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14 September 2023 Review of Conservation Challenges and Possible Solutions for Grassland Birds of the North American Great Plains,
Jacy S. Bernath-Plaisted, Maureen D. Correll, Scott G. Somershoe, Angela M. Dwyer, Andy Bankert, Adam Beh, Humberto Berlanga, W. Alice Boyle, J. Lizardo Cruz-Romo, T. Luke George, James Herkert, Nicola Koper, Alberto Macías-Duarte, Arvind O. Panjabi, Oscar M. Ramírez-Flores, Barry Robinson, Irene Ruvalcaba-Ortega, Julie Sibbing, Erin H. Strasser, Mieke Titulaer, William E. Van Pelt, Tammy VerCauteren
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Abstract

North America's grassland birds remain in crisis despite decades of conservation efforts. This review provides an overview of factors contributing to these declines, as well as strategies and resources available to a diversity of stakeholders to help conserve grassland bird communities with an emphasis on the Great Plains—a grassland region of global ecological significance and a habitat stronghold for grassland birds. Grassland bird declines are driven by historical and continuing threats across the full annual cycle including grassland habitat loss, agriculture intensification, woody encroachment, and disruption of fire and grazing regimes. More recently, energy development activities, the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, and anthropogenic climate change have emerged as additional threats. While threats to grassland birds are numerous and often synergistic, possibilities for conservation are also diverse and multifaceted. Land set-aside programs, incentives and voluntary practices for producers, improved environmental management by energy and utility companies, and policy and regulation can all contribute to the conservation of these unique species. We suggest that future grassland bird research should focus on poorly studied aspects of the annual cycle, such as overwinter survival and habitat use, and the migratory period, which remains completely unexplored for many species. Filling these knowledge gaps may facilitate more sophisticated population modeling that can identify limiting factors and more effectively guide investment in conservation.

Jacy S. Bernath-Plaisted, Maureen D. Correll, Scott G. Somershoe, Angela M. Dwyer, Andy Bankert, Adam Beh, Humberto Berlanga, W. Alice Boyle, J. Lizardo Cruz-Romo, T. Luke George, James Herkert, Nicola Koper, Alberto Macías-Duarte, Arvind O. Panjabi, Oscar M. Ramírez-Flores, Barry Robinson, Irene Ruvalcaba-Ortega, Julie Sibbing, Erin H. Strasser, Mieke Titulaer, William E. Van Pelt, and Tammy VerCauteren "Review of Conservation Challenges and Possible Solutions for Grassland Birds of the North American Great Plains,," Rangeland Ecology and Management 90(1), 165-185, (14 September 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2023.07.002
Received: 24 March 2023; Accepted: 10 July 2023; Published: 14 September 2023
KEYWORDS
agricultural intensification
climate change
energy development
grassland birds
grasslands
Great Plains
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