Prairie Bird Conservation through Range Management

the most successful aspect of the project was the development of the Pocket Guide to Prairie Birds and CD which Gillihan notes, “couldn’t have been developed without SARE and NRCS”

With funds from NRCS and a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program professional development grant, the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) is helping reverse prairie bird population decline by working with Federal agency staff and landowners to better identify critical species and amend land practices to better suit rare bird species. The nonprofit conservation organization based in Colorado has developed a wide-ranging training program that so far has familiarized 70 NRCS and other resource specialists and almost 90 landowners with bird conservation techniques on rangeland in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Their workshop series features on-the-range training to test bird-survey techniques and ways to manage land to promote bird populations. Birds perform critical ecological functions like seed dispersal, insect and mammal control, prey for other animals and removal of carrion. 

 The project developed after landowners told Tammy VerCauteren and Scott Gillihan of the RMBO they wanted to document their contributions to bird conservation. Moreover, they were eager to learn new range management techniques to improve prairie bird populations. RMBO applied for a SARE grant to fund an outreach program that would heighten awareness of grassland birds with resource professionals and landowners while also providing them with the technical tools to integrate range management with bird conservation.

In the professional development program, RMBO focused on vegetative management as different species require different habitat types and vegetative structure. For example, some species require taller, denser vegetation for nesting, while others require open spaces, short vegetation or a “patchy” structure. They also featured prescribed grazing as a management tool, since various grassland bird species are adapted to differing vegetation conditions influenced by the intensity, timing and duration of cattle on the landscape.

By far, the most successful aspect of the project was the development of the Pocket Guide to Prairie Birds which Gillihan notes, “couldn’t have been developed without SARE and NRCS.” After an initial print run of 10,000, the pocket guide was so popular, the RMBO re-printed three times for a total of 55,000 copies. The pocket guide, which contains photographs, distribution maps and information on identification, habitat and feeding, provides users with an “at-their-fingertips” resource for integrating birds into their management and monitoring efforts.

during a workshop in Wibeaux, Montana, small, group sessions on bird habitat requirements and management recommendations for habitat enhancement were held. (photo by Scott Gillihan)

After workshop attendees expressed interest in identifying birds through their calls, RMBO developed a special prairie birds version of the North American Bird Reference CD-ROM that features 120 species occurring in the Great Plains region. “People were excited to learn about the different birds and mentioned that they did not know there were so many different species using the grasslands,” Tammy VerCauteren said. “Several attendees mentioned they would take what they learned and start incorporating it into their profession and/or the land they own or manage.”

The books and CDs are distributed through partnering agencies and organizations, including SARE and NRCS. With 70 percent of the shortgrass prairie in private hands, NRCS will play a key role by working with landowners and land managers to conserve birds and their habitat.