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SJV Special Stewardship Species, Abert’s Towhee (photo by Dave Krueper).
As one of the 22 Migratory Bird Joint Ventures spread across the U.S. and parts of Canada, the Sonoran Joint Venture (SJV) is one of only two binational Joint Ventures between the United States and Mexico. The SJV covers a large geography and a wide range of habitats. The strength of the SJV comes from bringing together a diverse set of partners from both countries to share our experiences and work towards collaborative conservation actions. Here are some recent highlights that have come out of the SJV partnership.
Financial and Technical Resources
Since 2001, the SJV Awards Program has supported 130 projects by providing over $1 million dollars in funding, as well as technical assistance and training. Topics include field skills trainings, supporting monitoring programs, habitat restoration, and much more. Stay tuned in January 2020 for our next funding opportunity.
Developing Collaborations
The SJV’s broad partnership brings together organizations and people who may not have previously known about each other. The SJV facilitates connections through our Science Working Group meetings, workshops, and supporting species-specific conservation groups, such as the Desert Thrasher Working Group.
Conservation Planning
The SJV helped facilitate the development of the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy, a hemispheric flyway level plan that works to address threats to shorebirds by combining biological conservation priorities with the human dimensions of conservation.
Tools for Coordinated Bird Monitoring
The SJV and partners launched the Borderlands Avian Data Center, an online platform for data organization, sharing, and coordination of standardized monitoring efforts, as well as data analysis and visualization. Last year, the SJV and partners developed Desert Avicaching, an interactive birding game designed to fill knowledge gaps about desert birds in remote locations through community science.
Communications
The SJV’s bimonthly, bilingual eBulletin features stories from across the region, keeping partners up-to-date with projects and ways to get involved. Search and view past stories here. In addition, subscribe to the SJV listserv for current news, meeting information, and other opportunities.
Support
Becoming an SJV partner allows you to be a part of the larger bird conservation community. The SJV is here to support our partners. Reach out to learn more or share ideas and suggestions for what we can do for you.