House Fich. Photo: USFWS

The Big Sit - Easy Birdwatching. Plan on Participating

October 2, 2008
Here is some information about an event happening on Sunday, Oct. 12: The Big Sit! The object of the day will be to tally as many bird species as can be seen or heard in one day. The Big Sit! has been dubbed "birding's most sedentary event" because it is held in one place, with observers inside a circle 17 feet in diameter.

Birdwatchers remain in the circle for a few hours to as much as 24 hours, counting all the bird species seen and heard. It's simple: find a spot; sit in it; and have fun.

The Big Sit! can be an educational experience for anyone participating and visiting the circle. Remember that there is nothing like a personal invitation to get people involved in birding and bird conservation. If you are an experienced birder, invite a beginner to join in the activity with you. If you are a beginning birdwatcher, come and join in the learning yourself. Whether you participate in the event or not, you can help promote it through whatever channels are available to you.

This is sponsored by the Bird Watchers Digest. For complete information on how you can set up your own event or participate go to their website.

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Fish & Wildlife Service Partners with Private Landowners to Protect Prairie Chickens

Male lesser prairie-chicken. Photo credit:  Nancy Riley, USFWS

April 2008
Because of the dramatic decline in lesser prairie-chicken numbers over the last fifty years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has identified the lesser prairie-chicken as a Candidate Species for Federal listing under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. Researchers studying mortality factors for the birds in the southwestern United States found that collisions (mainly with fences) account for 35 percent of the hen mortalities in New Mexico. During the 7th Annual Prairie Chicken Festival in Milnesand, New Mexico, this April, the Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program installed three miles of fence markers on private landowners’ fences in the heart of the New Mexico lesser prairie-chicken population in an effort to reduce adult hen mortality and improve nesting and brood-rearing success. Read the complete article by Nancy Riley.

Habitat Restoration Project Yields More Pecos Sunflowers

October 2008
The Pecos sunflower is a rare wetland annual plant that grows on wet, alkaline soils at spring seeps, wet meadows and pond margins in New Mexico and Texas.  New Mexico State Forestry Division purchased and restored 116 acres near Santa Rosa, New Mexico to protect the rare Pecos sunflower.  The Service gave a grant of $75,000 under their Recovery Land Acquisition program and the New Mexico Dept. of Transportation granted the other $75,000 to purchase the cienega.  The attached report illustrates with ‘before and after’ photos how a natural area is restored to achieve the desired effect – lots of sunflowers.

"Natural cienega wetlands are very rare and threatened habitats in New Mexico,” said State Forestry Division’s Rare and Endangered Plant Program Manager Bob Sivinski.  “A cienega is like an oasis in a desert that provides habitat for many unique native plants and animals. By preserving Blue Hole Cienega, we’re protecting a rare habitat and providing a way to help the Pecos Sunflower recover its population. Our goal is to be able to remove this plant from the endangered and threatened lists.”

Blue Hole Cienega

Wildlife Refuges Severely Impacted by Hurricane Ike:
Some Facilities Completely Lost, Remain Closed to Public

September 2008
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is reporting that due to impacts caused by Hurricane Ike, four National Wildlife Refuges (Refuge) on the Texas Gulf Coast remain closed to the public. The Texas Chenier Plains Complex, which includes Anahuac, Texas Point, Moody, and McFaddin Refuges, sustained a direct hit from the hurricane and almost total destruction of all facilities.

Until further notice, all public activities on these four refuges are being suspended. This includes public visitation, and all previously scheduled events and hunts.

Read More

Scientists, Land Managers Grapple with Effects of Climate Change on Southwest Wildlife

August 19, 2008
Scientists and land managers will gather in Tucson this week at a climate change workshop. Sponsored by the Southwest and California/Nevada Regions of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Region, the workshop will address the effects of a changing climate on habitat and wildlife in arid and semiarid ecosystems.
Press Release
What else the Fish and Wildlife Service is Doing to Address Climate Change
A Message from Service Director H. Dale Hall on Climate Change

Please see our National Fish and Wildlife Service Web site for more information on our activities in other areas of the country.

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