Wintu Audubon creates artificial burrows for Burrowing owl in Northern California

Using a grant from Audubon California, members of Wintu Audubon and other local bird enthusiasts in February constructed eight artificial burrows for Burrowing Owls in Chico. The weather held as the group installed two groups of four burrows each in the heavy wet soil of a location where the habitat will be conserved in perpetuity by the private property owner. Wintu Audubon conceived of the project because of the decline of Burrowing Owls, which is a California Species of Special Concern.


This type of habitat is important as increased development projects often result in the eviction of owls, caving in burrows and killing of the resident owls. According to local biologists, Burrowing Owls have been seen at the project location for nearly 20 years. Shortly after the project was completed, a Burrowing Owl was seen in the entrance of one of the artificial burrows. We are not sure if this is the one wintering there, or a new bird.

The project was funded through an Audubon California collaborative funding grant, which supports chapter conservation projects. Read more about the project in Wintu Audubon’s newsletter (page 7).

Photo courtesy Wintu Audubon. Pictured from left: Michelle Ocken, George Horn, Dorothy Davis, Dawn Garcia, Steve King, Nancy Nelson, Lonnie Swartout, Michele Swartout, Claudia Lyons-Yerion and Larry Jordan.

2010 Collaborative Funding grants announced

This year Audubon California had a record $51,239.65 in funding requests for outreach, education, and habitat restoration and monitoring, with $ 177,105.91 in secured or possible matching funds. We got proposals from 11 chapters, or 23% of the chapters in California.

The bad news is that due to the recession the budget approved by National Audubon Board for fiscal year 2009-2010 contains a reduction in Collaborative funding of 50% for this round. This October surprise caused us to rethink the projects and our selections, and delayed our announcement until December.

In consideration of the reduction in funding, our Selection Committee, in line with prior recommendations from Audubon California Board Chapter Committee, added some additional criteria in our selection process. We decided to eliminate chapters that have received Toyota Together Green, foundation, state agency, or previous Collaborative grant funding for the same project, or chapters whose projects were good candidates for foundation, state or federal funding such as Prop 84 or the MigratoryBird Partnership, and focus on chapters that are smaller, don’t usually apply or might not have other potential sources of funding, and that are willing to match the grant with their own funds.

This added criteria caused us to reluctantly eliminate some remarkable projects that we wholeheartedly support such as Pasadena Audubon’s trail signage in a new City of Pasadena park, Mendocino Coast and Morro Coast’s wonderful programs on Western Snowy Plovers, La Purisima’s engagement of the community at the Santa Ynez River estuary, San Diego Audubon and Los Angeles Audubon’s world class Education programs, the three chapter partnership between Fresno, San Joaquin and Stanilaus Audubon to create a birding trail map of the San Joaquin River, and Santa Barbara’s Eyes-in-the-Sky raptor education program, all of which are more than deserving of funding.

With only $ 13,000 to award, Audubon California has selected the following projects to receive Collaborative Funding grants for 2010:

Buena Vista Audubon $ 2,000 (with a match of $2,670 in chapter funds) for an outreach program aimed at three local colleges to engage a new conservation constituency.

Sierra Foothills Audubon $5,000 (with a match of $4,919.50 from chapter funds) to restore riparian habitat for the benefit of Yellow-breasted Chat and Yellow Warbler on the Traylor Ranch Sanctuary and Nature Preserve in the Sierra Foothills Important Bird Area, and to provide an education program for youth from Placer Nature Center

Wintu Audubon $ 3,000 for construction of artificial burrows for Burrowing Owl in Shasta County to help an at risk species.

Yolo Audubon $ 3,000 (with a match of chapter funds from Yolo, Sacramento, and San Joaquin Audubon) to help plan and present a symposium in 2011 on conservation concerns surrounding the Delta vision process with focus on species and habitat at risk in an Important Bird Area.

Congratulations to these four chapters and their leaders.

Next round of Collaborative Funding grants will be announced in Spring, 2010 on the Chapter Network Site. Go here.

Wintu Audubon leads wind energy mitigation effort in Shasta

Wintu Audubon led efforts to mitigate for significant impacts on Bald Eagle and Sandhill Crane at the first wind energy project in Shasta County. Construction on the 42 turbine site begins in October, 2009. Energy developer Babcock & Brown agreed to fund research on Bald Eagle and to mitigate for habitat loss for Sandhill Crane at a ratio of 4 to 1. California Department of Fish & Game is purchasing wetlands to add to a reserve for Sandhills nearby. The efforts at Wintu were led by Conservation Chair Claudia Yerion-Lyons.

Wintu Audubon is first chapter on wind project TAC

Wintu Audubon Conservation Chair Claudia Lyons-Yerion announced that her chapter will be the first Audubon chapter in California to sit on the Technical Advisory Committee to review wildlife impacts on a wind project. Claudia reported on the efforts of her chapter to protect Sandhill Cranes and other species that might conflict with Hatchett Ridge Wind Development Project near Mt. Shasta. She also announced the demise of the TANC powerline project. Claudia's full report is available by email from ggeorge at audubon.org.