BLM CA Monitoring Breeding Bird Populations, Merced-Tuolumne Wild Scenic River

To gain insight into the effects of stressor impacts to wildlife in Wild and Scenic River (WSR) corridors, the BLM wishes establish a network of up to six research sites in the Merced and Tuolumne WSRs corridors in the westside Sierra Nevada. The Merced and Tuolumne Rivers flow from glaciers at the crest of the Sierra Nevada, through Yosemite National Park and into the Sierra Nevada foothills. The BLM manages parts of the WSR foothill segments of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers as part the BLM National Landscape Conservation System. These sites would constitute the first step in establishing a statewide riparian monitoring project for the long-term benefit of riparian habitat management. To document bird population changes by examining the key demographic parameters (vital rates) such as productivity, survivorship, and recruitment; and to draw inferences about the factors that drive bird populations in riparian areas of especial importance as the backdrops for popular Sierra Nevada WSRs. With this information, BLM managers will be able to manage wildlife diversity in treasured WSR settings for present and future generations of visitors.