LIGHT PRING AGE Steppingstones - DENIX · To investigate the high rate of nest failure, scientists installed cameras at nest burrows during the 2011 breeding season to gain qualitative

DDEPARTMENTEPARTMENT OFOF DDEFENSEEFENSE PPARTNERSARTNERS ININ FFLIGHTLIGHT, S, SPRINGPRING 20122012 PPAGEAGE

SteppingstonesNEWSLETTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

PARTNERS IN FLIGHT PROGRAM

SSPRINGPRING 20122012

Monitoring the population of Western Burrowing Owls(Athene cunicularia hypugaea) on Kirtland Air Force Base(KAFB), NM, began in 1998 due to concerns aboutdeclining numbers across much of the species’ range.Several possible mechanisms may be involved in thisdecline, including high predation rates, habitat loss,contaminant exposure, military activities, drought,migration, over-winter habitats, and the decrease inburrowing mammal populations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the Burrowing Owlas a Bird of Conservation Concern in the SouthwestRegion (USFWS 2008). In New Mexico, the New MexicoDepartment of Game and Fish (NMDGF) lists it as aspecies of greatest conservation need (NMDGF 2006), andboth the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of LandManagement (BLM) consider it a sensitive species (USFS2007, BLM 2011).

Research on KAFB examines population status,reproductive success, site fidelity, predation, and preyavailability by comparing different base habitats.Scientists conduct dispersal studies to learn more about

post breeding owlusage on KAFB. Theyalso conduct anannual monitoringstudy to continueefforts to assesspopulation trendsand productivity ofthis species on KAFB.Long-termBurrowing Owlpopulationmonitoring projectsare rare, and thisstudy providesunique insight intopopulation trends ofthis species ofconcern.

Although the KAFB population status has varied over the14 years of study, recent trends have caused alarm. Thenumber of breeding pairs, nest success, and productivityhas declined over time. In 2011, the number of owls andtheir reproductive rates were well below average, andwere the lowest since monitoring of this species began.With only 14 pairs breeding on KAFB in 2011, 86 percentfailed to produce fledglings.

To investigate the high rate of nest failure, scientistsinstalled cameras at nest burrows during the 2011breeding season to gain qualitative behavioral informationat nest sites. These motion-activated cameras recordedten-second digital videos each time the sensors detectedmovement. Cameras recorded images in color duringdaylight hours and in night vision during nighttimehours. These cameras were located at five active burrowsin territories throughout the KAFB owl habitat.

Where Have the Owls Gone?Where Have the Owls Gone?

Military installations provide valuable habitat for birds, and serve asMilitary installations provide valuable habitat for birds, and serve as steppingstonessteppingstones during migration.during migration.

Continued on next page

INSIDE:

Where Have the Owls Gone?…........ 1

Partners in Flight Strategic ActionPlan…............................................... 3

Call for Examples… .......................... 3

Partnership Focus: Cornell Labof Ornithology .................................. .4

Policy Perch… .................................. 5

Western Hemisphere MigratorySpecies Initiative… ........................... 7

View from the Eyrie… ....................... 8

Bird Conservation Initiative Updates . 9

Cross-Bird Puzzle…........................ 10

Answer Key…. ................................ 11

Banded adult Burrowing Owl with insect prey onKirtland Air Force Base (NM).

Photo: Octavio and Kirsten Cruz

DDEPARTMENTEPARTMENT OFOF DDEFENSEEFENSE PPARTNERSARTNERS ININ FFLIGHTLIGHT, S, SPRINGPRING 20122012 PPAGEAGE 22

Where Have the Owls Gone? (cont.)Where Have the Owls Gone? (cont.)

The recorded videosdocumented manybreeding behaviors fromthe adult owls, includingcourtship, prey exchanges,and copulation. Thesevideos also recorded theowls bringing prey intoburrows to feed theiryoung underground and tonestlings around theburrows. Scientistsdocumented a variety ofprey during theseinstances, includingdifferent species of insects,lizards, and birds. Videosof nestling activity aroundthe burrow showedrunning, hopping, wing-flapping and other socialbehaviors of this charismatic owl. Cameras also recordedmany interspecific interactions between Burrowing Owlsand various species of songbirds, rabbits, and prairie dogs.

Videos also recorded disturbance. Low impact humanactivity, including jogging, walking, and biking near theburrows, showed evidence of disturbance to these owls.Cameras documented evidence of high levels ofdisturbance from dogs in nest areas and recorded nestlingsresponding to threats and to the alarm calls from adults.

All five burrow cameras also recorded high levels ofbadger and coyote activity. Badger activity at nest burrowswas greatest during the period after hatching occurred,while the young were still underground. During this time,videos documented badger predation of young owls atthree burrows. Video footage showed the adult owls vigor-ously defending their burrows with aerial attacks, but theywere unsuccessful. Night videos documented a coyotepreying on two young nestlings during subsequent nights.Videos also confirmed that an adult coyote preyed upon anadult female Burrowing Owl.

In 2011, the percent of Burrowing Owl nest failure onKAFB due to predation was 58 percent. Badgers preyedupon young nestlings from six different burrows. An addi-tional nesting pair also failed as a result of predation; theirfirst nesting attempt failed due to rattlesnake egg predationand their second attempt failed after coyotes preyed uponthe nestlings. Researchers could not determine the causesof failure for the remaining nesting pairs. Other known

causes of nest failure documented in previous seasons ofresearch on KAFB include human disturbance (e.g., vehiclecollisions, damage to burrows, mowing, prairie dogcontrol, and heavy activity at or near burrows) andproximity to other nesting owls.

High predation rates are often cited as a possible cause forthe decline of the Burrowing Owl. Possible BurrowingOwl predators in New Mexico include snakes, badgers,coyotes, bobcats, domestic dogs and cats, diurnal raptors,and other owl species. In addition to snakes, badgers, andcoyotes, avian predators know to inhabit Burrowing Owlhabitat on KAFB include Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii),Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni), Red-tailed Hawk(Buteo jamaicensis), Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis),Golden Eagle (Aguila chrysaetos), Merlin (Falco columbarius),Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Prairie Falcon (Falcomexicanus), Barn Owl (Tyto alba), and Great Horned Owl(Bubo virginianus).

Burrowing Owl monitoring on KAFB will continue in the2012 breeding season, with the addition of a new project tosurvey for Burrowing Owl predators. This project will helpdetermine the abundance and distribution of known andpotential Burrowing Owl predators during the breedingseason, and examine their impact on the owl populationat KAFB.

- Kirsten Cruz-McDonnell, Envirological Services, Inc.,Octavio Cruz-Carretero, Envirological Services, Inc., and

Carol A. Finley, Kirtland Air Force Base

YearNumber ofbreeding

pairs

Number ofpairs that

fledged young

Totalnumber offledglings

Averagefledglings perbreeding pair

Averagefledglings persuccessful pair

Nestsuccess

rate1998 52 44 137 2.6 3.1 85%1999 48 39 125 2.6 3.2 81%2000 33 23 90 2.7 3.9 70%2001 20 17 84 4.2 4.9 85%2002 22 14 37 1.7 2.6 64%2003 16 13 60 3.8 4.6 81%2004 19 14 54 2.8 3.9 74%2005 24 17 93 3.9 5.5 71%2006 41 23 103 2.5 4.5 56%2007 34 28 157 4.6 5.6 82%2008 49 33 113 2.3 3.4 67%2009 34 22 61 1.8 2.8 65%2010 26 12 36 1.4 3.0 46%2011 14 2 11 0.8 5.5 14%

Average 31 22 83 2.7 4.0 67%Summary of the Burrowing Owl population trends and reproductive rates from 1998 to 2011 on

Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico.


Partners in Flight Strategic Action PlanPartners in Flight Strategic Action Plan

The Partners in Flight (PIF) Steering Committee held afacilitated strategic planning session on September 11-12,2011, near Omaha, NE. The 21 participants reaffirmed thevalue and centrality of PIF’s mission and goals, and draftedseveral strategies for action. PIF identifies, refines, andprioritizes specific tasks to implement these strategies. Thetimeline for accomplishing these tasks should take amaximum of 36 months, which is substantially shorter thanwhat is typical for this sort of exercise. We believe that thisshort timeline will lead to identifying more specific tasksthat we can realistically accomplish and fewer tasks thatare too grand to achieve.

Participants drafted strategies for PIF to:

institutionalize PIF landbird priorities and objectivesinto agency resource management and evaluationthrough PIF science-based tools within the planningand implementation process;

incorporate effective evaluation programs into local,regional, and international conservation efforts to trackprogress, identify gaps, and prioritize needs;

increase our capacity to support full lifecycleconservation by identifying and addressing limitingfactors, supporting international partnerships, andleveraging and securing additional funding sources;

develop a communications strategy to effectivelydeliver PIF conservation priorities and messages to keyaudiences;

strategically align Joint Ventures (JVs) and PIF scienceand implementation actions to enhance sharedobjectives and conservation goal achievement;

integrate PIF science-basedtools within keypartnerships (e.g., JVs,federal resourcemanagement agencies) atrelevant scales (e.g., local,management unit, BirdConservation Region);

align education and outreachprograms (e.g., InternationalMigratory Bird Day, bird observatories, Auduboncenters) to strategically address landbird conservationpriorities;

integrate landbird conservation priorities with privatelands conservation programs (e.g., Farm Billconservation programs, Partners for Fish and Wildlife,Cooperative Extension programs); and

reduce sources of landbird mortality throughevaluation of cumulative effects and relativeimportance of anthropogenic sources of mortality oflandbirds (e.g., energy development) and create astrategy to address the greatest threats.

The penultimate draft of this plan was widely distributedon March 1, 2012, and was discussed during variouscommittee meetings at the North American Wildlife andNatural Resources Conference in Atlanta, March 10-15. Ifyou are not on one of the PIF listservs and would like toreceive a copy of the Strategic Plan for review, pleasecontact Terry Rich ([email protected]).

- Terry Rich, Partners in Flight

Call for Examples!Call for Examples!

Send program-wide NR accomplishments to use in speeches,testimonies, etc. to [email protected].

Provides and protects access to land, sea, and air assetsthrough regulatory compliance;

Meets missionscape requirements for military use; Protects endangered and threatened species, and avoids

critical habitat designation through effective management; Avoids or minimizes adverse regulatory actions; Seeks to minimize restrictions/encroachment to testing and

training; Ensures sustainable use of lands and no net loss of

wetlands; Promotes enhanced public awareness of DoD’s mission, its

requirements and its accomplishments; and Provides recreational opportunities for soldiers, their

families and the public.

The Red Knot makes one of the longest yearly migrations of anybird, traveling 9,300 miles from its Arctic breeding grounds to

Tierra del Fuego in South America.Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service


The Cornell Lab ofOrnithology, founded in1915 by Arthur Allen, is auniquely positionedresearch and conservationorganization that sits

within a major university. Our mission, “to understandand conserve the earth’s biodiversity through research,education, and citizen science, focused on birds”, speaks toour parallel long-term goals of advancing the science ofornithology, while communicating about science and thewonder of birds in an accessible way to the general public.As a conservation organization, we advocate for the use ofsound science in policy decision-making and resourcemanagement, and for the importance of birds as indicatorsof environmental health and human quality of life.Although the Lab is an academic unit of CornellUniversity, we operate as a non-profit organizationsupported by membership (roughly 45,000), privatedonations, and grants and contracts from foundations,government agencies, and commercial entities. Our homesince 2006 is the world-class Johnson Center for Birds andBiodiversity, built next to Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca, NY,and houses an interactive visitor center as well as rotatingart exhibits.

The Cornell Lab focuses its science and outreach activitiesin nine program areas (www.birds.cornell.edu), includingbasic and applied research in bird population studies,evolutionary biology, bioacoustics, conservation science,and information science. Our education programintegrates birds into Kindergaten-12th grade school sciencecurricula as well as both global and local outreach. Aunique program in Citizen Science engages more than200,000 participants of all skill levels in projects rangingfrom simple bird observations (eBird, www.eBird.org) tocomplex studies of nesting biology and habitatfragmentation. Another signature Cornell Lab program isthe Macaulay Library, which archives and makes availablethe world’s largest collection of natural sounds and videosof animals. Our newest program is a state-of-the-artMultimedia production unit that leverages the Lab’s audioand video resources into compelling communicationspieces ranging from pressing conservation issues (e.g. Stateof the Birds, www.stateofthebirds.org/) to training forbirders and scientists (e.g., All About Birds,www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=1270&ac=ac), tothe absolute wonder of birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology,www.youtube.com/LabofOrnithology). As part of ouroverall communications effort, the Lab publishes theaward-winning Living Bird magazine and offers a wide

variety of web resources, including Birds of NorthAmerica Online (www.bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/).

Across all of the Cornell Lab programs run the themes ofcutting-edge scientific research, training of bothprofessional and amateur scientists, innovative technologydevelopment and application, acquisition andmanagement of massively large databases, engagement ofdiverse audiences, and global reach in conservationthrough strategic partnerships. Often serving as theinterface between science and policy, Cornell Lab scientistsand educators play leadership roles in numerousconservation partnership initiatives, including Partners inFlight, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S.State of the Birds, and Bird Education Alliance forConservation. In addition, the Lab’s NeotropicalConservation Initiative focuses on training, birdmonitoring, and conservation activities throughout LatinAmerica and the Caribbean regions.

Among the Cornell Lab’s most valued partners in researchand conservation is the Department of Defense (DoD).Through DoD’s Strategic Environmental Research andDevelopment Program (SERDP) and Legacy ResourceManagement (Legacy) Programs, the Lab has beenworking over the past decade to design and developtechnologies and analysis systems for remote acousticmonitoring for hard-to-detect birds and other wildlife.These efforts build on previous and ongoing work withthe U.S. Navy to develop and apply passive acousticmethods for monitoring marine mammal populations onocean basin scales, and studying potential effects of

Partnership Focus: Cornell Lab of OrnithologyPartnership Focus: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Phainopepla, a Continental Stewardship Species, has75% of itsbreeding population in the Southwest Avifaunal Biome.

Photo: Ken Rosenberg



Partnership Focus: Cornell Lab of Ornithology (cont.)Partnership Focus: Cornell Lab of Ornithology (cont.)

anthropogenic noise on baleen whales. The terrestrialmonitoring work began at Fort Hood, TX, where a teamfrom Cornell’s Bioacoustics Research Program sought todevelop a monitoring system for the federally endangeredBlack-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler ininaccessible portions of the base due to unexplodedordnance (UXO). The team developed the first prototype ofan automated remote recording unit (ARU), as well assoftware to extract and classify the target bird songs withinthe ambient recordings. The most innovative aspect of thisproject was the use of a radio-controlled, helium-filledballoon that carried the microphone across vast UXOzones, resulting in the recording and accurate census ofhundreds of vireos and warblers.

Building on the success of the work at Fort Hood, theCornell Lab partnered with DoD on a series of Legacyprojects to further develop and implement remote acousticmonitoring on and around military bases. From 2005-2007,we established a transect of six bases in the northeasternU.S., from Fort Drum, NY, to Patuxent Naval Air Station,MD, where we deployed ARUs programmed to record thecalls of nocturnally migrating birds. The goal of this studywas to test a system that could monitor fall and springmigration in the airspace above these military bases, relatethe abundance and composition of bird migration tomilitary use of this airspace (to assess potential bird-airplane strikes), and to assess the importance of militarylands as potential stopover sites for migrant birds

throughout the region. During the same time period, wecollaborated with Rich Fischer, Army Corps of Engineers,on a study of bird migration along the Lower ColoradoRiver near Yuma, AZ. We also conducted test deploymentsto record nocturnal migration at additional westernmilitary bases, including Yakima Training Center, WA,Camp Pendleton, CA, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA,and began deployments to monitor nocturnally callingWhip-poor-wills – a species of conservation concern – atFort Drum. The success of this latter work, which includedthe development of highly accurate detection software, ledto the expansion of surveys for the Mexican Whip-poor-will and Mexican Spotted Owl at Fort Huachuca, AZ.

In addition to providing vital support and partnershipsduring all phases of our acoustic monitoring research, DoDpartnered with the Cornell Lab to create a controlled-accessDoD portal to eBird (www.ebird.org/content/dod). Thisportal archives bird observations and survey data frommilitary lands in an easily accessible database, andcombines them with bird data from surrounding regions.Both DoD eBird and acoustic monitoring were integratedinto the overall bird monitoring strategy for DoD, whichCornell Lab scientists helped develop. The Cornell Lab ofOrnithology is proud to host the annual DoD Partners inFlight meeting in May 2012.

- Ken Rosenberg, Director of Conservation Science at the CornellLaboratory of Ornithology


I saw my first Spring Robin on Leap Day and heard achorus of Spring Peepers the next evening, sure signs that arush of other spring activities are upon us: managementreviews, legislative hearings, budget battles, DoD LegacyResource Management Program (Legacy) project awards,and National Military Fish and Wildlife Association andDoD Partners in Flight (PIF) meetings.

You can read updates on some of these broader DoDNatural Resources Conservation Compliance Programtopics in my Naturally Speaking column in the Winter 2012Natural Selections newsletter, “More Challenges, MoreOversight, Fewer Resources.” Subjects covered includebudget, metrics and management reviews, candidatespecies, and climate change Impacts. Hence, in this columnI’ll focus on more bird-centric topics. To read the full articleplease visit:www.dodnaturalresources.net/Resources.html.

Policy PerchPolicy Perch

Lewis’s Woodpecker nests in western riparian areas. Fewerthan 150,000 exist, making it a high conservation priority.

Photo: Ken Rosenberg


Policy Perch (cont.)Policy Perch (cont.)

New DoD PIF Fact SheetsThis new series of eight fact sheets summarizesthe key focus areas from the DoD PIF StrategicPlan that support and enhance the militarymission: stewardship, partnerships/cooperation,communications, habitat and speciesmanagement, bird/animal aircraft strike hazard,monitoring, research, and information and education. Eachfact sheet describes the focus area goal, providesbackground information, and summarizes key priorities.Although the updated Strategic Plan remains on hold, wefelt it important to share some of the Plan’s key elements.

Endangered Species DayThe DoD Natural Resources Conservation ComplianceProgram will join the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS), the Endangered Species Coalition, and othergroups and agencies at the Endangered Species DayFestival at the U.S. Botanic Garden on Friday, May 18, 2012.While this relatively new celebration, created by the U.S.Senate in May 2006, might appear to compete withInternational Migratory Bird Day for scarce outreachresources, I feel it’s a complementary option to reach out toyour surrounding communities. This is especially truesince efforts to protect federally-listed birds and theirhabitats have dominated DoD’s endangered speciesexpenditures for the past 20 years; 45 percent of our totalexpenditures over this period ($380 million) have gone tosome 69 listed bird species. Also, eight of the top tenspecies (by cumulative expenditures) and four of the topseven new candidate species (see below) are birds. MajGenMike Lehnert, USMC (ret) provides more detail onEndangered Species Day in his article, “Not Such anUnlikely Alliance,” in the Winter 2012 Natural Selections.

Candidate SpeciesAs I mention in Natural Selections, the Multi-DistrictLitigation court settlement between USFWS and the Centerfor Biological Diversity and Wild Earth Guardians requiresUSFWS to evaluate 251 candidate species by 2017 forpotential addition to the Endangered Species list. TheMilitary Departments have identified 60 of these species onor adjacent to DoD lands, including nine with the potentialto impact military activities, if listed. Four of these speciesare birds—Greater Sage-Grouse, Yellow-billed Cuckoo,Red Knot, and Streaked Horned Lark. We are workingwith both the USFWS and the Military Services to identifyways to enhance information flow and identify alternativemeans to protect both species and the military mission.

Bald and Golden Eagle GuidanceThere’s been little recent movement from USFWS to

develop guidelines for incidental take permits forbald and golden eagles. I expect this may changeonce ongoing wind energy permitting issues havebeen resolved. Until that happens, our office haslittle support to develop proactive DoD policy.

DoD Legacy Program UpdateWe recently received final products for three bird-relatedLegacy projects. Each of these has been posted on DENIXand the DoD PIF Web site:

Migratory linkages of Burrowing Owls on DoDinstallations (Project 09-243);

Assessing BASH risk potential of migrating andbreeding Osprey in the Mid-Atlantic Chesapeake BayRegion (Project 08-292); and

Tracing the geographic origin of migratory birdsbreeding on DoD lands using stable isotopes (Project09-427).

In addition, we’ve finally been able to release FY2012 fundsfor about 40 natural and cultural resources projects. Amongthose funded projects, the following are bird-related:

Habitat use at multiple scales by Pinyon-juniper birds; Great Basin bird species-at-risk and invasive species

management partnership; Meta-population dynamics of Le Conte’s Thrasher: a

species at risk on three southwestern militaryinstallations;

Implementation of the DoD Coordinated BirdMonitoring Plan;

Bird population estimates for priority species onmilitary installations;

Identifying migratory routes and wintering grounds ofBurrowing Owls that breed on DoD installationsthroughout the western United States; and

Assessing the importance of wetlands on DoDinstallations for the persistence of wetland-dependentbirds in North America.

Understanding declines in Rusty Blackbirds

I hope to get approval for releasing additional funds withinthe next 4-6 weeks.

These are extremely challenging times for all of us – naturalresources professionals, military testers and trainers,budget officials, and regulators, to name just a few. Pleaselet me know if you see ways in which my colleagues and Iin the various Headquarters offices can help you meet yourmission support and stewardship responsibilities.

- Peter Boice, Deputy Director, Natural Resources


All of the countries inthe WesternHemisphere share acommon biological,cultural, and economicheritage — our migratory birds, whales, bats, sea turtles,and butterflies. As these species' ranges span internationalboundaries, conservation stakeholders throughout theAmericas need to work closely together to ensure theprotection and conservation of their myriad of habitatsand migratory routes.

The Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative’s(WHMSI) mission is to significantly contribute to theconservation of the migratory species of the WesternHemisphere by strengthening cooperation andcommunication among states, countries, internationalinitiatives, and civil society, and by expandingconstituencies, awareness, and political support. Allcountries in the Western Hemisphere are parties tointernational conventions, treaties, and accords by whichthey are committed to the conservation of migratoryspecies. WHMSI assists countries in fulfilling thiscommitment.

Wildlife agency directors and other senior officialsestablished WHMSI when they gathered in Chile in 2003as a cooperative hemispheric mechanism to conserveshared migratory species. Based on the priorities identifiedat that meeting, WHMSI seeks to:

build country capacity to conserve and managemigratory wildlife;

improve hemispheric communication on conservationissues of common interest;

strengthen the information exchange needed forinformed decision making; and

provide a forum through which emerging issues canbe identified and addressed.

WHMSI is a non-binding mechanism thatin no way addressesclaims of sovereigntyover disputed territories

among any interested states. Its principles and objectivesrepresent a consensus among all participants. WHMSI isnon-prescriptive and was created to facilitate cooperationamong both governmental and non-governmentalinterests throughout the hemisphere. Therefore, WHMSIfocuses only on migratory species conservation matters ofbroad common interest, particularly those which willdeliver positive results on the ground.

The WHMSI web site offers a number of resources,including a database of organizations and experts workingto conserve migratory species in the Americas that issearchable by organization, country, and taxa.Organizations have the option of adding resources (e.g.,project results, reports, monitoring programs) thatWHMSI users can access. The Department of Defense iscurrently listed as a partner organization. If you haveprojects or monitoring programs that you would likeincluded on this resource, contact Chris Eberly. For moreinformation, see www.whmsi.net/index.cfm.

- Chris Eberly,DoD Partners in Flight

Western Hemisphere Migratory Species InitiativeWestern Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative

The Rusty Blackbird, aDoD PIF priorityspecies, is one of NorthAmerica’s most rapidlydeclining species. Itspends both thebreeding and non-breeding seasons onmilitary lands.Photo: U.S. Fish andWildlife Service

The Long-billed Curlew, a DoD PIF priority species, is NorthAmerica’s largest shorebird. It breeds in the grasslands of the

Great Plains and Great Basin.Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service


I hope you were able to attend the National Military Fishand Wildlife Association (NMFWA) Annual TrainingWorkshop in Atlanta, GA. We held a DoD Partners inFlight (PIF) meeting as a forum for information exchangeon key issues related to bird conservation and sustainingthe military mission. Thanks for your participation.

During the weekend prior to the NMFWA Workshop, thenational PIF Steering Committee held its spring meeting inAthens, GA, where participants finalized a new StrategicAction Plan. The Plan, initiated at the fall meeting inNebraska, currently has three main goals to address overthe next three years:1. Increase the capacity to support full life-cycle

conservation;2. Integrate and institutionalize the PIF approach,

priorities, and objectives into agency, Joint Venture,and private land management and conservationsystems; and

3. Expand PIF’s constituencies, audiences, and partnersthrough more effective communications, education,and outreach about PIF conservation priorities andmessages.

DoD PIF is holding its annual planning meeting in May atthe Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Cornell Lab scientists willgive presentations about Legacy- and SERDP-fundedprojects. Other key topics will include full-life cyclestewardship, monitoring implementation and priorityspecies, Legacy and SERDP funding, and strategicperformance goals and measures.

We will finalize the DoD Coordinated Bird MonitoringPlan in the very near future, and will post it on the DoDPIF website. Currently, we are working with AmericanBird Conservancy on a Legacy-funded project to develop

population estimates for the highest priority bird speciesat each military installation. This resource provides naturalresources managers with a tool to better identify andprioritize monitoring activities for those species which, ifcurrent population trends continue, could becomefederally-listed in the future. We identified the species thathave the most potential to impact the Military’s trainingmission. This tool will help DoD resource managers applyscarce monitoring resources to the species that need it themost, protecting the future mission through fewer listingsof species under the Endangered Species Act. The currentlist of priority species is available as a DoD PIF PrioritySpecies for Monitoring fact sheet at www.dodpif.org/publications/factsheets.php. Installation populationestimates for these priority species are forthcoming.

I am pleased to see the DoD Partners in Amphibian andReptile Conservation (PARC) effort moving forward. DoDPIF and DoD PARC have much synergy in our missions.While we focus on different taxa, we both strive to sustainand enhance the military mission by conserving priorityspecies and their habitats. DoD PIF will continue to workwith and support DoD PARC in their ongoing efforts toprovide resources to assist DoD personnel in doing theirjobs more efficiently. We hope the successes of DoD PIFwill lead to similar progress for DoD PARC and othertaxonomic groups (e.g., bats) within DoD.

And lastly, I was honored to receive NMFWA’s “NaturalResources Conservation Management, Model Programs”award at the NMFWA banquet. It was a special eveningfor several reasons: the banquet was held at Zoo Atlanta,where I volunteered 20 years ago; NMFWA President (andDoD PIF Research and Monitoring Working Group chair)Rich Fischer presented the award to me; and the award isfrom the incredibly dedicated and passionate members ofNMFWA like you with whom I am privileged to workevery day. Thank you!

- Chris Eberly, DoD Partners in Flight

View From the EyrieView From the Eyrie

Photo: Junior Kerns

NMFWA Workshop participantswent on a field trip to Fort Ben-ning. Fort Benning supports thesecond largest Red-cockadedWoodpecker (RCW) population inGeorgia and is considered by theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asa recovery population for thespecies. Fort Benning's RCWpopulation continues to bemonitored, and on-site personnelutilize prescribed burning andforestry practices as the mainhabitat management tools for thespecies. Photo: USFWS

http://www.dodpif.org/publications/factsheets.php


Bird Conservation Initiative UpdatesBird Conservation Initiative Updates

Council for the Conservation of Migratory BirdsExecutive Order (EO) 13186, Responsibilities of FederalAgencies to Protect Migratory Birds, established the Councilfor the Conservation of Migratory Birds (Council) andidentified four duties related to implementing the EO:1. Share the latest resource information to assist in the

conservation and management of migratory birds;2. Develop an annual report of accomplishments and

recommendations related to the EO;3. Foster partnerships to further the goals of the EO; and4. Select an annual recipient of a Presidential Migratory

Bird Federal Stewardship Award for contributions tothe protection of migratory birds.

Mr. John Conger, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary ofDefense (Installations & Environment), represents DoD onthe Council. Chris Eberly and Peter Boice provide staffsupport to Mr. Conger. The Council will hold its annualmeeting on April 4. The Council will review PresidentialMigratory Bird Federal Stewardship Award nominationsand select the winner.

A Council subcommittee is currently preparing the firstannual report. Various agencies were asked to complete asurvey with questions related to implementing the EO.Each agency received respective survey results, but thereport will only present information relative to all of theagencies combined. The intent of the report is not to singleout an agency (for positive or negative reasons), but ratherto allow the Council to see how well agencies as a wholeare implementing the EO. The report will be approved atthe Council’s April meeting and released shortly thereafter.Additional subcommittees are working on:

Conservation Measures—compiling existing measures(best management practices) and making theseavailable for agencies to view and use.

Avian Resources—providing a mechanism for agencypersonnel to search available bird data resources.

Partners in Flight (see www.partnersinflight.org)Steering CommitteeThe Partners in Flight (PIF) Steering Committee isfinalizing a Strategic Action Plan. This process began lastSeptember at a meeting in Omaha, NE. A follow up springmeeting was held in Athens, GA, March 10-11. The Planfocuses on tasks that can be completed in the next 36months. The Committee is currently reviewing theinitial list of nine goals; each goal has several specific tasksaligned to it. Implementing the priorities andmethodologies of the PIF planning process into agencyplanning and management is a key focus of the Plan.

Federal Agency CommitteeThe federal agencies participating in PIF are evaluating theeffectiveness of current activities, including how thiscommittee can best complement the EO Council and theNorth American Bird Conservation Initiative. Other actionsinclude stepping down the 2011 State of the Birds report onpublic lands within individual agencies.

Science CommitteeThe Science Committee continues to meet several times ayear. Committee priorities include the Species AssessmentDatabase, Neotropical Birds species accounts, full life-cyclemodeling, population objectives and Joint Venture (JV)science support, North American Wetlands ConservationAct maps for landbirds, the 2012 North AmericanOrnithological Conference symposium, State of the Birds2011 step-down products, Audubon/PIF forest birdImportant Bird Areas, and maintaining/improvingcommunications with Canada and Mexico.

The new Tri-Initiative Science Team (TRIST), created tofacilitate scientific communication and collaborationamong the bird habitat JVs and the landbird, shorebird,and waterbird conservation partnerships in NorthAmerica, has an initial focus on population objectives,effectiveness monitoring, and geographic priorities.

North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI; seewww.nabci-us.org)The U.S. NABCI Committee met in Arlington, VA inJanuary. Paul Schmidt, recently retired from hisposition as Assistant Director of Migratory Birds for theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), was announced asthe new PIF representative to the U.S. NABCI Committee.Paul is now the Chief Conservation Officer for DucksUnlimited. Current members of the U.S. NABCICommittee include federal agencies (USFWS, U.S.Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, Department ofDefense, Bureau of Land Management, National ParkService, Natural Resources Conservation Service, FarmService Agency), state agency groups (Association of Fishand Wildlife Agencies [AFWA], Resident Game Bird andMigratory Shore and Upland Game Bird Working Groupsof AFWA), non-governmental groups (American BirdConservancy, The Nature Conservancy, National AudubonSociety, Ducks Unlimited), and bird initiatives (PIF, NorthAmerican Waterfowl Management Plan, U.S. ShorebirdConservation Plan, Waterbird Conservation for theAmericas, National Flyway Council, JVs).

- Chris Eberly,DoD Partners in Flight


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Thanks to Peter Boice for thisedition’s cross-bird puzzle!


DoD PIF Program CoordinatorChris Eberly ([email protected])

DoD PIF National RepresentativeJoe Hautzenroder ([email protected])

Deputy Director, Natural ResourcesPeter Boice ([email protected])

PPOINTOINT OFOF CCONTACTSONTACTS

CCCONTRIBUTINGONTRIBUTINGONTRIBUTING TOTOTO THETHETHE DDDOOOD PIF ND PIF ND PIF NEWSLETTEREWSLETTEREWSLETTER ISISIS EEEASYASYASY!!!Want to highlight bird conservation efforts on your installation?

Have a great bird image you just have to share?Send your ideas and images to Chris or Erica.

DoD PIF Websitewww.dodpif.org

National and Regional PIF Coordinatorswww.partnersinflight.org/contactus.cfm

Steppingstones Editor, Chris Eberly ([email protected])Steppingstones Production, Erica Adler, Booz Allen Hamilton([email protected])

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Documents

LIGHT PRING AGE Steppingstones - DENIX · To investigate the high rate of nest failure, scientists installed cameras at nest burrows during the 2011 breeding season to gain qualitative