Project Profiles - Mexico

Holistic Conservation in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve
by Terry Rich, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The 383,567-hectare Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve covers the northern third of the state of Querétaro and is the most ecologically diverse protected area in Mexico. The ecosystems it contains range from semi-desert in the lower elevations to cloud forest in the higher elevations. More than 360 bird species have been identified within the biosphere reserve and significant range extensions have been documented for more then 100 of them—including chivizcoyo, or bearded wood-partridge. This rare and secretive bird is an important indicator of large, contiguous tracts of relatively pristine Mesoamerican cloud forest.

One hundred thirty-one species of mammals, 71 of reptiles, and 23 of amphibians can be found carefully sharing the reserve's habitat with all 6 of Mexico's species of wild cats. More than 700 species of butterflies add flashes of color to the already rich canvas of 1,724 vascular plant species in the reserve.

Thanks to the tireless conservation and protection efforts of Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda (Grupo), the integrity of the reserve's habitat and natural resources has been upheld for years, benefitting both wildlife and people. Under the leadership of Roberto Pedraza Muñoz and Martha Isabel "Pati" Ruiz, Grupo has helped ensure there is sufficient, high-quality habitat for even the reserve's large-ranging species like tigre, or jaguar. Their goal has been to motivate the 600 communities and l00,000 inhabitants of the Sierra Gorda to willingly participate in activities and make choices that will help maintain the area's natural riches for the long-term.

Education is a cornerstone of Grupo's efforts to enable communities within and around the reserve to be sustainable and prosperous ones. Grupo currently has more than 50 dedicated workers, 20 of which are professionally trained ecology teachers. Over the past 12 years, they have been teaching courses in 193 schools in 137 communities, reaching 17,000 children. From 1989 to 1998 more than 20,000 environmental awareness meetings were held with adults as well.

In the reserve, no aspect of life is overlooked in the quest for sustainable conservation. Recycling, solid-waste management, human health and nutrition, wood-saving stoves, vegetable and fruit growing, river cleanups, sustainable timber harvest, reforestation, and eco-tourism are all part of the program. Reforestation and improved timber management are particularly high priorities. In the past 12 years, Grupo and its partners have planted some 3 million trees and reforested approximately 3,700 acres of land. They have purchased another 2,960 acres of forest and designated them preserves. They also have protected the soil by constructing more than 3,900 feet of check dams and nearly 9 miles of ground terraces.

To protect wildlife and forest resources, Grupo also organized a vigilance network through which community members report illegal activities to the proper authorities. As a result, the illegal harvesting of timber and capturing of birds have been greatly reduced. Little by little, Grupo's actions are changing attitudes, steering regional development, and promoting a conservation ethic that will ensure a promising future for the Sierra Gorda.

For more information, contact Terry Rich, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners in Flight National Coordinator, 1387 S. Vinnell Way, Boise, Idaho 83709, (208) 378-5347, terry_rich@fws.gov.

Sierra Gorda Partners:

Ejidos and other landowners
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
U. S. Forest Service
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Golden Gate Audubon Society
Woolftree of Oregon
Conservation Food and Health Foundation
The William P. Wharton Trust
Cummins of Mexico
Hewlett Packard of Mexico
Japanese Embassy
Australian Embassy
Canadian Embassy
The Netherlands Embassy
Kellogg

Introducing Extinction
by José Angel Sánchez Pacheco and Bernie Tershy, Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas

Islands around the world are essential to marine wildlife and are often rich in endemic plant and animal species as well. Seabirds, pinnipeds, and sea turtles may forage over thousands of kilometers of ocean, but they depend on islands for critical breeding and nesting habitat. The more than 250 islands along Baja California's Pacific coast and in the Gulf of California provide such habitat for 30 eastern Pacific seabird species, 4 pinniped species, and 2 sea turtle species. Mexico is considered a "megadiversity hotspot,"evidenced by the more than 230 endemic species and subspecies of plants and animals found on these islands alone.

An estimated 75 percent of the extinct species of birds, mammals, and reptiles worldwide were endemic to islands. Humans' introduction of exotic mammals to the world's islands directly or indirectly caused 67 percent of these island-species extinctions. In northwest Mexico, the human population has grown dramatically. Subsequently, humans use of and affect on the region's islands have increased. At least 30 percent of northwest Mexican islands now contain introduced mammals, which have caused 21 of the 23 apparent extinctions of those islands' endemic birds and mammals.

Introduced goats, sheep, and rabbits threaten the islands' endemic plant communities with degradation and/or extinction through overgrazing and soil erosion. Feral cats may have caused the extinction of Guadalupe storm-petrel (endemic to Isla Guadalupe) and several other bird species through predation. Cats also caused severe damage to colonies of black-vented shearwater on Isla Natividad and to populations of Xantus' murrelet and other hole-nesting seabirds on Islas Todos Santos, San Roque, Coronados, and San Martin. Mexico's two most endangered bird species, Townsend's shearwater and the endemic Socorro mockingbird, are likewise threatened by mammals that were introduced in the Revillagigedo Archipelago. Island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to introduced species because most island species evolved in the absence of such predators and herbivores.

Since 1996, Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C., (GECI) and its U.S. counterpart Island Conservation and Ecology Group have been working with non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies such as the Natural Protected Areas Commission and the General Division of Wildlife to protect insular ecosystems of northwest Mexico. They have removed introduced mammals from 20 islands in the region and have been conducting environmental education efforts for island communities and visitors alike.

In 2001, GECI received a $158,000 North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant to remove introduced rabbits, pigs, and sheep from Isla Clarión and to initiate the eradication of cats and sheep from Isla Socorro in the Revillagidedo Archipelago Special Biosphere Reserve. The Packard Foundation, Homeland Foundation, and Weeden Foundation matched grant funds with $167,100. The results of their work will be reported in a future issue of Birdscapes.

For more information, contact José Ángel Sánchez Pacheco, Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C., AP 162, Punta Banda, Baja California, Mexico, CP 22791, (526) 154-2542, sanchez@islandconservation.org, or Bernie Tershy, Island Conservation and Ecology Group, Center for Ocean Health, 100 Shaffer Road, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95060, (831) 469-8651, tershy@islandconservation.org.