by Anita Gilson - Senior Coordinator, Private Lands, Audubon Texas

Published July 25, 2024

Audubon Conservation Ranching (ACR) has wrapped up spring breeding bird monitoring surveys on four ACR-certified Texas ranches with good results. There was no shortage of Painted Buntings and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and the team even sighted a few rarities such as Black-capped Vireo. Monitoring data will be distributed to participating ACR landowners and land managers, and will be used in collaboration with our partner, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, to better understand how management actions like grazing affect grassland bird populations.  

The ACR program has been busy onboarding new ranches and is continuing outreach with four Texas ranches and one ranch in New Mexico currently in the pipeline for Audubon Conservation Ranching certifications. ACR is collaborating with these producers to learn about their operations as well as formulate their 3-year habitat management plans.  

The ACR program continues outreach activities throughout Texas, with multiple events held over the past quarter. In May, Range Ecologist Anita Gilson presented at the Matador Wildlife Management Area field day, sharing grassland bird management and ACR information with a dedicated group of landowners from across the panhandle. The ACR team also attended and presented at the North Texas Interagency Partnership meeting, which is a collaborative gathering of industry professionals from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Playa Lakes Joint Venture, Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture, and now includes Audubon Texas. It was a wonderful opportunity to increase cooperation and partnerships. May also brought the ACR team to the Blackland Prairie with the Western Navarro Bobwhite Recovery Initiative Spring meeting, which garnered a great deal of interest in the program and connected to many new up and coming ACR ranches. Audubon Texas is appreciative of ACR and grassland habitat partners and looks forward to the many new working relationships and strengthened partnerships that have been created.