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Audubon Arizona was awarded $15,000 to conduct science-informed conservation planning for the declining population of endangered Yuma Ridgway’s Rail (Rallus obsoletus yumanensis) located in an increasingly urbanized environment along the Gila River in southwest Maricopa County, AZ. This section of the Gila River is part of a globally Important Bird Area (IBA), so designated in part because of the Yuma Ridgway’s Rail population. They will update a species occupancy model to include field mapping of marsh habitat while also adding agriculture, water return drains, sites that are currently managed for wildlife, and projected marsh habitat restoration sites. Audubon Arizona will provide a synthesis of available spatial data on the rail and its preferred habitats with the purpose of prioritizing areas for habitat conservation and restoration.
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