Did You know?
The Bill Williams River confluence with the Colorado River is among the most bird species-rich sites along the entire Lower Colorado River.
This project, expanding GBBO’s bird monitoring outside the Great Basin, is part of the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCR MSCP). The program is described in detail at http://www.lcrmscp.gov/.
The LCR MSCP is “a long-term plan to conserve at least 26 species along the Lower Colorado River from Lake Mead to the Southerly International Boundary of Mexico through implementation of the Habitat Conservation Plan.”
Abert’s Towhee by Bobby Wilcox
Check out this interactive website to learn more about The Lower Colorado River Riparian Bird survey project! This is a system-wide monitoring project for riparian obligate birds that emphasizes six LCR-MSCP covered species including Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides), Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis), Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus), Arizona Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii arizonae), Sonoran Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia sonorana, now classified as Setophaga petechia sonorana), and Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra). These covered species are not monitored by other single-species protocols implemented on the Lower Colorado River (LCR).
The project area includes the Colorado River from Separation Point, above Lake Mead, to the Southerly International Boundary with Mexico, including portions of the Bill Williams and Gila rivers. Current monitoring is focused on established habitat conservation areas within the historic floodplain of the mainstem Colorado River.
Key management issues GBBO is addressing in this project include defining target characteristics of habitat to be created for each covered species, determining existing population status of covered species, locating existing covered species breeding habitat, determining species response to created habitats, determining changes in population status that may be attributed to habitat creation efforts, assessing the effect of other large-scale changes in landscape and habitats, providing additional data on covered species biology, and recommending changes in habitat creation site management or conservation actions through adaptive management.
GBBO was first awarded a 2-year contract for this project in 2007, with continued monitoring from 2009 through 2016 and a current five-year contract from 2019-2023.
LCR MSCP Reports
Related Publications:
“Bird Conservation Along the Lower Colorado River”, a case study for undergraduate-level classrooms
Partners
Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges
Arizona Game and Fish Department
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Quechan Indian Tribe
Other Major Projects
