Stewardship: What We Do
|
The major focus of the Stewardship Division continues to be outreach to increase
awareness and understanding of at-risk bird species and their habitat requirements,
providing technical assistance to landowners and land managers on how to incorporate
birds into their management, and working with interested landowners and other Federal,
State, and private partners to design projects to enhance bird habitat on private
lands.
Outreach efforts are accomplished by working closely with partners. Presentations
and informational booths are given at local grazing association meetings, county
fairs, and various other group gatherings, meetings, and seminars. We also conduct
workshops and field days to increase landowners’ awareness of the birds their lands
support and to provide information to them on the variety of technical and financial
services available for habitat enhancement and land management. Private Lands Wildlife
Biologists are also available to visit with landowners on their property to give
technical information on what types of habitat enhancement scenarios might be appropriate
for their management goals and the landscape. If landowners are not interested in
landowner visits they may also refer to a variety of outreach materials for general
technical assistance or by calling RMBO’s Stewardship Division.
Since our ultimate goal is to build a coalition of landowners who are actively involved
in the conservation of lands important to prairie birds, the Stewardship Division
works with landowners and partners to design and implement habitat enhancement projects
that provide benefit to at-risk bird species and that are integrated with the landowner's
range management goals. Because these projects typically involve several partners
it allows for information sharing from many experts and cost-sharing from multiple
funding sources (federal, state, and private).
Through voluntary partnerships with private landowners, RMBO biologists survey suitable
Mountain Plover nesting habitat on cultivated land, and mark any nests with brightly
colored wooden stakes so the nests can be avoided during cultivation. Profitability
of the farm is not compromised as nests only need to be missed by inches. In addition,
Mountain Plover eggs hatch within 30 days and chicks leave the nest within an hour
or two of hatching, allowing the producer to farm through the nest site. With the
assistance of the Colorado Farm Bureau, County Farm Bureaus, Conservation Districts,
and other agencies and organizations, the program raises awareness of the Mountain
Plover and its conservation needs. Funding is provided by the Colorado Division
of Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Neotropical Migratory Bird fund.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|