Conservation
Photo by Cole Wolf
The Audubon Society’s key mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems. The Central New Mexico Audubon Society works to fulfill this mission through citizen science – hundreds of amateur naturalists doing their part by volunteering their time to activities like counting birds or cleaning up wetlands, as well as lending their financial, political and organizational support to conservation efforts.
Citizen scientists in Central New Mexico have been making a difference for a decade by counting and banding the three species of rosy-finch, all of which visit the Sandias each winter. This work is providing ornithologists with basic information about the behavior and environmental sensitivities of these birds – information that could not be collected in any other way. The Central New Mexico Audubon Society provides key volunteer and financial support to this effort.
The Central New Mexico Audubon Society has also provided volunteers to help clean up and study the Belen Marsh, a diverse wetland that developed by chance when construction left a depression that dipped below the area’s water table in the 1990s. Citizen scientists have already spotted nearly 100 bird varieties at the Belen Marsh, greatly strengthening the argument of advocates for its preservation.
The Central New Mexico chapter has adopted the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge through the Audubon Refuge Keepers program. The Refuge is a must-see for any birder visiting the area, and is also a fine example of how government can do a good job protecting wildlife.
Our chapter is also proud to support the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge grounds are ordinarily closed to the public, but a visitor’s center is now complete and open daily. The refuge is involved in assisting in Mexican Wolf reintroduction to the Southwest and is a vital source of long-term ecological research.
The New Mexico Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program is part of a broader Audubon Society effort to identify and work for the preservation of all important bird breeding, migrating or wintering habitats around the world. The program has no regulatory authority, but rather helps local citizen scientists focus their research, conservation and advocacy efforts on the ecosystems most important to New Mexico’s avian visitors and residents.
Central New Mexico Audubon Society members are involved in dozens of other conservation efforts around the state – just contact us for more information. In addition to the Society itself, the Rio Grande Nature Center and the Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe are excellent resources for citizen scientists who want to do their part to preserve our natural heritage.