Fall has fully arrived in the high desert grasslands of the Sky Island region, and we’re excited to announce the launch of a new project to benefit neotropical migratory birds, many of which summer in the Great Plains of the U.S. and winter in Sonora.
The nature of this project is right up our alley — expanding our Ranchos Regenerativos program further in the borderlands region of Cananea and Naco, Sonora. This region, also known as the Sonoita Grassland Priority Conservation Area, is the westernmost extent of the Chihuahuan Desert. It’s characterized by mixed shrub grasslands in the valleys between the central Sky Islands. We are not new to working with ranches on grasslands restoration or rangeland management, but this project brings in a new layer of monitoring migratory birds to better understand their distributions, populations, and habitat quality.
Our goal with this project?
1) We will collect data on the abundance and distribution of several target species within the conservation area, including Sprague’s pipits, Baird’s sparrows, chestnut collared longspurs, grasshopper sparrows, and lark buntings. We will collect data following internationally standardized monitoring protocols, and the data will contribute to continental-wide conservation efforts.
2) By teaming up with regional partners such as Profauna, CONANP, and the Universidad de la Sierra, we will enhance local capacity of grassland bird monitoring as well.
3) We will have our Sonoran field team working with low-tech restoration techniques to directly improve the quality of target species’ habitat while improving ranch management and resiliency.
4) And finally, we will empower community members and landowners to participate in grassland conservation.
We have kicked off the project this November by diving into restoration projects at three different ranches within the conservation area. We have focused on erosion control, invasive shrub encroachment, and preparing for native grass reseeding during the spring and summer. The first week of December we will be preparing for winter grassland bird monitoring by training APFF Bavispe’s monitoring group on protocols that the team will put into action from January to March 2025.
Stay tuned for updates on this new project and opportunities to join us in this work.
