The Grassland Bird Conservation Plan

Summary

The mission of Partners in Flight (PIF) is to stop the decline of, maintain or increase populations of landbirds in North America. To this end, California Partners in Flight (CalPIF) has identified habitat conservation and management priorities for bird species at risk in California, and created seven habitat-based bird conservation plans, plus one ecoregion based plan. This is the first web-based CalPIF plan, and builds upon an earlier draft Grassland Bird Conservation Plan that was released in 2000. Through this revised plan, CalPIF seeks to promote the conservation, protection and restoration of valley and coastal grasslands, and support the long-term viability and recovery of both native bird populations and other native wildlife species that depend on grasslands.

This plan attempts to synthesize and summarize the current “state of the science” knowledge concerning the requirements of birds in grassland habitats, and provide recommendations for habitat protection, restoration, management, and monitoring to ensure long-term persistence of birds and other wildlife dependent on grassland ecosystems. This plan also formed the basis for a grassland and oak savannah chapter of the Central Valley Joine Venture's revised implementation plan.

To ensure that this plan remains current and up to date with the best available information, we can:

• Incorporate new data into online mapping and decision support tools as they become available. For example, modeling the occurrence of current and future grassland bird diversity “hotspots” will rely on current observational data streaming in via the Avian Knowledge Network.
• Update the text of the plan as new information becomes available in published and gray literature. New information may include details on current or new threats, but could also entail the modification or addition of new management recommendations.
• Solicit feedback. For example, stakeholders could comment on particular management recommendations they have had firsthand experience with to describe what worked or did not work for their project. Plan readers could also suggest changes or additions to the plan via the editor of the plan.
• Linking the plan to other existing online resources, such as other conservation plans, or contact information to relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals.