Enhancing Critical Rookery Islands for the Protection and Preservation of Colonial Waterbirds

Summary

Audubon Texas seeks to improve the suitability of rookery islands through habitat enhancement and protection activities.  Funds will be used to conduct rookery island enhancement and protection activities; train community members to survey rookery islands; monitor Colonial Waterbird populations during breeding season; upload data to the Audubon Texas online database and mobile app and participate in outreach events.  These habitat protection efforts will increase Colonial Waterbird nesting and feeding success and improve survivorship.  These efforts will result in greater understanding of the regional distribution and abundance of CW, which will improve the ability of planners, managers and decision-makers to prioritize sites for conservation action and respond to threats.  A suite of performance measures and process metrics, including acres of rookery island habitat enhanced and pre- and post-activity surveys, will be used to determine project success.  This program will provide a long-term investment in the rookery islands, wildlife and citizens of the Texas coast.