrants across their full life cycle, from breeding grounds to wintering sites.

According to the conservation plan for the pineoak forests of central america and the migratory bird setophaga chrysoparia (2020 2030) (pcbpecamsc) developed by the alliance for the conservation of the pineoak forests of mesomerica (acbpem) there is an urgent need of information and conservation in the migratory route of this species. We will take the lead in this strategy in close collaboration with the alliance and develop a conservation plan for gcwa migratory route that will add to the wintering conservation plan. We determined the urgency to focus on sierra plegada subprovince of sierra madre oriental which covers 4 states of north mexico and has a high quality pine OAK communities but that has been highly affected (more than 250000 acres) by fires for last 5 years and lacks any legal protection scheme. This proposal offers benefits to 60 species of migratory birds (NMB) that use migratory route on pineoak ecosystems of the sierra madre oriental in specific at sierra plegada. Among these species 10 are the primary focus of the project and are of common interest to the nmbca. These birds have been designated as priority conservation NMB due to the decline of their populations including the golden cheeked warbler (1) rufous hummingbird (2) blue throated hummingbird (3) hermit warbler (4) kentucky warbler (5) and flammulated OWL (6). We seek to develop the plan with the collaboration of experts in the migration route as well as the national and international members of alliance also we seek to address threats such as fire management and lack of information through expanding standarized monitoring to identify key stopovers at SP and to enhace pine OAK ecosystems affected by fires supported by ejidos and local partners. In the mid term we seek to implement the plan throughout the SP and other key sites for migration and specifically gcwa conservation. Our main indicators for successful implementation of project are a) SP is recognized as an important stopover for gcwa and nmbs based on a standardized monitoring b) threat fire is reduced by applying best management practices and c) civil society is aware of fire as one of the main threats to the ecosystem and therefore follows the rules for its management and d) conservation plan for full cycle for gcwa and their winter and migratory habitats is developed.