Goal: To monitor or track all breeding birds in pinyon-juniper habitat to document distribution, population trends, and abundance in a statistically acceptable manner.

Objective: All species with AI > 2 will be monitored with count-based methods.

Strategy: Monitoring will be accomplished through the combined efforts of agencies with primary responsibility for managing this habitat.

Strategy: Monitoring efforts will continue to rely on BBS data, with CBO's Monitoring Colorado's Birds (MCB) data incorporated as it becomes available.

Status: MCB implemented pinyon-juniper habitat transects in 1999 and ran a total of 30 transects; trend data should be available for most species within 5-12 years.

Objective: All species with AI 2 will be tracked through count-based methods or their presence/absence noted in the state.

Strategy: The MCB monitoring program will address this.

Status: MCB was implemented in pinyon-juniper habitat in 1999.

Objective: All species with PT of 4 or 5 will be tracked with demographic monitoring.

Strategy: CBO's MCB monitoring program will address this.

Status: MCB demographic monitoring will begin in 2001.

Habitat Monitoring

Goal: To document the amount, condition, and ownership of pinyon-juniper habitat in Colorado.

Objective: Develop collaborative efforts to use GIS in mapping pinyon-juniper habitat, documenting amount, condition, and ownership.

Status: This effort has not been initiated to date. Potential collaborators include CDOW, CNHP, CBO, USGS, USFS, BLM, and TNC.

Objective: Annually quantify the progress of attitudes and practices of landowners and managers as to their desires, plans, actions, and predictions for specified bird habitats, including their pinyon-juniper habitats.

Strategy: Administer a survey and report the results in a widely circulated medium, e.g., The Denver Post.

Status: Conceptual.

Habitat Core Areas

Goal: To conserve unique representatives and/or large, ecologically-functioning examples of pinyon-juniper habitat in Colorado used during the breeding season, during migration, and/or during the winter.

Objective: Identify such areas, use agency- or organization- specific means of designating and conserving them, and work with the appropriate agency or organization to promote conservation activities.

Status: The Colorado Natural Heritage Program is identifying best examples of

vegetation types in their county inventories. These "Conservation Sites" may serve as core area nominees for protecting bird habitat. Some of these sites are fine specimen pinyon-juniper stands.

Objective: Identify any of these areas that are appropriate for designation as Important Bird Areas (IBAs), nominate them, and promote involvement of local groups in conserving these areas once they are designated.

Status: Sites with pinyon-juniper habitat were nominated in 1999 (including Rabbit Valley Recreation Area, with significant Gray Vireo habitat), and the IBA committee will make final selections in 2000.

Objective: Initiate the development of a conservation strategy with the landowners of these IBAs and CNAP sites, or by using CNAP and The Nature Conservancy experience.

Status: Landowners of the nominated IBAs have been contacted for approval of IBA status.

Objective: To maintain or increase the quantity and quality of pinyon-juniper habitat on private lands.

Strategy: Encourage landowners to take advantage of funding opportunities and expertise for creating, restoring, and maintaining pinyon-juniper habitat on their properties.

Strategy: Promote collaboration/cooperation between agencies, organizations, and individuals in conserving unique representatives/core areas with multiple ownership.

Objective: To maintain or increase the quantity and quality of pinyon-juniper habitat on public lands.

Strategy: Integrate the BCP into management plans for public lands in the physiographic area.

Objective: Test the assumption that the winter habitat of pinyon-juniper in Colorado will not seriously limit any species as long as the pinyon-juniper summer habitat roles are addressed successfully.

Strategy: Every five years analyze the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) data to determine the adequacy of the CBC for acquiring pinyon-juniper bird data ,and if needed nominate one or more new count circles to boost these data.

Status: Conceptual.

Site-based Conservation

Goal: To conserve local breeding sites, migratory stopover sites, and wintering sites in pinyon-juniper that are important for the conservation of priority species.

Objective: Identify agency- or organization-specific means of designating and conserving key local sites. Work with appropriate agencies and organizations to designate such sites, and promote conservation activities.

Status: Rabbit Valley Recreation Area has been nominated as a Colorado Watchable Wildlife Site for its importance to Colorado Gray Vireos and Scott's Orioles. The biological and educational significance of these two birds has been incorporated into BLM's Ruby Canyon/Black Ridge Integrated Resource Management Plan, which includes Rabbit Valley.

Objective: Identify key local sites that are appropriate for designation as IBAs, nominate them, and promote involvement of local groups in conserving these areas once they are designated.

Status: Sites with pinyon-juniper habitat were nominated in 1999, including Rabbit Valley Recreation Area, and the IBA committee will make final selections in 2000.

Management Practices

Goal: To promote management practices that benefit birds in pinyon-juniper habitats.

Objective: Develop a Best Management Practices manual for pinyon-juniper habitat to the standard of the document Birds in a Sagebrush Sea. Birds in a Juniper Jungle, therefore, should be written as a west-wide, perhaps nationwide application (red cedar, Ashe juniper). The scope will be determined by the willing participants. COPIF will participate and initiate as needed, seeking a team leader and publisher. The manual will include the following recommendations:

1. Discourage clearing of large mature tracts of habitat.

2. Encourage small-scale opening of habitat.

3. Prevent high-grading opportunities in wood harvesting.

4. Favor cattle grazing over sheep grazing in order to favor forbs over grasses thus favoring nectar flowers.

5. Limit seasonal pinyon nut collection (May through July); limit commercial collection.

6. Manage pinyon ips beetles to prevent extensive pinyon kills, yet maintain adequate food supplies for Hairy Woodpeckers, by allowing a number of slash piles in firewood harvests.

7. Avoid the temptation or pressure to join insect control projects.

8. At the low elevation side of the pinyon-juniper zone fully suppress wildfires, which can be devastating to Cassin's Kingbirds, Gray Vireos, and Scott's Orioles. However, in low-country pinyon-juniper habitat that is dense, consider wildfire as a potential tool to create habitat.

9. Divide pinyon-juniper woodland into subtypes and provide prescriptions and desired percentages for each: 1) Young (isolated "invading" juniper); 2) Young, re-invading trees--often pinyon; 3) Mid age, spaced juniper woodland (savannah); 4) Mature juniper dominated woodland; 5) Mature dense pinyon dominated woodland; and 6) Spaced, old juniper savannah.

10. The partners involved with fire management-BLM, USFS, NPS, USFWS, CDOW, and others-will insert in their fire management plans measures to preserve adequate amounts of quality pinyon-juniper habitat (requires fire size limitations in management units with good potential or existing quality pinyon-juniper habitat; requires inventory to know the area of old growth sites, deep soil sites, open juniper savannah sites; requires monitoring of the annual loss due to fire relative replacement rates).

11. Maintain or increase the quantity of quality habitat on public lands. Integrate the BCP into management plans for public lands in the physiographic area.

12. Recreate the historic open stands of large size class pinyon pine and juniper woodlands and savannahs (Tausch et al. 1981). Encourage managers of public and private lands to set aside pastures for intensive treatment, e.g., thinning, seeding, permanent or long-term rest from grazing.

Status: Production of the BMP manual has not yet been initiated.

Objective: Identify key landowners and land managers and encourage them to incorporate best management practices to conserve pinyon-juniper birds and their habitat.

Strategy: Include in the mailing of grazing authorizations to permittees on public land and national forests who have significant pinyon-juniper woodlands a copy of the pinyon-juniper recommended management practices handbook (BMP manual).

Status: Conceptual.

Interstate/International Wintering Grounds

Goal: To conserve the wintering ground habitat used by birds of pinyon-juniper woodland.

Objective: Track the amount of habitat available on the wintering grounds.

Strategy: Add a map and explanatory text to this plan, showing the primary winter range of the priority pinyon-juniper summer resident bird species. Utilize GIS (state GAP projects, Heritage Program, and/or CBO).

Strategy: Lend support to the quest to miniaturize satellite technology to the point where tracking of "nano-migrants" such as flycatchers, vireos, warblers, and hummingbirds is possible.

Strategy: Coordinate with appropriate state PIFs, domestic and foreign government agencies, and NGOs to obtain data.

Status: DeGraaf and Rappole (1995) illustrate progress with winter range mapping.

Objective: Protect key tracts of wintering habitat.

Strategy: Identify the wintering distribution and key habitat associations of priority species.

Status: Conceptual.

Strategy: Coordinate with appropriate domestic and foreign government agencies, NGOs. Collaborate with PIF in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico to indicate Colorado's interest in habitats of highest winter use by priority pinyon-juniper bird species.

Status: Conceptual.

Strategy: Add a prioritized protection strategy to this plan as information accumulates.

Status: Conceptual.

Strategy: Expand coordination that will promote the protection of Sierra de Manantlan Biosphere Reserve (SW of Guadalajara, Mexico), which is in the center of the Colorado pinyon-juniper migrant bird wintering area.

Status: Conceptual.

Strategy: Explore ways to promote the protection of La Michilia Biosphere Reserve, Durango State, Mexico. School adoptions, personnel exchange program, birding-oriented language camp are proposed.

Status: Conceptual.

Strategy: Gather support for conserving a sizeable area at Cerro Mohinoro, Chihuahua State, Mexico (Wege and Long 1995). School adoptions, nature-oriented language camp, eco-friendly business conferencing are proposed.

Status: Conceptual.

Strategy: Explore ways to assist the creation of visitor centers at dedicated natural areas in Mexico to help encourage pride in and protection of these areas.

Status: Conceptual in COPIF; NPS et al. may have made progress.

Migration Concerns

Goal: To protect migratory stopover habitat of birds of pinyon-juniper woodland as they migrate outside of the state.

Objective: Identify important migratory stopover areas for priority species that breed in Colorado.

Objective: Track amount, condition, and ownership of key migratory stopover sites.

Strategy: Utilize GIS (Heritage Program and/or CBO).

Strategy: Collaborate with PIF in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico to indicate Colorado interest in habitats of highest use during spring and late summer by priority pinyon-juniper bird species.

Strategy: Lend support to the quest to miniaturize satellite technology to the point where tracking of "nano-migrants" such as flycatchers, vireos, warblers, and hummingbirds is possible.

Objective: Protect key migration sites for pinyon-juniper migrant species.

Strategy: Emphasize good habitat management across broad sub-pinyon-juniper zones and intensive protective measures on lowland riparian areas.

Strategy: Coordinate with appropriate state PIFs, domestic and foreign government agencies, and NGOs.

Strategy: Add a prioritized protection strategy to this plan as information accumulates.

Status: Conceptual, although some sites are under protective status.

Strategy: Explore ways for Coloradans to promote the protection of the San Pedro River National Conservation Area (near Sierra Vista, Arizona), which is demonstrably important to Colorado pinyon-juniper migrant birds.

Status: Conceptual.

Outreach and Education

Goal: To provide information that will improve landowner and general public esteem for the pinyon-juniper woodlands, promoting this habitat's unique values, specialty birds and how to enjoy them--field exercises, and suggesting solutions to management issues.

Strategy: Produce a booklet on pinyon-juniper woodlands for distribution in elementary schools, nature centers, and natural resource agencies. Some educational materials exist that include the pinyon-juniper zone. From Grassland to Glacier is an easy textbook for Colorado (Mutel and Emerick 1992).

Strategy: Prepare a syllabus for brief and more extensive presentations at conferences, annual meetings, workshops, and field training programs.

Strategy: Hold workshops and field programs for teachers.

Strategy: Hold workshops and field programs for natural resource professionals (CDOW, BLM, and USFS staff).

Strategy: Produce an agricultural extension bulletin.

Strategy: Submit manuscripts to popular magazines for children and adults and those targeted at landowners, farmers, and ranchers.

Strategy: Explore ways of getting a foot in the door of museums in Colorado and Mexico. Museums are popular outing destinations for school children, especially in Mexico.

Research Priorities

Goal: To identify and facilitate research that will aid in understanding and managing pinyon-juniper habitats for Colorado's birds.

Objective: To identify the top ten research needs in pinyon-juniper habitat in Colorado.

Strategy: Update the list of research needs annually to reflect shifting conservation priorities and to remove research needs from the list as they are investigated.

Strategy: Solicit input from researchers and managers on research needs and accomplishments.

Status: The following research needs have been identified:

1. The general natural history of the priority pinyon-juniper bird species including: breeding biology (Determine second brood fledgling survival; Of the permanent residents, do they form permanent pair bonds? Do they defend territories throughout the year?), foraging biology (Is the species important in limiting number of devastating insects in pinyon?), and habitat requirements.

2. The effects of common fuelwood harvest practices on pinyon-juniper woodland birds. Assessments of its local effects on birds and of its significance, the scope West-wide, should be made.

3. The effect of percent slope on bird use of sites. This will help to answer the question of whether the level and near level sites can be sacrificed to fuelwood sales, wildfires, and vegetation conversion treatments.

4. The hypothesis that Gray Vireo habitat can be created by tree stand thinning.

5. The flower phenology in the pinyon-juniper zone that sustains the Black-chinned Hummingbird through its Nearctic season: it would be helpful to know if livestock grazing systems could be designed to assure adequate nectar sources through the summer season. Site rehabilitation mixes should have the information that could help to bolster flower species that are needed during the leanest nectar periods.

6. Measure the effects of cowbird parasitism on Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Gray Flycatchers, Gray Vireos, Juniper Titmice, and Black-throated Gray Warblers.

7. The conditions that lead to excessive parasitism and predation failure in nesting of pinyon-juniper birds: vireos, including Gray and Plumbeous, are known to not be able to raise their own young when there's a cowbird chick present, but how likely is this to be threatening to a population? Are nest mites more common in closed canopy than open canopy pinyon-juniper, lightly grazed than heavily grazed sites? What level of human presence brings in the jays and drives out the Cooper's Hawks resulting in more nest predation? (This raises a lot of Watchable Wildlife concerns that need studying.) What conditions put snakes into a higher nest predating mode?

Status: The BLM Colorado Plateau Managers Coalition submitted sagebrush steppe and pinyon-juniper woodland research topics recommendations out of the draft Colorado BCP to the 5^th Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau in Flagstaff on October 25, 1999.

Strategy: Facilitate investigations to answer these questions by providing information about priority needs to universities, public and private research entities, identifying funding sources, and promoting collaboration between management and research agencies.

Strategy: Solicit research funding from the Colorado Plateau Science Committee, the USGS Biological Resources Division, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and other appropriate foundations and agencies.