Sonoran Joint Venture
Land Protection
The SJV supports partner efforts to protect grasslands in multiple ways, including the creation of conservation easements and natural protected areas and supporting and promoting incentive programs that help ranchers stay on their land. In Mexico, partners are working with landowners to create voluntarily designated natural protected areas.
Grassland Restoration
The SJV supports partners interested in grassland restoration and enhancement by providing technical assistance, making connections to increase the impact of individual projects by creating networks of restoration efforts, and supporting the use of birds as indicators of success of restoration activities.
Grassland Enhancement/Management
The SJV is developing tools and training to support land managers in implementing best practices for grassland restoration, enhancement, and management to support priority bird species, including our recently published Arizona Bird and Species Habitat Accounts (https://sonoranjv.org/conservation-tools/species-and-habitat-accounts/). SJV are implementing a series of “Land Steward Workshops” to provide managers with tools and resources to help them consider birds when designing and implementing land management activities.
Wetland Conservation
Channelization and groundwater withdrawal in the SJV region has decreased both the extent and quality of historically extensive grassy wetlands and marshes and seasonal playas. The SJV works with partners to actively restore wetlands through native species planting, invasive plant management/eradication, and erosion control. The SJV also incorporates wetland restoration into grazing management best practices.
