PROTECTED AREAS OF WESTERN MEXICO: STATUS, MANAGEMENT, AND NEEDS Edited by Charles S. Aid Michael F. Carter Colorado Bird Observatory A. Townsend Peterson Natural History Museum, University of Kansas A PROJECT OF COLORADO BIRD OBSERVATORY September 1, 1997 1 PROLOGUE The Colorado Bird Observatory (CBO) was founded in 1988 to address the conservation needs of birds in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. CBO has employed a broad spectrum of tactics toward this end, including intensive study of endangered species; habitat assessments for the birds of endangered ecosystems; monitoring of population status of Colorado's breeding avifauna; and setting conservation, management, and monitoring priorities for breeding Neotropical migratory birds for all 50 U.S. states. In addition to a strong research program, CBO has implemented programs aimed at improving environmental education in both Mexico and the United States. Given that many of Colorado’s birds are Neotropical migrants, many of CBO's activities have focused on determining habitat requirements, population status, and conservation priorities for these species. Recognizing the critical dependency of Neotropical migrants on adequate wintering habitats, as well as the needs of the many species of birds resident in Mexico, many of which occur nowhere else, CBO began work in western Mexico in the winter of 1991B1992, focusing on the five Pacific coastal states of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. From these initial explorations, in an effort to contribute to the efficacy of conservation efforts in the region, the present effort was born C a summary and analysis of the status and needs of western Mexico's protected natural areas. Principal objectives of this effort are the following: (1) To compile a list of protected areas in western Mexico (2) To assess adequacy of protection accorded to these areas (3) To identify needs of individual protected areas (4) To identify areas of importance in terms of biodiversity that lack protection (5) To promote cooperative international conservation efforts in western Mexico With these goals in mind, we present this book. It is a unique product because it represents a collaboration among many communities of people interested in conservation in Mexico: conservationists, land managers, and academics C Mexicans and U.S. Americans. Moreover, instead of trying to resolve the conservation problems of the entire Neotropics, we have focused on partnerships within western Mexico, and feel that our efforts are made more fruitful by commitment to work with colleagues, collaborators, and friends within that one region. It is our hope that much of the information compiled here will prove useful to land managers, conservationists, and biologists both within and outside Mexico. Conservation workers within Mexico are the people working “at the front” of the battle, and additional information may assist them in their efforts. We do, however, consider our primary audience to be outsiders—conservation groups, biologists, and land managers in the U.S. and other countries—looking to initiate or increase their commitment to conservation in Mexico. With regard to information provided in this book, the reader will note some inconsistencies in details between areas. To some degree, these differences can be attributed to the number of authors contributing. On the other hand, they also reflect part of the reality of Mexico. Some sites have well-documented and reasonably complete avian inventories and other information relevant to conservation, whereas many others have only the most rudimentary informationCsome lack even basic bird lists. Hence, to provide many potentially useful details consistently across areas and states becomes quite challenging. Other discrepancies arise from lack of information and variable methodologies for identifying potential conservation sites. High priority areas may have been overlooked, and sites recommended provide only a preliminary list. Their inclusion does serve a purpose, however, if for no other reason, than to draw attention to the need for additional protected areas. Overall, these gaps in knowledge gaps make offering realistic comparisons or conservation appraisals virtually impossible. This book, then, is a compilation of information regarding the protected natural areas of seven states in western Mexico. Much of it was written by specialists from Mexico—people who work towards conservation and understanding the biology of the areas and their faunas and floras—we are convinced that these are the 2 people who best understand the situations at each site, and across each state. Although the information we present here is certainly incomplete, our hope is that it is sufficient to provide an impulse towards gathering more information, and towards protecting better natural habitats across western Mexico. We anticipate publishing future versions of this book electronically over the World Wide Web, so as to make possible revisions and updates as necessary. Charles S. Aid and Michael F. Carter Colorado Bird Observatory 13401 Piccadilly Road Brighton, CO 80601 TEL: ( 303) 659-4348 FAX: (303) 659-5489 E-mail: [email protected] A. Townsend Peterson Natural History Museum The University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas 66045 TEL: (913) 864-3926 FAX: (913) 864-5335 E-mail: [email protected] 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Colorado Bird Observatory's work in Mexico has been assisted by generous support from the following agencies and organizations: Bureau of Land Management (Oregon State Office) Kaytee Avian Foundation National Fish & Wildlife Foundation The Nature Conservancy (Western Region & Mexico Program) U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service C Region 1 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service C Region 6 U.S. Forest Service C Rocky Mountain Region The University of Kansas Natural History Museum Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours Weeden Foundation Wray Trust We express our grateful thanks to these institutions for their help. Special thanks are extended to Peter Stangel and Alison Dalsimer of the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Coppelia Hays of the Office of Migratory Bird Management, and Stephanie Jones of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service C Region 6, all of whom generously offered counsel, support, and encouragement. Additional support has been provided by CBO members and the CBO Songbird Art Show. We are especially pleased to have the opportunity to thank our cooperators in Mexico whose contributions have been essential to the success of this project. Muchisimas gracias to Elizabeth E. Aragón Piña, Jeffrey R. Bacon, Leonardo Cabrera García, Federico Casillas, Patricia Escalante Pliego, Griselda Escalona Segura, Alfredo Garza Herrera, Adriana Guzmán, Leticia Hernández, Enrique Jardel, Angeles Morales García, Adolfo Navarro Sigüenza, Carlos Palomera García, Jorge A. Rojas, Rosa M. Salazar, Neyra Sosa, Arturo Villaseñor Gómez, Fernando Villaseñor Gómez, and Laura Villaseñor Gómez. Biól. Fernando Vargas Márquez and other officials at SARH, SEDESOL, and SEMARNAP kindly made critical information available to contributors to this volume. Richard Hutto, Victor Sánchez-Cordero, *, and * provided valuable reviews of the entire manuscript. Additional assistance in Mexico has been received from Bruce Benz, Humberto Berlanga, Manuel Blanco, Yuriria Blanco, Oscar Cárdenas, Gerardo Ceballos, Alfredo Figueroa, Sergio Graf, Sandy Laham, Sarahy Contreras Martínez, Andrés García, Brian Miller, Angelica Narvaez, Jorge Nocedal Moreno, Silvia Salas, Victor Sánchez-Cordero, Eduardo Santana, Leo Schibli, and Osvaldo Tellez. We are particularly indebted to Richard Hutto and Adolfo Navarro Sigüenza for inspiring our interest in western Mexico. A final thanks goes to the people of western Mexico, who have made us feel at home on every visit we have made to their beautiful land. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS PROLOGUE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES CONTRIBUTORS ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS PREFACE: WESTERN MEXICO C A GLOBAL CONSERVATION PRIORITY Charles S. Aid, Enrique J. Jardel, Carlos Palomera García, and A. Townsend Peterson CHAPTER 1. BIODIVERSITY OF WESTERN MEXICO Enrique J. Jardel, Carlos Palomera García, A. Townsend Peterson, J. Fernando Villaseñor Gómez, and Charles S. Aid CHAPTER 2. PROTECTED AREAS OF MEXICO: AN OVERVIEW Enrique J. Jardel, Carlos Palomera García, and A. Townsend Peterson CHAPTER 3. GUIDELINES TO INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Charles S. Aid and Michael F. Carter CHAPTER 4. PROTECTED AREAS OF DURANGO Alfredo Garza H., Elizabeth E. Aragón P., Jeffrey R. Bacon, Angeles Morales G., Federico Casillas O., and Jorge A. Rojas T. CHAPTER 5. PROTECTED AREAS OF NAYARIT Patricia Escalante Pliego CHAPTER 6. PROTECTED AREAS OF SINALOA Leonardo Cabrera García and Adolfo Navarro Sigüenza CHAPTER 7. PROTECTED AREAS OF JALISCO AND COLIMA Leticia Hernández López, Enrique J. Jardel, and Carlos Palomera García CHAPTER 8. PROTECTED AREAS OF MICHOACÁN J. Fernando Villaseñor Gómez, Laura E. Villaseñor Gómez, Arturo E. Villaseñor Gómez, Neyra Sosa Gutiérrez, and Adriana M. Guzmán Pérez CHAPTER 9. PROTECTED AREAS OF MORELOS Fernando Urbina Torres, Aquiles Argote Cortés, César D. Jiménez Piedragil CHAPTER 10. PROTECTED AREAS OF GUERRERO Griselda Escalona Segura and Adolfo G. Navarro Sigüenza CHAPTER 11. PROTECTED AREAS OF OAXACA A. Townsend Peterson and Rosa M. Salazar 5 Chapter 12. CONCLUSIONS ENGLISH AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES USED IN TEXT LITERATURE CITED 6 LIST OF FIGURES 1.1. Western Mexico states 1.2. Western Mexico physiographic regions 2.1. Mexican