The South Bay Burrowing Owl Survey Network: Partnering across disciplines to conserve a locally important species

Background/Question/Methods

Over the past several decades burrowing owls have nesting and overwintered in the annual grasslands that surround the San Francisco Bay. More recently burrowing owls have become concentrated into fringe habitats immediately surrounding the Bay, many of which are in highly urbanized and growing areas, such as Silicon Valley. As urbanization removes the last remaining remnant habitat areas the species faces local extirpation. The burrowing owl is a covered species in the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan and as such biological goals and objectives have been created to sustain and grow the local burrowing owl population over the next 50 years, the term of the permits associated with the Habitat Conservation Plan. In order to respond to that charge the burrowing owl nesting population will be monitored annually and this paper reports on the results of the first year of those surveys. Secondly, all remaining habitat area were assessed for their conservation value for burrowing owl and lands were prioritized for burrowing owl management activities.

Results/Conclusions

The Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan coordinated a survey effort that included local non-profits, the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, the Cities of San Jose and Mountain View, San Jose International Airport and NASA-Ames Moffett Field. This first-of-its kind coordinated survey effort in the region provided the most thorough survey of the nesting burrowing owl population in the South Bay Area. Total nesting attempts and the number of nesting adults was up slightly from previous years. The survey results are utilized by the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to allocate burrowing owl conservation funds and to track compliance with conservation program outlined in the burrowing owl conservation strategy, a key component of the Habitat Conservation Plan. In addition, surveyors were able to identify areas where prescribed management would be beneficial to burrowing owls and the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency is moving forward with multi-year management agreements with several private and public land owners in the region.