{"id":2075,"date":"2019-07-26T17:56:56","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T17:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stagbcelandtru.wpengine.com\/?p=2075"},"modified":"2022-02-25T17:55:32","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T17:55:32","slug":"central-colorado-conservancy-ccc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birds.cornell.edu\/landtrust\/central-colorado-conservancy-ccc\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Colorado Conservancy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why Bird Conservation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Name: <\/strong>Central Colorado Conservancy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location: <\/strong>Lake, Chaffee, Fremont, Park, Saguache and Gunnison Counties, Colorado<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff Members<\/strong>: 7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bird Conservation Resource:<\/strong> eBird and Flyers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact: <\/strong>Adam Beh, <\/strong>Executive Director, <\/strong>adam@centralcoloradoconservancy.org<\/a>; <\/strong>Andrew Mackie, past Executive Director, andrewjmackie@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website:<\/strong> www<\/a>centralcoloradoconservancy.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2017 Small Grant Program Awardee <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Past executive Director Andrew Mackie summed up the mission of the Central Colorado Conservancy (CCC)<\/a> as \u201cfocusing on three things \u2013 protecting land and water, working on restoration and stewardship, and engaging people in these protection, restoration, and stewardship efforts.\u201d They strive to accomplish this work across their six-county service area in Central Colorado. Andrew, who is an avid birder, recognized an opportunity to reach new audiences by trying to incorporate bird conservation into the land trust\u2019s core mission. He sees the potential for bird-focused projects to have far-reaching impacts for the organization\u2019s other goals. \u201cIf you\u2019re protecting riparian forests for birds, you are protecting land for fish, reptiles, amphibians, large game animals, and for people so it\u2019s an overall win for everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spotlight Resource: Protecting Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker through Citizen Science<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When looking for ways to incorporate bird conservation into CCC\u2019s ongoing efforts, the Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker<\/a> was an easy choice. This species is unique to the western United States, draws a lot of attention due in part to its large size, and nests in older cottonwood riparian areas associated with water. For CCC, a high profile and easily identifiable species was the perfect candidate to use to develop a citizen-science monitoring program around their core mission of protecting land and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A cottonwood riparian area where Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker might breed in Central Colorado.\nPhoto credit: CCC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

CCC capitalized on the charismatic woodpecker by placing \u201cHave you seen me?\u201d flyers in target areas and set out to build a volunteer base to conduct Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker monitoring <\/a>across their lands and beyond. They trained over 70 individuals interested in assisting with the surveys. The training was two tiered. In Tier 1, volunteers received information about Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker natural history, survey protocols, and eBird<\/a>. eBird is the world\u2019s largest biodiversity-related citizen science project, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed each year by people around the world. eBird data documents bird distribution, abundance, habitat use, and trends through checklist data, but the best part is the program includes a basic scientific framework that is already in place for land trusts to access and use for free online. In Tier 2 of CCC\u2019s training, citizen-science volunteers received additional instruction on assessing and documenting woodpecker habitat. The program, which ran from May 2017 to April 2018, resulted in 150 Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker sightings entered into eBird, 65 phone calls and emails from the flyer advertisements, and the participation of nearly 100 community members in trainings and presentations highlighting the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making the Connection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For a land trust focused on land and water conservation, gathering information and developing tools to help identify priorities is key. Engaging new members is also at the forefront of organizational needs. For Andrew Mackie and the CCC, the benefit of this project was using a planning tool (eBird) to help make a connection between engagement and on-the-ground conservation. \u201cI really liked this project because it was a direct connection between people and conservation action. Citizen scientists went into the field and collected data using eBird, then our organization put that data to use. We can now use this information to make decisions and talk to landowners about protecting and managing property, which is actively contributing to the conservation of a species.\u201d Based on the success of this project, CCC has committed to making bird-focused projects a part of their long-term conservation planning efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice to Other Land Trusts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker project coordinator and wildlife biologist Cindy Lawrence completing a survey for the Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker. Photo credit: CCC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

CCC realized while developing this project that they had an opportunity not only to work toward one of their goals of preserving riparian habitat, but to engage new partners and members through birds. They accomplished this by tapping into existing public interest for birding and using free and easily accessible tools, like eBird and informative flyers, to engage community members not already familiar with the bird community as CCC does not have active Audubon chapters and local bird conservation organizations within their service area. Using a charismatic bird to engage these different groups was important as even non-birders were excited about the Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker. \u201cWe were shocked with the response after we put up these \u2018Wanted Posters\u2019 and received a couple of phone calls a week from people who would not classify themselves as birders or even conservationists.\u201d says Mackie. This provides a platform for continued engagement and educational opportunities, \u201cWe can reach out and ask if people want to receive updates and newsletters. We can start making connections with the charismatic woodpecker and other species using their riparian habitats. We can tap into potential volunteers and offer training sessions with fully operational programs like eBird.\u201d Building partnerships and engaging with experts, like Cornell, to develop these tools was a critical component to the success of the project, and a stepping stone for continuing the project into the future. They also shared information, lessons learned, and their successes with other like-minded organizations and agencies to help build their capacity and garner support for their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CCC continued their project through the 2018 nesting season, offering more workshops and eBird trainings and posting their flyers in the community. They are compiling all data collected into ArcGIS to determine population centers of Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker activity compared with parcel ownership and land use. This compilation will help them pursue active protection of identified parcels resulting in conservation for the Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker and other species using those habitats. In the future, CCC hopes to build on the partnerships established through this project to help them dive deeper into the science to identify why Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker populations are declining overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservation Action Update!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two conservation projects are moving forward, in part, due to nesting Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker populations on the properties. One project is a 500-acre ranch in Chaffee County where the ranch owners became interested in the Lewis\u2019s Woodpecker project and are now working with the Conservancy to place a conservation easement on the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: The Central Colorado Conservancy was a recipient of a 2017 Land Trust Small Grant award.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sign up to receive our eNews and stay connected<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative will send you updates about funding opportunities and ways to work with partners to protect birds and further your land conservation goals. We\u2019ll highlight resources to assist with bird conservation on private lands, showcase tools and data visualizations to assist with planning and stewardship, and share success stories from the field.<\/p>\n\n\n