OK. Welcome everybody.
I think we're going to get started.
My name is Martha Hahn. I'm the Chief of Science and Resource Management
here at Grand Canyon National Park
and we're excited to have all of you come out
and share in the excitement that we have around
the establishment of a Global Important Bird Area: Grand Canyon National Park.
We've got some speakers that are going to be giving us an idea of what this is all about,
and we're going to start out with Tice Supplee
and Tice is the Director of the Bird Conservation Audubon Arizona.
Dave Uberuaga: All right, Tice!
(applause)
Thank you very much. I'm just really thrilled to be here today and to dedicate
Grand Canyon National Park as a Global Important Bird Area.
and also, the Marble Canyon segement of the park system. This is is very exciting,
A little history about this site, when Audubon became the Birdlife International Partner
for the United States, for the Important Bird Area designations, here in Arizona, Grand Canyon
Yaki, and Lipan points hawk watch were the original designation,
based on the numbers of migrating raptors that come through here every fall.
and so it was a state recognized Importand Bird Area for the hawk watch, for quite a few years
I had the great good fortune of being on the two expeditions in 1988 and 1989 that surveyed the inner canyon for peregrine falcons.
and so, I learned to really appreciate that this was a raptor heaven.
and, on one of those trips, Dr. Noel Snyder, who was a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist
in charge of taking the last California condor out of the wild,
was on that trip, and as we floated down the river, and looked at those big caverns on the walls of the Grand Canyon he said,
"that is perfect condor habitat."
Well, he lived and I lived to see the condor come back here to the canyon, and so, it's now home for the most endangered species
in North America - and it's doing well. It's slowly, but surely coming back
and this is a hugely important home and refuge for that bird.
Then, I learned about all the work that was going
on in surveying for the spotted owl.
Who would have thought that the canyon walls are home to over 50
pairs - that are confirmed so far
inside this canyon - of spotted owls.
Another bird of global concern
- and then I started looking at the records
in eBird
to see how many pinyon jay people might be seeing as they drove around the park
and enjoyed the rest of this magnificent wilderness
and lo and behold, folks were recording, large flocks, feeding flocks of the pinyon jay, coming
through, living here in the park, and that is another bird of global concern
it occurs only in the pinyon and juniper forests here in the western United States, and is a bird
of concern as our pinyon trees are affected by drought and bark beetle infestations.
So, here we have a site that's refuge for three globally significant birds
the pinyon jay, the California condor
and the spotted owl
and also when we surveyed for those peregrines, that was close to 50% of the known breeding
population of peregrine falcons in the state of Arizona.
Now, that's a bird that is starting to recover. The other place, the other bird that comes here in the winter, is the bald eagle,
and feeds on the fish way below on the Colorado River.
When I left New York State, when I got my new degree in wildlife, there was one nesting pair of bald eagle in that state. There's over 500 today.
I got to see 20 bald eagle all sitting in a Ponderosa pine tree on the rim of the Grand Canyon.
Ive never seen so many in one spot. So, its home for that bird too.
and then we talk about the birds on the river, the endangered southwest willow flycatcher stops off on the river below.
Lucy's warbler's, Bell's Vireos, yellow-billed cuckoos
near the confluences with the reservoirs . Wintering habitat for migrating shorebirds and waterbirds, more up towards Glen Canyon.
but I remember seeing a whole flock of Wilson's phalarope in a backwater, as I was floating down through the Grand Canyon,
hanging out, taking a break before they went on.
and, so, these are all food for the peregrine.
The other thing about this site for the peregrine falcon, was during the dark years of DDT,
this was the stronghold for peregrine falcons in the west,
because they were feeding on the white-throated swifts and the bats that live here and don't
get that DDT concentration. So that was another important contribution of this site.
So, it is really the great pleasure that I see this day is now have a fully recognized
Globa Important Bird Area that puts it into an international network of sites
where you will see if you travel to other countries around the world, you'll see this important bird area logo from bird life international
indicating its importance. And so, Dave, I would like to present to you
the official Global Important Bird Area sign for Grand Canyon National Park
Dave: Thank you very much. (Applause)
Tice: You are welcome. (Laughs)
Dave: We'll have to do... We'll have to do at the end of my long speech, (Laughter)
We'll have to have a group shot everybody that's here, we'd like to have this out front and center
we'll use the canyon as our backdrop and let's have a group shot of this important day.
Thank you Tice, that's very, very nice. Tice: You are welcome.
OK. One last piece. We have a brochure
about this site. Take a look at it. It tells you when to be here to see the hawk migrarion
More importantly it shows ways in which you can be a citizen scientist for this site.
Logging your bird observations into eBird. Helping with the brand new Christmas Bird Count.
that's now up here. So that's very exciting. Audubon, nationally, just did a hugh analysis
of trends for birds as it relates to climate change, and Christmas Bird Count data
was a really big part of that. So this is a wonderful way that you can be a contributor
to conserving and protecting our birds and helping advance our scientific understanding.
So, thanks everybody for coming today, and what a great way to dedicate a site.
(applause)
Martha: Well thanks Tice, So as Tice was saying how important this area is
I want to introduce the superintendent who is totally responsible (laughter) for making it
a very special area. So Dave Uberuaga, our superintendent at Grand Canyon National Park
(Applause)
Thank you Martha, so let me
ask how many have seen any special birds today how many, anybody?
shout out what did you see
Cooper's hawk
you raised your hand
another Cooper's hawk
Audience member: condor Dave: condor (Audience Oohs)
How many saw a condor today?
OK, well I'm going to stand up here until one comes over head (laughter)
The last meeting we had with condors we had a number of agencies come to the South Rim. Senator John McCain asked that we have a
meeting on condors and wanted to establish his presence in helping with that condor
and the lead ammunition issue that we have in Arizona and Utah.
and he hadn't been here for a number years and we were on the South Rim over by the Thunderbird Hotel - I said
"Well before we start why don't we just go out and look at the canyon!" "That'd be great"
and literally two condors come and landed right in front of him (crowd murmurs) and he goes "This is the place"
(Laughter) Anyway, it was really special and I'm glad to be here today just to talk a little bit
about this designation and as a steward of Grand Canyon National Park and all of our staff
you know, especially Janice, for all the work you've done I want to give you a big shout out for
putting it all together for us. (applause) It takes a lot of documentation to truely have the global designation and to make sure that
we are part of a broader community that takes care and tracks these special species.
so again thank you all for coming and today another thing we're celebrating is our annual wildlife day so please stop by the visitor center
and take in some of those programs.
I saw some condor tattoos here in the group today, so, those are very special just to celebrate as well,
So
I wanted just to tell you a couple things. You know in the park we have over 350 bird species?
Here in the park, and
part of why it's so unique, if you look over this incredible backdrop we have 5 different life zones at Grand Canyon, from the bottom of the
river to the top of the rim here - and those 5 life zones provide what is the equivalent of from Canada, temperate, to Mexico...
All within almost an eyeshot of here and that's what makes it so incredible for all the birds of refuge that come, and place here.
As Tice said and Tice thank you so much for your comments.
I think it just very sweet to talk about the condors, and the Mexican spotted owl, and the pinyon jay
and we're gonna have a couple of peregrine falcons fly by as well today (laughter) I'm counting on that.
But it's really important for the migration of those birds as well
and every time we have a designation like this we add it to the inventory. It adds another layer of
protection for all of us. In terms of sensitive species, habitat protection, migration routes,
those are all very important things to help conserve - for the birds and for the resources - in and around them.
Although I often say that Grand Canyon is the most protected place on earth, in terms of the body of
laws that help protect and guide our day-to-day activities and the preservation of this place,
being a globally designated bird area is also part of the cumulative protection that we have.
and yet, you know what I spend most of my time doing, day in and day out, is protecting the most protected place on the planet.
There are real threats - every day - and threats from smaller issues to you know, picturing
we can't quite see it, but right over there
would be the new escalade, the gondola down to the bottom of the canyon
or in Tusayan, where we're developing more recreational opportunities
Grand Canyon, and our bird resources, we need to continue to monitor them for their health and assure
that all of our natural resources are being protected against potential threats
and a couple of those that we have to be vigilant on are those
external threats of development like I just mentioned: lead poisoning
and climate change. They are real examples that we deal with every day. Threats and have a significant impact on our natural resources;
especially our birds.
Just to name a little bit about the external development and ground water use. We have, around the canyon, limited water resources even
in Arizona, that when you have another well, south of here, or north of here, anywhere
it effects our seeps and springs, and every one of those is diminished in some way
impacts our species of our birds, basically less water, less habitat, less food, less shelter.
And it's really hard to convince the public, when I'm in public meetings, about
how one water well in the wrong place, can jeopardize these springs
along the canyon walls, that are just there so intermittenly, and so fragile,
that just a little bit of water taken from the wrong place can disrupt the plumbing;
can disrupt the life habitat of many of our species
One of the things we've been working with, and I mentioned Senator, McCain, is lead poisoning that, we have worried about
for the California condor, and you know, they fly up to Utah from here..
north, during hunting season, and the hunters there have been working to eliminate lead in their ammunition and replace it with more
sustainable and more environment friendly material and they been talking about a lot of different things but
Arizona Game and Fish is one of these agencies that's come up with some creative ways to
eliminate lead ammunition in the state - especially for the large big game animals
and the condors will travel 150 miles in a day to partake in a gut pile, and the condor team has done a great job of
investing time in relationships with our hunter population and helping them to understand
what little things they can do to contribute to a long life for a condor, which I believe, is it 50 years they can live? Is it?
70 years. So you think about animals and birds and how the impact of some of the lead can do.
We're always monitoring and all, in the forefront of climate change as well, and Grand Canyon is unique place to monitor that,
and because of our extreme elevation changes; You know, we're down at the river, clear up to the rim almost 5000 feet and that creates an
opportunity in a relatively short distance, in a relatively compact area, for us to look and see what are those impacts of climate change.
You know, our threatened and endangered spotted owl - they live right below the rim
in some of these dark, corner, tree habitat - where it's cooler,
and yet, they are a very susceptible to seeps and springs, and other things that need to be monitored, to make sure
that we understand the transformation of some of our species
When you think about climate change, we think about snowfall, rainfall, all those things that add to the seeps and springs
and it has a cumulative effect on all of our habitat, and the life cycle - of all of our our species here
So, what I think about the
globally designated important area for birds, I just think it exemplifies all that Grand Canyon stands for.
It signifies an opportunity for all those citizens, some of you I met before,
to weigh in - to come and join us - to help monitor and protect Grand Canyon's bird resources.
We're working hard to expand our citizen science opportunities for birders, and as Tice said,
we restarted are Christmas bird count in 2012, after number of years of that absence.
We're working with HawkWatch International to maintain our annual migration hawk count,
and if you need an excuse to come out the park, that's another one, bring your binoculars.
They'll train you a few hours to spot the hawks and other hawk watch elements that we need to be trained up on.
and one of the things that I want to, just tell you about in terms of, not only our staff, and our
professional, personal commitment to birds in this sanctuary of Grand Canyon, but our partnership with Grand Canyon Association
and Susan Schroeder, the executive director, will be up in a minute. They have helped us raise a lot of funds for condors, for our bird watch,
for our elements of people in the field, our spotted owl program, and our citizen science
events. They all work together with a number of organizations to make sure that we can continue
on migration counts, outreach and education
different kinds of research and monitoring of these important species.
So, Grand Canyon, we work closely with a number of agencies and organizations, who all deserve credit in protecting and preserving
our bird resources at Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon Association is one of those, Arizona Game and Fish.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Perigrine Fund, the HawkWatch International, Northern Arizona University,
and obviously, the Audubon Society. We all work together, and I want you citizens to know that
collectively, we have a profound impact on protecting our bird resources.
and this dedication is a much about understanding and protecting our bird resources
as it is a celebration of our partnerships with all of the agencies that are here to protect
these bird resources.
so, in conclusion I wanna think all of you who came here today
I want to thank those that have dedicated their professional career
for
protection of our resources.
and for all you citizen scientists
All of you. I'm looking you right in the eye.
(laughter)
I really hope that some way, that Grand Canyon can get you to come out and do a little citizen science
but I don't know who's gonna get you to do that... but I would really welcome your participation
as a volunteer - we need volunteers in every aspect of running this incredible place but wildlife volunteers are a special group
a passionate group, that come out early in the morning, that will record data and be so precise about what they do.
So,
in closing, I just wanna say, all you citizens scientists, let's ramp it up, let's get engaged, let's
make a difference. And thank you all for being here today and protecting our resources
Thank you. (applause)
Thanks, Dave.
Isn't he great been totally responsible? (laughter)
So, as Dave mentioned, we have a really special relationship with Grand Canyon Association,
so I want to introduce to you the chief executive officer of Grand Canyon Association.
The one that brings to us all the monetary important aspects to our work.
Thank you, Martha. (applause)
Well, as Martha said and Dave alluded to, we work very closely.
We are the nonprofit partner that supports Grand Canyon National Park. That is our sole mission is to give them that support
and we take our cues from them. It's, "what do you need?" We go to them and annual basis.
And so it's been very exciting for me personally to be excited about helping to support some of the bird projects.
You know, the, I've always loved birds and I have my mother to thank for that.
When I was very young out we went out and did birding together.
And this is when I started when I was five. You know, we saw the chickedies and the nuthatches,
all those great birds back to Michigan, and here too.
And then as I got older it wasn't in just about the bird species, the individual birds,
but it became much more. It was about the ecosystem, their habitats, protecting their flyways. How all of those things came together.
So when I started my for a Grand Canyon Association I was so excited that was a priority for this organization to help support the park
in there efforts of preserving and protecting not only the birds, but their habitats as well.
One of the ways that we do that is that we work with many of our donors,
our partners in all of this. I am just going to highlight a few of the projects that we support.
NestWatch is one. It's a real fun one.
So we support some of the volunteers and we have some here today,
that actually watch what is happening in those nests. See those cute baby condors when they come out.
and to monitor that. We provide the stipends for the volunteers and some of the housing and also support with the monitoring equipment.
We support HawkWatch International and we'll be hearing from Nikki in a little bit
but that once one of my favorites and I hope you will get to join and watch some of the migration happening and I some of you have already
And isn't this a spectacular setting to be seeing hawks migrating overhead.
So we're really pleased to partner with Hawk Watch and the Park Service on that.
We have an Adopt-a-Lion Program where you can go into one of our stories on the South Rim and you can adapt a lion.
It's a little plush animal that can you can buy and you get a little certificate saying that you are adopting this mountain lion.
And part of those funds go to help support many things that also component of that is for the bird program
and that is monitoring that the California condors and also Mexican spotted owls.
We also get to help support things like Celebrate Wildlife today. For any of you were there earlier today
or can go back later this afternoon over at the Visitor Center is lots of great activities.
We're really are happy to be all the help provide funding for that.
And last but not least is that we have a very specific fundraising project this year
and that again was determined by the park. You know they have lots of many issues as you can imagine
and they have to prioritize what they think it's gonna be most helpful for them that year and this year it's called Birding with a Purpose.
So, it's not just recreational birding but it's actually birding for some of the projects.
It's helping to monitor, helping to raise funds to monitor the Mexican spotted owls, the California condors
to help support the HawkWatch International counting that's going on and then also to help the citizen science that they've talked about
and that's a really exciting one to see everybody get involved.
It's not just people that are biologists but its citizens like yourself thinking involved.
So we are in process right now in raising those funds. So if any of you are interest, all you bird lovers out there,
if you would like to donate to any of those projects please see me afterwards, I'm happy talk to you about that.
And then I just wanted to say that I really appreciate the partners that helped make this designation possible.
It's really important component for for the park and it's just a pleasure to be a part of the group that did that.
And lastly thanks to all of the donors that have been supporting these programs
throughout their purchases in our stores or the gift of there time or money to help this program fly.
So thank you everyone. (applause)
Thank you, Susan
Okay, so how important are the birds here at Grand Canyon? (laughter)
Well, we have Nikki Wayment and Nikki is the Education and Outreach Director for HawkWatch International.
And this group has been coming to the rim and doing fabulous work
in terms of keeping track of all the birds coming over. So, Nikki. Thank you.
(applause)
So, I speak a lot. It's my job. I talked to people. I talk to students and adults and all over the place,
and I have to say this is probably the most intimidated I've ever been following those three.
I should have gone first. (laughter) It's a little intimidating. Then go first then.
Next time I'd like to go first. (laughter)
So, thank you for having me. I think that everyone here the Grand Canyon holds a really special place for me.
HawkWatch International has been monitoring in the Grand Canyon since the early 1990s at Lipan Point
and the late 1990s at Yaki Point just behind us
And it's a really, really amazing place to come and watch birds.
Last year I came down and helped the crew get set up and Brian, who is one of interpreter in the park
was helping us, was stand on the edge of Yaki Point,
just sort of getting familiar with the site in figuring out what the crew would be doing
and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, this huge zone tailed hawk just flew up from the ridge of the canyon and I thought
that will probably never happen again in my lifetime. It was pretty impressive. It was a life experience for me.
And I think we can all probably talk about the Grand Canyon and how it's had some kind of impact like that on all of us.
I have an almost three year old, who I am raising to be a total bird nerd like me
and yesterday we came to visit the crew and drop off some things and the walks over here
and after standing and looking at the canyon, literally right here, a turkey vulture flew by must follow monarchy had a great system and a
and he goes, "oh, mama, pink head." And I was like, "yes".
And so then I was trying to teach him to say vulture and it was really cute but
it's a really, really magical place and we're so grateful to the park service for having us here and supporting us and
being such an asset and ally to our crew, who are here really from the end of August
to the first part of November. They camp on Forest Service Land right outside the park.
And they spend everyday sitting on the edge of this amazingly beautiful place watching hawks migrate.
So it's not a bad job, don't feel bad for them and not say you should feel bad for them.
I'm just saying that we're incredibly lucky that the park service is so great to us.
I also really want to thank the Grand Canyon Association for helping fund the work that we do here.
Because of their support as well as the Arizona Game and Fish Heritage Fund
we been able to operate both sites this year. So we have a migration site at Yaki Point as well as Lipan Point.
Both of those are open to the public and I welcome and encourage all of you to visit with the crews.
They're really knowledgeable. They can give you great tips for identifying different birds of prey
and it's a really, really fun experience.
So, if you have a camping chair just take it out with you and have a seat and
you can spend all day to it's really important and fun to do that.
So, I want to talk a little bit about why the Grand Ganyon is such a great place for us to watch raptors.
So, we have to migration sites here as I mentioned. It's two of eight migration sites
that HawkWatch operates throughout the Western United States and the Gulf Coast
and the Grand Canyon has one of the largest concentrations of migrating raptors known in the western United States and Canada
and it's a unique place because as the raptors migrate to get to a point where they split
and they either come this way past Yaki Point or the other way past the Lipan Point.
And so combined we see an average of about 10,000 migrating raptors every year
here in the Grand Canyon between the two points and we don't count turkey vultures,
So, unfortunately, I really like them. (laughter)
But they are also pretty resident here. They don't need to migrate so we are actually count them.
So you can imagine if we're actually counting turkey vultures, then that number as well would be much higher.
The reason that we monitor birds of prey and the reason look at them during their migration
is because raptors are an apex predator. They feed at the top of the food pyramid.
There also found in almost every ecosystem
and in every habitats and they also occupied large areas and are sensitive to not only environmental contaminants
but also human disturbance. And so in that sense there be the great bio indicator for was happening in an ecosystem.
HawkWatch has been collecting migration data for over 30 years
and it's allowed us to help make some really important observations and statements
about what's happening with raptor populations especially in the west
where we are seeing and increased decrease in American Kestrel,
which is the smallest falcon in North America, as well as golden eagles.
And so, HawkWatch is spending a lot of time looking it over the species trying to figure out what's causing them to decline
and how we can mitigate that. So, again we're really just happy to be here. We love the Grand Canyon.
We love the partnerships that we have. I have enjoy being able to come down every year.
Each of us at HawkWatch sort of have our own site
and the Grand Canyon is mine and so I don't want to change that ever. I love coming here.
My family love it. And so, really again thank you all. This is a huge win for birds across North America,
but especially here in the Grand Canyon and we are really really excited to be a part of it.
Thanks so much. Alright. Well, thank you everybody for coming out. We have one other thing.
As you can see it kind of takes a village to do all this work and right now we have volunteers that are out on a point over here
that are doing the count for HawkWatch and so invite you to go out and speak with them and see what's going on,
and and hopefully sign up for the next time you come or while you're here
and Dave, do you want to conclude?
I do just want to have everybody, I want to have a couple of pictures.
I want to have them with the guest speakers here together with our sign and then I wanna have
all of you somehow we'll figure out how to sit right in here and just be part of that designation
and have a couple group photos and somebody on our staff will Tweet that and I'm sure Instgram that right out to the world.
Because everyone is waiting to find out what happened here today. I don't know if you guys know that or not.
I'm sure that we want to do that. So, again thank you all for coming. So just hang with us.
We will do a couple photos. So all the guest speakers come up and Martha. And then I want to have one with staff as well.
Let's do that. Thank you everybody. (applause)