Riparian Conservation Project Monitoring and Avian Habitat in Colorado October 14, 2004 Colorado Riparian Association Alison Banks Cariveau Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory Conserving birds of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains
Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory Established in 1988 as Colorado Bird Observatory Member-supported non-profit organization 3 offices in Colorado and 1 in Nebraska; projects in 12 states 23 permanent staff, 60 seasonals, 200+ volunteers
The Conservation of Rocky Mountain and Great Plains Birds...... and their Habitats Through research, monitoring, education, and outreach
Riparian Restoration Projects and Birds Riparian habitat significance to birds Bird-riparian habitat relationships Wetlands Monitoring & Evaluation Project Employing bird monitoring on restoration projects
Riparian Habitat: a haven for birds Supports greater diversity of breeding birds than all other habitats combined 82% of the breeding birds in CO Most heavily used migration stopover habitat continentally
Water management, loss of flooding Agricultural use, livestock grazing Channelization, lowered water table Water quality Riparian Habitat: highly impacted Invasion by exotic plants
Riparian Birds of Conservation Concern Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo American Dipper
Riparian Bird-Habitat Relationships
Riparian Birds: effective for monitoring Species diversity and abundance indicate habitat complexity Some species correlate to specific habitat layers or qualities - predictive Public concern and popularity Restoration projects to benefit birds
Colorado Wetlands Program Colorado Division of Wildlife Protect wetlands and wetland-dependent wildlife through incentives and other voluntary means Funds wetlands and riparian restoration, enhancement, and protection projects Over $20 million in conservation projects to date
Colorado Wetlands Program Wetlands Project Monitoring and Evaluation evaluates the efficacy of various wetlands protection efforts. Such evaluations will improve project design and refine funding allocations.
The Wetlands Monitoring and Evaluation Project (WMEP) Qualitative project assessments programwide Quantitative biological measures of success of conservation actions on subset of projects
Project Assessments Rapid Biological Assessment Pre-project & every 5 years Landowner/Manager Interview Project Objectives Site Visit Project Improvements Permanent photo points Vegetation community classification & assessment Landscape context & site geomorphology Wildlife habitat assessment Wetland functional assessment ½ -2 field days/project
Intensive Monitoring Projects selected according to biological objectives: Plant community protection Waterbird breeding Waterbird migration Bird Community Responses to Riparian Restoration
Bird community responses to riparian restoration 12 new projects designed to benefit avian community, in variety of riparian habitat types Habitat restoration objectives: Enhance graminoid and shrub layers Enhance canopy and shrub recruitment Restore native species dominance Restoration practices: 7 grazing management 2 exotic plant control 3 hydrologic manipulation
Bird community responses to riparian restoration Avian Community Responses: Species composition Abundance and density Techniques: Bird counts Habitat characterization Before-After-Control Impact study design Goal is to correlate bird species richness and abundance to habitat changes over time
Birds on Riparian Projects: Methods Habitat characterization Vegetation transects Channel morphology Piloted techniques for maximizing sample sizes of birds Point counts 1-3 visits per season 5 and 10 min duration counts Walking transects Distance estimation of bird densities
Birds on Riparian Projects: Results Species richness varied 13-54 per site Abundance varied from 12-23 birds/point Species of interest Yellow Warblers most abundant Brown-headed Cowbirds 4 th European Starlings 7 th SW Willow Flycatcher W Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Birds on Riparian Projects: Results Challenges to implementing BACI Study Design Bird species sensitive to elevational gradients in channel morphology and vegetation Lack of relationship with adjacent landowners Project designs change
Birds on Riparian Projects: Results Riparian is not one habitat in CO sites support distinct avifauna
Birds on Riparian Projects: Conclusions Conduct 2 or more 10-min point counts/site/season Find sites with before, after, and control Replicate results across sites Focus on subset of restoration objectives Select subset of riparian habitat zones Correlate habitat measures to bird abundance and species richness, monitoring for trends through time Due to correlations with habitat characters, birds are economical and effective monitoring tools
Birds on Riparian Projects: Summary
Wetlands Monitoring and Evaluation Project: Summary Site Assessments on over 150 projects to date Intensive monitoring validates correlations and predictions in site assessments Documents project successes in achieving goals Provide data on biological changes for managers/landowners Innovative program can serve as a model for other programs
Funders and Cooperators Colorado Division of Wildlife Colorado Governor s Office of Energy Management and Conservation Colorado Natural Heritage Program Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Environmental Protection Agency Intermountain West Joint Venture Playa Lakes Joint Venture United States Fish and Wildlife Service Photographers: Peter LaTourette, Tony Leukering, NRCS Photo Archives, The Otter Side, Chan Robbins, Bill Speaks, Jim Stasz, Peter Weber, Jim Zingo
Thank you! Co-investigators: Matt Reddy Denise Culver Jim Gammonley Alex Chappell Bill Goosmann Staff: Cary Gardner Sarah Johansson Marg Lomow Rachel Rilling Allison Roll Michele Shimomura Heather Tipton Conserving birds of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains