Get Behind the San Juan Bluebirds (and the San Juan Preservation Trust!)

Recently fledged Western bluebirds in San Juan Valley. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Ballard

Contributed by the Staff and Board of the San Juan Preservation Trust

In March 2011, the San Juan Islands Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project (for which the San Juan Preservation Trust is a coordinating partner) will enter its fifth year. We typically apply for grants from agencies and foundations ourselves, but this year you can help!

We are currently in an on-line voting competition for funding from the Zoo Boise Conservation Fund. Our esteemed project partner, the American Bird Conservancy, has requested this funding (you will see their name associated with the project on the voting page). A winner will be identified at the end of October.

We would greatly appreciate your efforts to help us “get out the vote” for this important project.  Voting should only take about 1-2 minutes and you can access the process at the Zoo Boise Conservation Fund web page here.  Voting closes October 29 so its important to do this as soon as possible.

A little background for those who aren’t familiar with this project:   Bluebirds last nested on the San Juan Islands in the early 1960s. Over the last four years, we have been translocating adult bluebirds from Fort Lewis Military Installation in Olympia, Washington to the San Juan Islands.  In the first year (2007), we had a pair successfully nest and fledge young, and since then the number of returning birds, the size of the nesting population, and the number of young fledged has increased in each year.  In 2010, we had 12 pairs fledge 84 young on San Juan Island.

In addition to reestablishing a nesting population of bluebirds, our extensive education and outreach efforts are reaching children and adults alike, and significantly advancing conservation of the prairie-oak ecosystem. Examples include schoolchildren building and installing nest boxes, community volunteers donating time and materials to build and move aviaries, numerous newspaper articles and television reports, and landowners and conservation organizations protecting habitat through acquisitions and easements.

The San Juan Islands Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project is comprised of many primary partners including the San Juan Preservation Trust, American Bird Conservancy, Ecostudies Institute, San Juan Islands Audubon Society, Department of Defense Fort Lewis Military Installation, The Nature Conservancy of Washington, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; and has been financially supported by Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, Zoo Boise Conservation Fund, Wildlife Forever Fund, Norcliffe Foundation, Horizons Foundation, and many private individuals. To learn more, click here.

Please support this project by voting today…  and forwarding this email to others who might be willing to vote as well.

Now there’s an election you can feel good about.