Partnering with CALFED 

California Partners in Flight organizations will have significant opportunities over the next six months to influence and participate in the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. Public scrutiny of the Bay-Delta Program is currently focused on the selection of one of three alternatives for securing CaliforniaÕs water supply, each of which includes significant new water storage and diversions. The Riparian Habitat Joint Venture (RHJV) and Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) are, however, limiting our focus to the Ecosystem Restoration Program (ERP), one of six common elements proposed as part of the Bay-Delta solution. Despite its emphasis on anadromous fish, the ERP will clearly have profound impacts on CaliforniaÕs bird populations. Over the next 20 to 30 years, CALFEDÕs restoration expenditures are expected to top $1 billion. Already over $32 million have been granted for riparian protection and restoration projects in the Central Valley, and an additional $900,000 for wetland restoration in the Delta and north Bay. Proposed ecosystem restoration goals include increasing riparian habitat in the Central Valley by up to 24,000 acres, and increasing tidal/saline emergent marsh in the Delta and Suisun Bays by up to 13,500 acres. 

The first round of public comment on the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Bay Delta Program closed on July 1, 1998. Both the RHJV and PRBO submitted comments. Our focus was (1) the need for greater integration of the CALFED program with the RHJVÕs Riparian Bird Conservation Plan and (2) the utility of bird monitoring in facilitating adaptive management. A copy of the comments submitted may be obtained from the PRBO or RHJV websites (see below). Another round of public comment on the preferred alternative for the Bay-Delta is scheduled to occur later in the year (12/98). 
 
Additionally, a second round of ecosystem restoration grants will be awarded this summer subsequent to the release of CALFEDÕs May Proposal Solicitation Package. Applications were due to CALFED by July 2, 1998. It is possible that additional funding for monitoring may become available subsequent to completion of the Bay-Delta monitoring program described below. 

The RHJV and PRBO have been following the unfolding of the ERP and its adaptive management component. We are seeking to ensure proper restoration and management of habitats to benefit birds and other terrestrial species by working with three aspects of CALFEDÕs developing monitoring program, all of which are proceeding collaboratively on parallel tracks. They are (1) the Comprehensive Monitoring, Assessment and Research Program (CMARP), (2) the Indicators Group, and (3) CALFEDÕs Strategic Plan for Ecosystem Restoration. 

The CMARP will be CALFEDÕs vehicle for adaptive management of ecosystem restoration and management actions. In addition, it will also most likely be the program used by California Dept. of Fish & Game, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service  to monitor the effects of Bay-Delta projects and mitigation actions on listed and sensitive species. 

The Indicators Group is a group of experts which includes CALFED staff, agency staff and stakeholders. The Indicators Group is developing a list of appropriate indicators of ecosystem function and habitat health, which will then be incorporated into CMARP. 

CALFED is developing the Strategic Plan for Ecosystem Restoration in place of their originally proposed adaptive management program (Volume 3 of the Ecosystem Restoration Program Plan released in summer of 1997). CALFED staff, working closely with a Òcore teamÓ of scientific advisors, is drafting the plan which is scheduled for release and public comment in August 1998. The Strategic Plan will incorporate elements of the CMARP and the Indicators Group, as well as the framework for a Bay-Delta Science Program. 

As initially defined in 1997, the ERP adaptive management plan overlooked the extensive amount of bird data that California Partners in Flight participants had collected in riparian habitats of the Central Valley. Bird monitoring was also neglected as a technique for assessing the success of restoration projects. For example, opportunities to benefit neotropical migratory bird habitats were to be identified simply by using aerial photographs. 
 
Now, however, PRBO biologists have recently been invited to participate on one of several workgroups who will assist in development of the CMARP. PRBO, on behalf of the RHJV, will bring to the table seven years worth of riparian bird and habitat data, including information on productivity and nesting success. Such data will help prioritize protection and restoration actions with the goal of benefiting declining bird species. Once CALFED restoration projects are implemented, evaluation using established bird monitoring techniques will be relatively inexpensive compared to water quality and other wildlife monitoring. These techniques also can show significant results in as little as two to four years. For example, working with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, PRBO demonstrated that a newly restored riparian site along the Sacramento River increased in species diversity by 73% from year 2 to year 4 of the project. Revegetated sites ranging in age from 4 to 10 years supported species diversity comparable to mature riparian habitat. Most importantly, results from these data have been used for recommendations to increase the value of future restoration projects to wildlife. 
 

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RHJV Implementation Board Supports Riparian Bird Conservation Planning Process 

Lyann Comrack 
RHJV Coordinator 

The Riparian Habitat Joint Venture (RHJV) Implementation Board held their spring meeting March 31, 1998 in Sacramento, California. The Board, led by outgoing chair Daniel Taylor of Audubon-California, was impressed by a multimedia presentation on the Riparian Bird Conservation planning process and other recent undertakings of the RHJV Technical Committee and expressed unanimous support for this innovative conservation planning approach. 

Featured speakers at the meeting provided the context for RHJV planning efforts. Peter Stangel, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Director of Migratory Bird Conservation Initiative, presented an overview of the history of Partners in Flight (PIF), and the current impetus to create a national Bird Conservation Plan. Geoff Geupel, Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) and California PIF co-chair, elaborated on the California Flight Plan as a model for habitat driven bird conservation activities.  Then, RHJV Coordinator Lyann Comrack provided the history and current status of the RHJV. 

The heart of the program centered on the Riparian Bird Conservation Plan (BCP) - theory and application (see FLIGHT LOG #5, #6 for background of BCPs). Greg Elliot, NFWF & PRBO, explained that this process was designed to look at the needs of a complete range of riparian species and their habitats statewide. Through examination of riparian bird species information, experts were able to extract the commonalities and differences of the individual species requirements. Further synthesis of this information will lead to an Action Plan Summary. Here, key recommendations will be developed in the following categories: target populations and locations, habitat acquisition and restoration, management recommendations, and monitoring and research. These recommendations will be offered to guide the conservation efforts statewide. A draft of the BCP is expected in late July, 1998. 

Biologists and planners have already discovered the value of bird conservation planning. Using the San Joaquin River Bioregional Plan as an example, Grant Ballard, PRBO and Paula Landis, Bureau of Reclamation, demonstrated how the bird models do have a real-world application. The San Joaquin River Bioregional Plan proponents are using current riparian habitat and the RHJV bird data to create a predictive model which will guide that proposed restoration project. RHJV further plans to provide these data to other bioregional groups to assist in local planning efforts and also to improve their quality by incorporating information from local sources. 

Two new members to the RHJV were welcomed, California Department of Water Resources and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, bringing the total membership to eighteen cooperating agencies and organizations. In addition to the new members, representatives from many of the other cooperators were in attendance: Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, California Department of Fish and Game, California State Lands Commission, National Audubon Society, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Resources Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Service, and Wildlife Conservation Board. 

At the close of the meeting, Dan Evans, PRBO, graciously accepted the challenge to guide the RHJV through the next year of change as the new Chair of the Implementation Board. He scheduled the next Board meeting for October, 1998 at which time the completed Bird Conservation Plan will be revealed. 

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Partnerships for Stewardship: 
Vandenberg AFB Leads the Way 

Daniel Evans 
PRBO Executive Director 

With all the negative news these days of global warming, increased pollution, declining species, and alien invasions, do you ever wonder if there is any good news from the natural world? Take heart; I am happy to report that the national Partners In Flight program is promoting some innovative conservation solutions. A key to that success has been creation of partnerships for better stewardship.  

One example of a unique partnership -- a relatively new one -- involves the Department of Defense. That's right, the DOD has recently adopted a policy to "promote and support the protection and conservation of neotropical migratory birds and their habitat by protecting vital habitat, enhancing biodiversity, and maintaining healthy, productive natural systems on their lands." So how does this translate into action? DOD natural resource staff are becoming more involved with PIF and now include bird components in their land management programs. 

It may come as a surprise to some, but the DOD has all the ingredients for creative conservation. Take Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California as a model. All the key components are there -- an extensive land base to work with, institutional goals, and dedicated people to make it happen. Created in the early 1940s as an army tank and artillery training area, Vandenberg now supports a wide range of military, NASA, and commercial missile launch programs under the Air Force. This year I had the opportunity to visit and tour the base, situated in the transitional zone where vegetation types from northern and southern California overlap. I was struck by the beauty and great habitat diversity of the area. One of its most impressive features is an expansive 35 mile stretch of undeveloped coastline with rocky cliffs and long sandy beaches. Abundant sea otters, Snowy Plovers, and Least Terns in their nesting colonies clearly show a marine and coastal paradise. More importantly for neotropical migrants are the 98,000 acres of highly varied terrain. Three of California's most threatened habitats are well represented: coastal scrub, riparian stretches, and oak woodlands. With my experience concentrated in the Central Valley, where riparian areas are patchy and generally uninspiring, Vandenberg AFB gave me a new perspective. Extensive, nearly impenetrable willow, cottonwood and box elder jungles provide unbroken expanses of ideal nesting habitat. No wonder ten of California's priority riparian species commonly breed at Vandenberg. 

Throughout the state, improving land stewardship means bucking historic grazing practices. Vandenberg AFB has created a new and improved model, which is being implemented by range manager Craig Nathe; grazing has been reduced from over 60,000 to about 23,000 acres. With these changes, grazing has become a management tool to enhance the competitive advantage of native plants, especially perennial grasses. Sensitive wetland areas are protected by fencing. Because of the controlled grazing policy, Vandenberg's extensive oak woodlands provide a unique opportunity to study how grazing and fire affect oak regeneration and wildlife diversity. 

In the true spirit of partnership, Vandenberg AFB relies on many other cooperators. The Nature Conservancy wrote the base's range management plans, providing recommendations to improve cattle management in native habitats. Point Reyes Bird Observatory and others are conducting bird surveys. The Predatory Bird Research Group of UC Santa Cruz has reestablished a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons along the coast. Additional studies are conducted through nearby UC Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. 

I am happy to say that the efforts at Vandenberg AFB have not gone unnoticed. The DOD's highest achievement honors have been given to both Allan Naydol, Chief of Natural Resources, and Nancy Read, Wildlife Biologist. Al received the DOD's highest recognition in natural resources management, the Thomas D. White award three times as an individual and four times for the entire base. Nancy recently has been named as top natural resource manager for 1995 - 1996. As a result of the dedicated efforts of the Natural Resources staff, Vandenberg was also recognized as the top base in their command for natural resource management from 1996 - 1997. Vandenberg AFB also received the highest award offered by the Air Force in 1993 and the second highest award in the entire Department of Defense. 

Never satisfied that they have done enough, Al, Nancy, and the base botanist, Chris Gillespie, have special projects underway to control exotic plants, particularly pampas grass, and to remove old buildings that occupy potentially valuable habitat or unnaturally increase predator populations. Native Monterey pines are being planted to reestablish natural forest habitat. PRBO is also working with the base to monitor nesting Snowy Plovers, the highest concentration of Snowy Plovers anywhere in the state. 

The conservation and stewardship model established at Vandenberg AFB sets a standard for all public and private lands. Military and commercial uses have been integrated with natural resource programs to enhance and protect biodiversity in an array of threatened habitat types. As California's population continues to increase, we must constantly seek creative solutions like these. To achieve the national Partners In Flight goal of keeping common birds common, we must make every inch of habitat as wildlife friendly as possible. If the DOD can do it in their backyard, why can't we follow their example in other areas? 

Note: Vandenberg AFB is a military installation, with restricted public access. However, the Ocean Beach and Santa Ynez River estuary provide excellent opportunities for public birding: For more information call 805-734-8232 ext. 6-6804. 

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Audubon-California Chapter Members Participate in PRBO Training Workshop 

Kathy Gilbert 
Audubon-California Sanctuaries Assistant 

Bird conservation in California is limited by the number of trained individuals who can accurately monitor bird populations and numbers throughout the state. Audubon-California is in an ideal position to address this problem. We have 53 chapters throughout the state and a membership totaling over 60,000 individuals. These individuals are avid bird watchers and lovers; and Audubon members are some of the best at species identification in California. If our members could be trained in standardized monitoring techniques, and are provided the tools to monitor birds such that their data could be readily analyzed by biologist, the current shortage of sufficiently trained personnel would be eliminated. California would be able to build and extensive statewide database on its diverse avifaunal resources and fully develop the state Important Bird Areas (IBA) program. 

With this in mind, Audubon-California, Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) and th Riparian Habitat Joint Venture (RHJV) with funding from California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), held the first annual Standardized Bird Monitoring Techniques Training Workshop for Audubon-California chapter members at PRBO's Palomarin Station April 20 - 24, 1998. Audubon members were given full scholarships to attend this week long field training session. Volunteers from Napa-Solano, Tulare County, North Cuesta, Sacramento, Ohlone, Yolo and Marin Audubon Societies were trained in various monitoring techniques such as point counts, area searches, spot mapping, nest monitoring, mist netting, and vegetation assessment. The training session included a classroom setting where members received introductions and detailed descriptions of each monitoring technique. Afterwards, they were taken into the field to apply their new knowledge and gain the hands on experience the workshop was designed for. Participants were also educated in protocols and uses of census and demographic data, design and implementation of programs, training of volunteers, and data management. This is a great opportunity for our chapters to learn these techniques and the skills to analyze their data,announced Dan Taylor, Executive Director for Audubon-California. I would like to see chapter enrollment increase for next year. 

Sacramento Audubon Society manages BobElaine Sanctuary just south of Yuba City. Sanctuary Manager John Ranlett found the training very useful for providing background into various bird census techniques that could provide useful information for management decisions and activities in the sanctuary. We would like to conduct an integrated sanctuary-wide bird censusing program here at BobElaine, he reported. We want to incorporate point counts and vegetation assessments with our ongoing MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship), mist-netting, and area searches for a more detailed description of the avian community at the sanctuary. By using these techniques, we may be able to determine how habitat quality relates to population trends and thus, use this knowledge in management applications.Barbara Hopkins from Tulare County Audubon Society also added, I appreciate the generous sharing of appropriate literature and monitoring handbook. 

The class provided a tremendous amount of useful and applicable information.

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Studying the Effects of Grazing on Riparian Habitat in the Central Valley 

Steve Zack 
Wildlife Conservation Society and Point Reyes Bird Observatory 

We are undertaking bird research at three sites of riparian restoration, pending or active. In the Upper Stony Creek Watershed, near Elk Creek, crew leader Hilary Cooke and field assistants are investigating the response of birds to changes in grazing activity by local ranchers, who have acted in collaboration with Dennis Nay of the NRCS. The effect of those changes in grazing are dramatic: previously annual streams are now perennial, native perennial grasses have increased, as have willow shoots, and the ranchers feel the quality and quantity of forage has improved. Early results reveal similar improvement in the bird community's abundance and diversity patterns. 

A second year of monitoring by Hilary and her crew is underway at nearby East Park Reservoir, and the surrounding riparian habitat on BOR land. East Park Reservoir is one of the few sites in the Sacramento Valley where Song Sparrows still breed successfully, and is well known for its Tricolored Blackbird populations. 

The last site of our collaborative activities is on the headwaters of the Fall River north of Burney, where a private land owner is attempting to restore stream function by rechanneling a heavily incised stream. We are hoping to evaluate how effective these different restoration activities are in restoring riparian bird communities, and, in turn, how different riparian bird species may indicate different aspects of proper functioning conditions of streams. 

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Establishment of Migration Monitoring Networks 

C.J. Ralph 
USDA Forest Service Redwood Sciences Laboratory 

During the meeting of the Monitoring Working Group of Partners in Flight at the St. Louis meetings (April 1998) a meeting was held of those folks interested in establishing or contributing to one or more Migration Monitoring Networks in the United States and elsewhere.  In the past couple of years, a joint U.S. and Canada working group (The Migration Monitoring Council) has established methods for census monitoring on a wide scale (Dunn and Butcher), and also for single locations, such as observatories (Hussell and Ralph) that would make up a network.  These two documents are available on the web at the Monitoring Working Group's web page: http://www.rsl.psw.fs.fed.us/pif/.  This past year, the Canadians have established such a network under the auspices of Bird Studies Canada (Long Point Bird Observatory), details of which are available from the web:  http://www.bsc-eoc.org/cmmn.html. 

The objective of Migration Monitoring Networks is to establish and coordinate a series of landbird monitoring stations, using netting and census, across North America.  The Canadians have formalized this into an organization.  In a meeting in April, they went forward in establishing criteria for a station's inclusion in their network and set standards for operation of the "Canadian Migration Monitoring Network."  The minutes of this very interesting meeting are available from Charles M. Francis (cfrancis@bsc-eoc.org) at Bird Studies Canada (P.O. Box 160, Port Rowan, Ontario N0E 1M0; 519-586-3531). Principal conclusions were as follows: 
 

1. A form of daily census is an extremely important component of migration monitoring. 
2. A standard period of netting, continued through the seasons and over years is essential. 
3. A protocol for each station's effort should be written and updated. 
4. The draft criteria for designation of a station to be in the Network were discussed. 
5. Suggestions for fund-raising and possible national cooperative funding were outlined. 
6. Potential cooperative projects were outlined. 
7. The problems of habitat change at a station were discussed. 
8.  Bander training and ethics, volunteer recruitment, and ageing and sexing were also topics of groups. 

1. Acquaint all potential stations with the standard protocol developed by the Migration Monitoring Council (Hussell and Ralph). 
2. Maintain a database of stations monitoring migration in the United States. 
3. Develop a dialogue on the advantages and disadvantages of the various standards and methods for monitoring migration. 
4. Determine if any organization(s) would be willing, at least in an interim basis, to volunteer to be a coordinator for one of the Networks, whether it be a regional or multi-state one. 
5. By communication via e-mail, establish a draft of the role of a local, regional, or national Network, that could include training and communication, as well as providing data entry, data management, editing, and repositories. 
 6. Hold a meeting in the early winter (ca. November) to organize and discuss the formation and maintenance of Networks. 

I think it is safe to say that all of those involved to date consider the above, as well as the protocol, as being discussion drafts only.  While there are many advantages to cooperative efforts, it will be up to the individual stations to determine its role in the study of migration. 

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New Sites Added to Riparian Conservation Project   Grant Ballard  Point Reyes Bird Observatory  Thanks to generous support from the Packard foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, PRBO field biologists have added over 130 riparian study areas during the 1998 field season. The total number of sites contributing to the riparian conservation planning process is approaching 400! Each site consists of one or more points at least 200 meters apart at which standardized point counts or area searches and vegetation assessment have been conducted.  This effort will greatly expand our knowledge of the status and distribution of birds breeding (or attempting to breed!) in riparian habitat in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. More information is still needed from large parts of the state (see map). If you have or know of information from these areas, please let me know. (e: gballard at prbo dot org, t:(415) 868-0655 x.302). Also, most of the conservation plans are available for review at our riparian conservation website: www.prbo.org/prbo/Calpif/htmldocs/Riparian.html. The website also has background information explaining the project.  Return to the top of the page.

Meetings and Announcements  

California Partners in Flight Meeting: 
July 24 and 25, 1998 at the Admiral Kidd Club, 33050 Acoustic Ave. San Diego CA. Meetings are from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm with a field trip on Saturday morning. 

Agenda Highlights: 

¥Bird Conservation Issues on the Cleveland National Forest 
¥Shorebird and Migrant Monitoring on Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge 
¥San Diego Breeding Bird Atlas Project Update 
¥Least Bell's Vireo and Cowbird Control 
¥Bird Monitoring as a Component of Land Stewardship 
¥Audubon Important Bird Area Program 
¥Natural Community Conservation Program (NCCP) Update.

Next PIF WWG Meeting 
The next meeting of the Partners In Flight-Western Working Group is scheduled for August 26 to 29 in Great Falls Montana. The two main topics of discussion include 1) Implementation of a western regional monitoring plan and 2) working with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to implement PIF goals (bird conservation strategies) on private lands.

Attention Banders!  
The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) is embarking on a study to evaluate the reliability of aging and sexing criteria presented in Peter Pyle's new Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part 1 (co-sponsored by IBP and Point Reyes Bird Observatory and published by Slate Creek Press). To this end, IBP is requesting that all MAPS-station operators indicate the specific plumage and/or other criteria used to discriminate between second-year (SY) and after-second-year (ASY) birds. MAPS banding forms have been modified to facilitate this. IBP will use this information to identify any criteria that do not lead to consistent age determinations of recaptured individuals. 

Accurate, precise, and consistent aging of after-hatch-year birds has far-reaching conservation and management implications since it is necessary for estimating recruitment rates of SY and ASY birds. These data, in turn, will allow inferences to be made regarding immigration and emigration rates and first-year survival rates. Information on these parameters are very difficult to obtain by any other means. IBP encourages all MAPS cooperators to participate in this study by providing the requested data on as many AHY birds as possible, including recaptures. Check your maps manual (pp. 28-29 ) on methods for collecting these data. 

The  Identification Guide to North American Birds, second edition 
 by Peter Pyle is now available.  This edition contains new information on identification, geographic variation, molt, ageing, and sexing landbirds in the hand and in the field.  Over 395 species covered, including sections on near-passerines, owls, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds.  List Price: 34.90 plus shipping, handling, and tax for CA residents.  Discount for multiple purchases. Send orders to Slate Creek Press, PO Box 219, Bolinas, CA 94924 or call (415) 868-1221 ext. 21.  For more ordering information, visit http://www.prbo.org/. 

Subscribe to the CPIF Listserver 
CPIF has created a list-server, an electronic mailing list, to facilitate communication among members of the PIF community. To subscribe, send an email message with "Subscribe" in the message section to: listserv@listserv.uark.edu. 

Bird Song Tape 
Bird Songs of Northwestern California, by Ron LeValley, features original recordings of 120 bird species recorded locally. Special emphasis is placed on these species occurring in forested habitats. This tape will be an invaluable aid for surveyors, breeding bird atlasers, and bird enthusiasts living in the Pacific Northwest. Release date was March 15, 1998. Contact Mad River Biologists at (707)822-6393 or email at MadRivrBio@aol.com. 

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Design Credits 
 

Flight Log Number 7, Summer 1998 was edited by Grant Ballard, Mike Lynes and Geoff Geupel. Designed by Grant Ballard and Mike Lynes. Web design by Mike Lynes 

We would like to thank the following sponsors: The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Compton Foundation, the Winifred and Harry B. Allen Foundation, Chevron Corporation, and the Shell Oil Company Foundation. 

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