New manual for Mexican ranchers benefits birds and cattle

North America’s grassland birds heavily depend on the desert grasslands of northern Mexico to survive the winter. And these grasslands are in extreme peril.

Soil erosion, desertification and shrub encroachment, which have led to the deterioration of most desert grassland habitats, are often the result of inadequate range management practices. This habitat deterioration in Mexico is probably one of the factors driving the steep population declines of North American grassland birds.

To help address these critical conservation problems, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory has published Compartiendo sus Agostaderos con las Aves de Pastizal(Sharing your Rangelands with Grassland Birds), a manual that provides guidance and recommendations to aid ranchers in the conservation of desert grasslands and birds while improving conditions for cattle as well. The manual includes habitat management recommendations, general grazing practices to enhance species’ habitat, basic bird biology and information about government programs that provide technical and financial assistance to ranchers in their conservation efforts.

This publication, inspired by RMBO’s earlier manual, “Sharing your Land with Prairie Wildlife,” highlights the importance of Mexico in RMBO’s efforts to conserve birds in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains.