Each spring, the Southwestern willow flycatcher journeys thousands of perilous miles from Central and South America to breed in the few remaining dense riparian thickets bordering the Rio Grande, the Gila, the Colorado, and other rivers and streams in the arid Southwest.

In a span of three months, the male flycatcher must find suitable habitat, establish nesting territory and attract a female, who must lay and hatch eggs. Together, the pair must raise their young until they can fledge, mature and deposit fat before the arduous return to the wintering grounds.

Because of river flow reductions and habitat alteration and loss, the Southwestern willow flycatcher teeters on the brink of extinction; the Service listed it as endangered in 1995. But this tiny bird—and many others— may one day be restored thanks in part to recovery teams that study the plights of imperiled species and recommend solutions

Because the issues associated with the Southwestern willow flycatcher’s endangered status are complex and were anticipated to be contentious, the Service appointed a team in 1998 to study the threats to the bird and to provide unbiased guidance for recovery of the species. Thirteen scientists and natural resource professionals from various agencies and disciplines form the recovery effort’s technical subgroup.

The group’s work has not been easy.

“So far, it has been a long and complex process,” said recovery team leader Debbie Finch. “But this care was needed to design an integrated and interdisciplinary plan which includes stakeholder input.”

The complexities of the recovery process reflect the complexities that have contributed to the species’ endangerment. The problem of riparian habitat loss— which adversely affects many species— is widespread throughout the Southwest as a result of urban and agricultural development, hydraulic modification such as dams, diversions and groundwater overdraft, fires, invasive plants, increased human population, and overgrazing by domestic livestock.

Also, the Southwestern willow flycatcher contends with brown-headed cowbirds. Cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds which expend parental care on cowbird young at the expense of their own young, ultimately reducing nesting success of birds like the flycatcher.

Because of these factors, the Service recognized that widespread participation from the public would be essential to draft not just a scientifically credible plan, but one that people would embrace. More than 300 community representatives across the Southwest—ranchers, environmental representatives, water and power interests, state and federal land managers, tribal representatives, and local governments— participated in the planning process and have the ultimate responsibility of implementing the recovery plan.

The group’s work has not been easy. In addition to public meetings, recovery team members visited a number of sites— in California, New Mexico and Arizona— that are important habitat to the Southwestern willow flycatcher and they spoke with many private land owners.

“Input gained from the stakeholder meetings, as well as visits to known flycatcher sites, has been extremely helpful in formulating the plan,” Finch said.

A Web site was developed to promote dialogue between the community representatives and recovery team members, and to elicit discussion among the scientists.

“In drafting the recovery plan, we have spent a great deal of energy reviewing and considering the abundance of varying and complex information,” said Stuart Leon, Service recovery coordinator for the Southwest region.

The recovery team’s recommendations have been formally documented in a draft recovery plan which will be available to the public this winter.

Ben Ikenson, External Affairs, Albuquerque, New Mexico