New Mexico is blessed with an abundance of natural wonders, including our beautiful forests and woodlands. Flitting about the trees are birds only found in a few states, including New Mexico. Native birds fill our mountains with song, as well as maintain the health of our wooded areas; they are precious jewels. Tragically, birds such as the pinyon jay, Grace’s warbler, Virginia’s warbler and red-faced warbler are in trouble.
Defenders of Wildlife works to conserve these vulnerable species through collaborative work with landowners to incorporate bird needs into forest and woodland management plans. In Santa Fe, the Santa Fe Mountains Landscape Resiliency Project offers an opportunity for the U.S. Forest Service to help forest-dependent birds. The management of our national forests should take into consideration more than just fire risk but consider other values as well.
Because of previous land use and historical fire suppression, some forests contain abnormally high fuel loads. Defenders supports some intervention to modify fire behavior, including light thinning and controlled burning, with an important caveat: For imperiled birds, as well as many other sensitive wildlife, competing needs must be balanced.
Populations of Grace’s warbler — a diminutive, but gorgeous, black-and-white bird with a vibrant yellow face and chest — have declined more than 50 percent since the 1960s. As New Mexico and Arizona are the only states with notable numbers of this bird in the U.S., our ponderosa pine forests are important for this imperiled warbler’s survival.
Defenders’ scientists recently learned Grace’s warbler populations are extremely sensitive to thinning, especially opening of the forest canopy. While it is true light forest thinning benefits this species, as more trees are removed and canopy cover decreases, there is a point at which it becomes detrimental to the bird.
For example, one scientific study in northern Arizona documented Grace’s warbler abundance was 59 percent higher in unthinned study sites as opposed to study sites in which tree numbers were reduced by 80%. In addition to having lower abundance in heavily thinned areas, a significant edge effect for Grace’s warbler was also found on their study sites, with lower abundance of Grace’s warbler in unthinned areas adjacent to thinned areas.
If we want this little jewel of a bird to thrive and our forests along with it, then it is necessary for foresters and fire managers to adjust forest management methods. Defenders of Wildlife is partnering with the Santa Fe County at its Ortiz Mountains Open Space to exemplify how excess fuels can be reduced, while preserving the habitat of forest warblers and the pinyon jay. Santa Fe County hires crews to remove small trees in some areas, and Defenders of Wildlife staff advise the county about bird and wildlife needs, and how to avoid detrimental impacts.
When it comes to preventing further population declines for imperiled birds, the specifics of how our forests are managed matters. When working to reduce fire risk, foresters are disregarding the needs of forest birds and other wildlife, which need more trees and overstory. In forests and woodlands, we can be fire resilient while also conserving birds, but foresters need to listen, consider alternatives and in the end, compromise.
Defenders of Wildlife looks forward to working with landowners and forest managers to incorporate the needs of vulnerable birds into their management plans, including the Santa Fe National Forest. Let’s protect our avian forest jewels, shining among the trees in brilliant shades of red, yellow and blue.
Peggy Darr is the New Mexico representative for Defenders of Wildlife. Darr is is a wildlife biologist with expertise in ornithology, endangered species conservation and ecological restoration.
