{"id":1659,"date":"2022-09-26T12:13:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T16:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/?page_id=1659"},"modified":"2022-10-12T10:58:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T14:58:56","slug":"birds-are-a-multiplier-for-environmental-justice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/birds-are-a-multiplier-for-environmental-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Birds Are a Multiplier for Environmental Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Birds and people alike need healthy environments. Several recent studies show that Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities experience outsized environmental risks. Collaborative environmental investments in disadvantaged communities can advance environmental justice along with the conservation of birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California: Birds and ecosystem benefits make the difference for flood-ravaged farm community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hamilton City is home to 2,000 people along the Sacramento River in one of the most flood-prone regions of California. Six times between 1980 and 2000, the community was evacuated due to rising waters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem was an old levee\u2014originally built to protect farm fields\u2014that had become severely degraded, yet it was the only line of flood protection. For many years the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was unable to make levee improvements, due to federal requirements for financial benefits from proposed flood control projects. Hamilton City is designated as a disadvantaged community by the California Department of Water Resources, and property values in the area couldn\u2019t meet the threshold for protected assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The community is so happy to finally have the new levee for meaningful flood protection, and to see all the birds that the new habitat is now attracting.<\/p>Jose Puente, community leader, Hamilton City, CA<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hamilton City resident Jose Puente and his wife, Lee Ann Grigsby-Puente, had been working for levee improvements since the 1970s, organizing taco and tamale sales to form a community group that could make a case for support. Still the answers weren\u2019t good, and the future looked even worse\u2014with water runoff along the Sacramento River projected to increase up to 60% by 2100 due to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in 2000, Congress allowed ecosystem benefits to be included in assessments of flood-control projects. The Nature Conservancy of California stepped in to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Corps, and the community on designing riparian habitat into a new levee system. The completed project would connect nearby national wildlife refuge lands and create one of the largest contiguous areas of wildlife habitat along the Sacramento River\u2014benefitting local populations of Red-tailed Hawks; several at-risk bird species such as Lazuli Bunting and Bank Swallow; and 35 federally endangered species, including Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Least Bell\u2019s Vireo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the benefits for birds and riparian habitat included, the federal cost-benefit analysis climbed above the required threshold and the project was finally greenlighted for federal funding. TNC California helped acquire all land needed for the project, which was ultimately deeded to the local reclamation district. The Hamilton City setback levee was completed in 2021, and Puente\u2019s vision finally became reality\u2014a $100 million federal flood-protection project at last delivered for a tight-knit community who had been asking for flood relief for 50 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Conservation Crossover Opportunity: Where Urban Bird Treaty Greening Could Help Birds and People.<\/strong> This map shows stopover areas used by migratory birds in the Houston, Texas, area (radar image of migratory birds taking off at sunset by BirdCast). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Surface heat temperature readings in the Houston area (by the H3AT: 2020 Heat Mapping Campaign). Comparison with the previous map shows how Urban Bird Treaty-funded greening projects could simultaneously provide migratory-bird habitat and cooling shade cover in heat islands.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Greening up urban areas can provide relief for inner-city communities and migratory birds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Urban heat islands of concrete and pavement can get up to 22\u00b0F hotter than surrounding suburban and rural areas. People living in heat islands are more vulnerable to heat exhaustion, which complicates heart and respiratory conditions. Climate forecasts say the problem is going to get worse, with more frequent and prolonged periods of extreme heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Greening urban areas with native trees helps restore urban habitat for birds while also improving community health, especially for underserved, inner-city communities of color.<\/p>Helen Drummond, executive director, Houston Audubon<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Many of our nation\u2019s big cities (and urban heat islands) are clustered along the coasts, which are also major corridors for bird migration. For example, more than 2 billion birds migrate across the Gulf of Mexico in spring. The exhausted birds that make landfall along the Texas coast are looking for safe places to rest and refuel, with millions touching down in the Houston area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal bird conservation initiatives like the Urban Bird Treaty program offer a funding opportunity to green up urban heat islands and get two-for-one benefits\u2014providing shade and cover for inner-city residents in the Houston neighborhoods that register the highest surface-heat temperatures, while also adding to the city\u2019s stopover habitat for migratory birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pueblo lands: Restoring Rio Grande backwaters to revitalize bird habitat and cultural traditions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the Desert Southwest, wetlands and riparian areas are crucial to birds (harboring up to 90% of local avian diversity) and Indigenous peoples (for sustaining life and traditional practices). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Restoring rivers protects birds and people, which in turn helps preserve our culture. After all, we are one.<\/p>Governor Joseph Sanchez, Pueblo of Santa Ana<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Several decades of channelization along the Rio Grande in New Mexico have lowered the river\u2019s water flows, in the process eliminating many wetlands, backwaters, oxbows, and wet meadows\u2014 and diminishing Tribal ways of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, more than a dozen Tribes in the region\u2014 including the Pueblos of Santa Ana, Isleta, Sandia, and Ohkay Owingeh\u2014have been leading an effort to bring back the Rio Grande\u2019s backwaters and oxbows. By including birds and wildlife habitat in their projects, the Tribes were able to access federal funding and agency resources. The collaborative projects restored riparian habitat for local birds on the Endangered Species list, such as Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, while creating fertile meadows for the gathering of culturally important medicinal plants for Tribes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restored backwaters and oxbows flush with cottonwoods and willows also provide better water filtration\u2014removing excess nitrogen and phosphorus for cleaner water\u2014and the higher river flows provide more irrigation water for crops. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birds and people alike need healthy environments. Several recent studies show that Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities experience outsized environmental risks. Collaborative environmental investments in disadvantaged communities can advance environmental justice along with the conservation of birds. California: Birds and ecosystem benefits make the difference for flood-ravaged farm community Hamilton City is home to 2,000… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2021,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_birdpress_hero_toggle":true,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":1936,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":1658,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"Birds Are a Key Investment for Protecting Biodiversity","_birdpress_prev_article":1660,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"Bird Habitat Can Put America on a Fast Track to Climate Resilience","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":21,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"Benefits","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1659","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}