Rainwater Basin Named “Landscape of Hemispheric Importance” for Shorebirds
May 6th, 2009
April 1, 2009
Manomet, MA — The Executive Office of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences has announced the designation of Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin as its first Landscape of Hemispheric Importance.
The Rainwater Basin is 6,100-square-mile region of shallow playa wetlands located south of the Platte River in south-central Nebraska. In the spring and fall, millions of migratory birds pass through the region to feed and rest. Some of the 40 species of shorebirds that visit the Rainwater Basin include American Golden-Plovers, White-rumped Sandpipers, Sanderlings, Wilson’s Phalaropes, and Hudsonian Godwits that migrate each year between Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America, and the northernmost brink of Canada and Alaska. One species, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, is especially dependent on the eastern Rainwater Basin, with virtually all the world’s “buffies”, estimated at 20,000 to 30,000, stopping over to feed in the region’s agricultural fields each spring.
Before making a designation, WHSRN requires a written commitment from a recognized conservation entity — in this case the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture — to work with area landowners, making shorebird conservation a priority. According to WHSRN Executive Director Charles Duncan, “The Rainwater Basin is a wonderful example of a variety of partnerships working effectively together to restore and protect wetland habitat that is vitally beneficial to shorebirds and people.” The nomination of the Rainwater Basin was achieved collaboratively by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Nongame Bird Program Manager, Joel Jorgensen, and the Joint Venture’s recently-retired coordinator, Steve Moran.
Jorgensen noted that, in addition to being the first Landscape of Hemispheric Importance, the Rainwater Basin is only the second site in the Great Plains to receive WHSRN’s highest designation, “hemispheric importance.” The significance of the recognition, he said, is that “WHSRN is the leading conservation initiative for this group of birds that travel across the hemisphere.” Because shorebirds’ migrations span continents, conservation efforts require what Jorgensen calls “a hemispheric perspective.”
Joint Venture coordinator Andy Bishop remarked, “Here in Nebraska, we’ve always known the Rainwater Basin was important to shorebirds. The WHSRN designation confirms that fact and brings international attention to the Rainwater Basin.”
WHSRN is the oldest and most important hemisphere-scale voluntary conservation collaborative in the world. Its mission is the conservation of shorebird species and their habitats through a network of key sites in the Americas. WHSRN currently comprises 73 sites and one landscape in 12 countries, totalling some 25 million acres. Additional information is at www.whsrn.org.
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