When you first think of the sunny, land-locked state of Arizona, you might not immediately think that our beautiful region is home to a seasonal population of shorebirds. Unlikely as it may seem to outsiders, southern Arizona boasts some of the best places to view migratory shorebirds in their idyllic natural habitat made up from wetland areas.
Beyond adding yet another stunning element to the beautiful scenery of Arizona, the annual migration of shorebirds draws impressive crowds and has led to events and festivals such as Wings over Wilcox in Winter and Southwest Wings in Sierra Vista in Summer. These two festivals alone draw thousands of visitors from all over the country, swelling the population of these normally quiet communities and giving a gigantic boost to business twice a year as birders, scientists, and families come together to celebrate the unique species who (temporarily) call southern Arizona home.
As investors begin to consider these small communities for development, one of the immediately obvious resources is the abundance of space. To the casual observer the unique combination of ecological factors that make areas in this region birding hot-spots are not always obvious. These limited and delicate ecosystems that make up these habitats are an invaluable resource to these communities and without their preservation and support from developers the local economies will take a substantial hit. Therefore, as habitat mitigation specialists in Arizona, it’s our job to advise developers and adhere to all compliance laws to help ensure that these shorebird habitats will remain a part of the environment in conjunction with development to help these communities grow and thrive. Our expertise blends knowledge of waterflow and drainage, habitat preference of shorebirds and other native species, and experience with construction and site development practices, and affords us the ability to create strategies for practical analysis, implementation, and site maintenance plans.
Working on habitat restoration projects has proven to be an enjoyable challenge for our team. The puzzle of how to transition habitats from one location to another with the minimal possible disruption to the birds gives us an opportunity to employ a variety of landscape architecture and land-use skillsets to keep birds, birders, community members, and developers happy and proud to host such a unique biological resource.
Leave a Reply