Golden-winged Working Group
Alianza Alas Doradas was conceived by the members of the Non-breeding Season Research, Monitoring, and Conservation Committee of the Golden-winged Warbler Working Group as an international partnership of key U.S. states and Canadian provinces (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, Manitoba), federal agencies (USFWS, USDA Forest Service, Parks Canada), NGOs (TNC, ABC, Bird Studies Canada, ProAves Colombia, ALAS Nicaragua), Mesoamerican Partners in Flight, and researchers and conservationists who work with Golden-winged Warblers outside the breeding season. Alianza’s charge will be to work for the conservation of Golden-winged Warbler and associated species and habitats by implementing recommendations and strategies for long-term protection of the species on its migration and wintering grounds in Latin America.
The priorities developed by the Non-breeding Season Research, Monitoring, and Conservation Committee on 11-12 August 2005 recommend that Alianza’s broad partnership begin by focusing on:
- Network structure and coordination, including the development of a proposal to engage a coordinator to facilitate non-breeding Golden-wing conservation actions among different countries and to develop funding initiatives for other Golden-wing related projects.
- Research and analysis on the distribution and abundance of Golden-winged and Blue-winged warblers in migration and on the non-breeding residence (“wintering”) grounds.
- Identification of important areas for Golden-winged Warbler migratory stopover and wintering.
- Development of conservation action plans for key Golden-wing areas, including provisions for protecting habitat quality.
- Integration of important Golden-winged Warbler areas and conservation actions with efforts to conserve co-occurring resident and migratory birds and other elements of biological diversity (concentrating on Alliance for Zero Extinction species). Where possible, conservation efforts on migratory pathways and the wintering range should be coordinated with other initiatives (e.g., El Grupo Cerúleo).
Other areas of interest include:
- Development of tools for strengthening partnerships between breeding and non-breeding conservation efforts, including support for MoSI stations as a key step toward institutionalizing monitoring, building biological capacity, and promoting educational outreach for conservation in Central and South America.
- Assessment of land use changes in important Golden-winged Warbler areas in Central and South America and the effects of these changes on Golden-wing habitat.
- Protection and management of important sites throughout the range of the species, including land purchase, promotion of financial incentives that result in habitat and forest protection, and promotion of economic development with compatible conservation management.
- Coordinated research to assess the quality and extent of migratory bird habitat and to identify migratory bottlenecks that may be affecting populations.
For more information, contact
Maria Isabel Moreno, Chair
Fundacion ProAves
mmoreno@proaves.org