Loggers paid to save nesting sites for raptor on the red list

Red kites (Milvus milvus), at one time nearly extinct, are now being protected by an innovative new protocol: loggers in the Basque Country of Spain are compensated for leaving kite nesting sites alone. The results of a 7-year implementation of this protocol were published in the newest issue of the Journal of Raptor Research. In their paper, titled “A Woodland Management Protocol for the Conservation of a Locally Endangered Raptor Breeding in Timber Plantations,” lead author Juan Arizaga from the Departmento de Ornitología, and coauthors, explain the efficacy of the protocol in terms of young raptors saved — 37 to be exact. This means that had the protocol not been implemented, there would have been 37 fewer red kites joining the local population over the course of those seven years. As long lived, slowly reproducing birds, this is a notable number.

Across the globe, many woodlands are shrinking and becoming increasingly fragmented. Woodland-dependent raptors like red kites and Eurasian goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) are particularly affected by this change. Red kites are medium-sized raptors endemic to western Europe that frequently nest in plantations of Monterey Pine, a North American species planted intensively in the 20^th century throughout Spain. Red kites are classified as endangered on the Red List of Spanish Birds and the Spanish Catalogue of Species of Concern. Therefore, their conservation is a legal priority within this the province in which this study was conducted. Furthermore, the kites in this area breed primarily in privately-owned pine plantations, making their protection an especially challenging affair.  

From 2016 – 2022 a field team from the Administration of Gipuzkoa evaluated the efficacy, demographic impact, and cost of the protocol. They also compared nesting behavior between sites with and without the protocol implementation, to document the on-the-ground effects for the local kite population. The protocol required several things from plantation owners, including an application prior to cutting, which was then paired with data on red kite nest locations. If there were no nests within the proposed cut, cutting was allowed. If there were any nests, cutting was postponed until after breeding season and then only allowed afterwards if a 20-tree buffer was left around the nest site. Loggers were compensated for loss of profit related to these parameters.

Notably, the evaluation concluded that the cost of implementation amounted to only 0.068% of the annual budget for the province’s environmental department. This means that for less than 0.1% of the budget, 23 nests and 37 individual raptors were saved. Arizaga is happy with the study results and optimistic about their future applications. “The protocol constitutes a paradigmatic example of the benefits when there is a dialogue and search for consensus between the different public-private sectors and even different departments within the Administration itself. Timber exploitation and the conservation of natural heritage are compatible as long as we look for sustainable and viable solutions, both logistically and economically.”  

Future studies will hopefully include investigation of red kite habitat usage outside of the breeding season, as well as investigation into using this protocol to help harriers, a group of raptors with open-habitat preferences that overlap with agricultural operations.

Raptors face an array of threats within their ever-changing landscapes. Creative protocols like this one, that alleviate the stress of habitat loss, do much in the way of giving raptors families a fighting chance. And they involve the public. As noted in the paper, “this collaboration also offers an opportunity to promote a society more involved in the conservation of its natural heritage.”

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Paper

Juan Arizaga, Aitor Lekuona, Mikel Olano, Ismael Mondragón, Maialen Galparsoro, Gotzon Ansoleaga, and Iñigo Mendiola "A Woodland Management Protocol for the Conservation of a Locally Endangered Raptor Breeding in Timber Plantations," Journal of Raptor Research 58(1), 98-104, (19 February 2024). https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-23-00051

Notes to Editor:

1. The Journal of Raptor Research (JRR) is an international scientific journal dedicated entirely

to the dissemination of information about birds of prey. Established in 1967, JRR has published

peer-reviewed research on raptor ecology, behavior, life history, conservation, and techniques.

JRR is available quarterly to members in electronic and paper format.

2. The Raptor Research Foundation (RRF) is the world’s largest professional society for raptor

researchers and conservationists. Founded in 1966 as a non-profit organization, our primary

goal is the accumulation and dissemination of scientific information about raptors. The

Foundation organizes annual scientific conferences and provides competitive grants & awards

for student researchers & conservationists. The Foundation also provides support & networking

opportunities for students & early career raptor researchers.