CONSERVATION OF CRITICAL GRASSLANDS IN DURANGO II

This project will benefit the priority species Baird's Sparrow, a species that is in danger of extinction and has an action plan for the reestablishment of its populations at a continental level.

This species spends the winter in the Grassland Priority Conservation Areas (GPCAs) Cuchillas de la Zarca and Malpais, which are two extremely important areas for other priority grassland species. With management and restoration actions, an estimated 5,948 acres will be positively impacted.

In this second phase of the project, alliances between local partners will be strengthened to continue sustainable management of grasslands, thus ensuring permanence of habitat for migratory birds and ranching, which is one of the main productive activities of the State of Durango.

In several Ejidos in these GPCAs the following activities will occur: (1) creation of conservation reserves with native grassland areas, (2) installation of infrastructure according to ejidal Livestock Management Plans, (3) habitat restoration to reduce thickets, (4) construction of 126m2 of branch dams, and (5) monitoring at the farm level during the 2024 winter season in ten properties distributed in both GPCAs, in order to know the status of the migratory bird populations and thus the health status of the grasslands in each property.

More broadly, Pronatura Noreste will strengthen the state legislative framework for the sustainable use of pasture through the initiating of a Livestock Law for the State of Durango, the establishment of a pasture management by SAGDER (the state agriculture authority), and the creation of a multidisciplinary committee. involved in decision making.

To outreach to new generations about the importance of grasslands and migratory birds, the Rancho Escuela model will be carried out in El Ojo and Las Yucas Ejidos, where environmental education will be carried out for children and young people from some of the schools near both ranches.