This project will continue work funded by the neotropical migratory bird conservation act since 2002 to conserve high priority and declining grassland bird species of western north america across…

This project will continue work funded by the neotropical migratory bird conservation act since 2002 to conserve high priority and declining grassland bird species of western north america across their full annual cycle. The proposed actions build on the scientific foundation and capacity established by bird conservancy of the rockies and partners over the last two decades to conserve and enhance habitat for high priority grassland birds from canada to mexico. This work has filled key ecological knowledge gaps on the distribution abundance and habitat use of wintering grassland birds. IT has also identified key demographic rates and their drivers quantified patterns of land use change and supported permanent protection of over 64800 acres of habitat. Since 2012 in coordination with local partners we have provided midterm protection (15 year) and improved critical habitat for nonbreeding grassland birds in the chihuahuan desert of northern mexico by engaging landowners in voluntary habitat management and conservation through the sustainable grazing network. To date 32 properties encompassing over 600000 acres in 4 grassland priority conservation areas have enrolled and been protected and over 360000 acres have been enhanced or restored. Our monitoring documented a 16% per year increase in sprague s pipit winter density on sustainable grazing network ranches from 2014 to 2019 and in 2023 we estimated a total population of over 1000000 wintering grassland birds on SGN grasslands. In this next phase we will continue to focus our activities on the conservation of nonbreeding habitat for three steeply declining species (sprague s pipit chestnut collared longspur and baird s sparrow) to 1) protect at least another 10000 acres of chihuahuan desert grasslands and shrublands through enrollment in the sustainable grazing network 2) enhance at least 10000 acres of chihuahuan desert grasslands through improved grazing management 3) monitor these species and other grassland bird populations across the sustainable grazing network 4) conduct outreach to engage sustainable grazing network landowners in range management 5) engage grassland owners and other stakeholders in conservation efforts through the encuentro ganadero and increase collaboration among sectors to build a constituency for grasslands conservation in northern mexico and 6) engage rural mexican and mennonite communities in chihuahua through environmental education with students and teachers to foster a culture of sustainability around grasslands and birds. These efforts address priorities identified in grassland conservation plans including the central grassland roadmap and chihuahuan desert grassland conservation investment strategy among others. Through this multipronged approach we aim to increase wintering populations of sprague s pipit baird s sparrow chestnut collared longspur and other species on sustainable grazing network lands in mexico over the next 5 to 10 years. The proposed activities will be conducted in cooperation with a broad network of regional and international partners for maximum impact efficiency and synergy.