Search Results
SRP Coordinators Visit California to Promote Strategic Partnerships
Late last year, Manomet Shorebird Recovery Program coordinators for the Southern Cone and Northwest Mexico visited sites in California to share lessons and experiences and encourage the nomination of a new WHSRN site at Morro Bay on California’s central coast. Southern Cone Programs Coordinator Diego Luna Quevedo and Northwest Mexico Programs Coordinator Eduardo Palacios attended the annual meeting of CRIMBI, the Copper River International Migratory Bird Initiative, in San Diego. CRIMBI is a network of scientists, land owners, state and federal government agencies and environmental nonprofits that work together to protect migratory bird habitat on the west coast of the Americas, from the north slope of Alaska to Peru. “Conserving shorebirds involves responding to questions that are...
Report Finds Close To $50 Million In Sandy Recovery For Coastal Bird Habitats
A report from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences has identified close to $50 million of projects needed to help bird populations and habitat impacted by Hurricane Sandy. "Hurricane Sandy did significant damage to some long-term conservation work," said Stephen Brown, director of Manomet's Shorebird Science Division. "Important habitats for high priority species have been altered by this storm. Areas that were being managed for conservation took a big hit." As part of the report, researchers identified actions that should be taken immediately to remediate negative impacts from the storm and protocols that can be put into effect to minimize long-term secondary effects of future storms. The report included over...
Presentation in Boston on Restoring Downeast Maine’s Fisheries
Can a community build a future on fishing? On January 23, Manomet will host a presentation in Boston on restoring what was once one of the world's most vibrant fisheries. The talk will focus on the Downeast Fisheries Partnership (DFP), a recently launched effort to restore Downeast Maine’s freshwater and marine ecosystems. Fish stocks in Downeast Maine are at an all time low and the region's rivers hold the last remnants of wild Atlantic salmon in the United States. At the event, Manomet’s Anne Hayden and Penobscot East Resource Center Executive Director Robin Alden will discuss a collaboration of local groups that has joined forces to restore these ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Cod...
Hagan Talk Focuses on Making Science Effective in a Polarized Society
On November 29, Manomet President John Hagan gave a presentation in Boston on the challenges scientists face in a time of increasing polarization. More than 35 people attended the program, including scientists from a variety of disciplines. Hagan drew from his own personal experiences at Manomet with forestry, biomass energy and climate change to discuss why people filter information to suit their own agendas and how this works to impede problem solving. He emphasized the need for people with different views to work together on traditionally polarizing and contentious issues in order for progress to be made. “You can't solve complex problems just by working with like-minded people,” Hagan said. “You will inevitably run into other...
Manomet Receives Contract To Study Hurricane Impact on Coastal Bird Habitat
The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation launched a study this week to assess Hurricane Sandy’s impact on coastal bird habitat. “This is an important opportunity to understand how this historic storm has affected current and future generations of birds,” said Stephen Brown, director of the Shorebird Science Division at Manomet’s Shorebird Recovery Project. Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on October 29th but the storm was so large that high winds and storm surges extended far up and down the East Coast. Under the contract, Manomet will work with the Foundation to coordinate a regional assessment of the impact on coastal shorebird, waterbird, and waterfowl populations and their habitats...
Arctic Monitoring Leads to New Understanding of Shorebirds, Landmark Book
A groundbreaking book published last month reveals a new understanding of global shorebird populations and the habitats they rely on for survival. Arctic Shorebirds in North America represents a decade of Arctic monitoring as part of the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM), which Manomet developed to implement the recommendations in the U.S. and Canadian Shorebird Plans. Manomet Director of the Shorebird Science Division Stephen Brown co-authored four sections of the new book. “Conducting research on this scale is only possible when you bring together a wide array of talented and dedicated conservationists,” Brown said. “The organizations working collaboratively on this project are the best at what they do, and a pleasure to work with.” ...
Arctic Team Reports Lots Of Shorebirds Nests And Lots Of Foxes
The number of nests created by shorebirds in the Arctic was very similar to previous years but the nesting success rate was negatively impacted by a booming Arctic fox population, according to Manomet researchers. Manomet’s Arctic shorebird research team returned this month from a windy field season. Shorebird Conservation Specialist Brad Winn said the foxes took a toll on all nesting birds in the study area but he warned against drawing large conclusions from one season. “That’s why the Arctic Shorebird Demographics Network is so important,” Winn said, referring to the 15-organization effort led by Manomet and the Fish and Wildlife Service. “It’s a long-term commitment.” Winn said the team suspected that the cause of the booming...
Ospreys Thriving Once Again In Massachusetts
Ospreys are a common sight on the Westport River, a great achievement for a bird that was once so close to extinction. On July 19th a group from the Manomet Center gathered in Westport, MA, to observe the Osprey Monitor Program in the field. Led by Cornell Ornithologist Alan Poole, Massachusetts Audubon Osprey Monitor Anna Salinas and Manomet Councilors Betty Slade and David Cole, the group toured the Westport River to observe the banding of juveniles. In the 1940s there were around 1,000 breeding pairs of osprey from New York to Boston, until the species suffered a population crash in the 1960s and 70s as a result of the spraying of pesticides such as DDT. The population numbers plummeted by...
Senators Applaud Collaboration on Shorebird Plan
During a Capitol Hill reception held earlier this month, two U.S. Senators praised the extensive collaboration behind a newly launched Atlantic Flyways shorebird conservation plan. More than 40 organizations worked together to develop the plan, which was launched at the May 10 event in the Russell Senate Office Building. “I commend the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, and the other conservation partners for their efforts in developing a comprehensive flyway approach to shorebird conservation," Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) said in a statement after the event. "This comprehensive plan is the first of its kind nationally, and it has the potential to be an important model for other conservation efforts across the country...
Manomet Hosts Senate Reception to Celebrate Shorebird Conservation Plan
The Manomet Center is hosting a Washington D.C. reception today with two U.S. senators to celebrate and support the recently drafted Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Conservation Plan. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Ben Cardin of Maryland will speak at the May 10th event, which will be held from 5:30-7:30 pm in the Russell Senate Office Building. The Conservation Plan is the result of a wide-reaching collaboration between dozens of conservation groups, scientists, federal and state officials. The Plan aims to recover and then conserve the populations of shorebirds throughout their life cycle along the Atlantic Flyway of the Americas. "Because of its enormous geographic scale, shorebird conservation is too big for any one organization, government or treaty organization," said...