Black Rosy-finches (Leucosticte atrata) are one of three species of Rosy-finch in North America. All three are experiencing apparent population declines. Utah has high proportional responsibility for Black Rosy-finch, as we are at the heart of their distribution. Black Rosy-finches only breed in rugged, mountain environments, and due to their limited distribution and inaccessible breeding habitat, they are one of the least-well understood birds in North America. The management of Rosy-finches is hampered by a lack of even basic information about the demography, distribution, and seasonal movements of this species. Filling crucial data gaps about the distribution and abundance of Black Rosy-finches is critical to ensure that their populations can be sustained in the face of habitat degradation and climate change. Black Rosy-finches are identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a "Species of Concern" throughout their entire range and are a priority species for study and conservation (S. Somershoe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, personal communication, February 19, 2020). Partners in Flight classifies Black Rosy-finches as of "Highest Conservation Concern at the Continental Scale." In Utah, Black Rosy-finches are a "Sensitive Species" and "Species of Greatest Conservation Need." Utah's Wildlife Action Plan identifies the data gaps listed above as a threat to the species. Lack of data limits effective conservation actions and responses to potential listing petitions under the ESA. A central premise of modern conservation is that there are greater opportunities to conserve species before they are in peril because management is more effective and much less costly when a species is still abundant. As such, the time to develop management strategies and avoid an ESA listing for the Black Rosy-finch is now. Filling in major data gaps allows managers using the information to create the best potential conservation outcomes for Black Rosy-finch. For example, the American pika (Ochotona princeps) inhabits similar habitats as the Black Rosy-finch and until recently also suffered from similar knowledge gaps regarding its distribution, abundance, and vulnerability to climate change. American pika was petitioned for listing under the ESA due to these data gaps. Intensive studies by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources -and funded by ESMF- helped fill these gaps and demonstrate that pika populations were larger and more widely dispersed than initially thought. As a result, the American pika avoided listing under the ESA. This study aims to be able to do the same for Black Rosy-finch. To fill the data gaps that currently limit effective management of Black Rosy-finch populations, we have formed a partnership of state, federal, academic, non-governmental, and private organizations to develop this study in Utah. The study was piloted in 2019 and is currently in its first full year. To date, the work has been funded by Utah State University, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Tracy Aviary, and Wild Utah Project. In the second full year, we will maintain the existing radio frequency identification (RFID) network and continue volunteer bird surveys. The partnership, working with volunteer community scientists, provides an opportunity for non-consumptive users to contribute to a shared knowledgebase. This collaborative effort will benefit not only Black Rosy-finch, but also the interests of managers and other stakeholders by providing data to respond to a listing petition under the ESA.

The goal of this study is to understand the life history requirements of Black Rosy-finch in Utah to ensure this species persists into the future. Our study has two main components: (1) maintain our network of RFID-enabled bird feeders to record feeder use by marked birds; and (2) continue volunteer bird surveys. Study Objectives are to: 1) Maintain up to 20 RFID-enabled feeders throughout Utah to collect data about Black Rosy-finch survival and distribution. 2) Capture and mark an additional 100 Rosy-finches with RFID tags to enable us to assess survival, distribution, and abundance. 3) Use an observational study supported by at least 50 volunteer, community scientists to collect a minimum of 1,000 data points on Black Rosy-finch abundance. 4) Maintain and further the partnership by engaging three additional community stakeholders (e.g., ski areas, conservation groups).

Utah's Wildlife Action Plan (2015-2025): -Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range. This study will provide a distribution of Black Rosy-finches in Utah. -Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Ecology and Life History. This study will provide demographic rates, abundance estimates, and coordinate results with other states to understand ecology and life history. Partners in Flight Landbird Conservation Plans (2016): -"Increased support is necessary to successfully recover these species and prevent additional listings. More targeted monitoring is needed to clarify urgency and evaluate actions." This study will clarify if the species is at risk, create a network of automated monitoring stations, and allow for recommendation of actions. -"Because Black Rosy-finches are found predominantly on public lands, conservation will require Forest Service leadership." This study includes the U.S. Forest Service as a partner. USFS Region 4 Forest Plans: In the U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Region, the Ashley and the Manti La-Sal Forests are currently undergoing Plan Revisions and five more Forests will begin revisions before 2021. The Black Rosy-finch is or is expected to be a Species of Conservation Concern in all these Forests and results of the Black Rosy-finch project are timely for these revisions. The newly-acquired data will be used in the Plans in several ways: 1) to ensure the Forests provided the ecological conditions to support viable populations of Rosy-finches; 2) inform project impact analyses during the National Environmental Policy Act process; and 3) inform Monitoring Plans and adaptive management. The U.S. Forest Service Partner Lead expects this community-based Black Rosy-finch project to benefit the management and conservation of this species and others, as there is potential for vegetation management activities to impact habitat. Based on the partnerships forged in the development of this project, we predict the Black Rosy-finch project will be a model for community-based research and monitoring of other U.S. Forest Service Species of Conservation Concern.

NEPA/ESA/SHPA: N/A - no ground disturbing or species handling actions are planned. Migratory Bird Treaty Act: Federal bird banding and handling permits have been procured by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologist Terri Pope and by Utah State University assistant professor Clark Rushing, and all the necessary IACUC permits have been obtained via USU. Special Use on U.S. Forest Service lands: Rema Sadak of the U.S. Forest Service confirmed that no special use permit is required for the Study's bird feeders to occur on the Forest, but communication with Forest Service districts and respective ski areas occurs as a best management practice.

Study Design: Our research has two main components: (1) maintaining our network of RFID-enabled bird feeders to record feeder use by marked birds; and (2) conducting community science-based feeder counts. These methods are cost-effective in uniquely identifying and recording individual bird encounter data using automated systems. Sampling Methods: Individual birds will be captured using mist-nets or feeder traps. Birds will be banded on their leg with a small passive integrated transponder tag and then released unharmed. The tag provides a unique identification code for each bird that is read automatically by the RFID-enabled feeders, much like fish PIT tags are read in aquatic systems. Feeder counts will be conducted with support from volunteer, community scientists using two methods: standardize counts and opportunistic counts. Standardized counts of Black Rosy-finches at feeders will serve as the link between where and when Black Rosy-finches are seen. Opportunistic counts can also provide useful data to contribute, no matter when the finches show up at feeders. Data Analysis: RFID feeder data and count data will be combined to estimate spatial and temporal variation of Black Rosy-finches winter abundance in Utah. Data will be analyzed using a modified "superpopulation" model (Lyons et al. 2016). The objective of the model is the use information collected across the sampling occasions to estimate population size. Count data provides information on total abundance of Black Rosy-finch (Royle 2004) and the proportion of marked individuals in the population. When combined, the encounter histories and counts provide robust estimates of population size (Lyons et al. 2016). Total abundance will be modeled as a function of site-specific covariates. Within each sampling occasion, feeder use will be modeled as a function of sample-specific covariates, including date, time of day, and weather conditions. The estimated relationships between abundance and site attributes will allow us to map the winter distribution of Black Rosy-finch. Literature Cited: Lyons, J. E., Kendall, W. L., Royle, J. A., Converse, S. J., Andres, B. A., & Buchanan, J. B. 2016. Population size and stopover duration estimation using mark--resight data and Bayesian analysis of a superpopulation model. Biometrics, 72(1), pp.262-271. Royle, J.A., 2004. N-mixture models for estimating population size from spatially replicated counts. Biometrics, 60(1), pp.108-115.

No monitoring, see Future Management for long-term study goals.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Tracy Aviary Utah State University, Department of Wildland Resources U.S. Forest Service, Region 4 Wild Utah Project Alta Ski Area and Alta Environmental Center U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Legacy Region 6 Migratory Birds Program Beaver Mountain Bridgerland Audubon Society Brighton Institute Cottonwood Canyons Foundation Department of Defense Friends of Alta Great Salt Lake Audubon Powder Mountain Powder Ridge Condominiums Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort Solitude Mountain Resort Snowbasin Resort The Nature Conservancy -- Canyonlands Research Center Town of Alta

This study is designed to be able to address data gaps for Black Rosy-finch in the near term (through 2021). By addressing these data gaps, managers will be able to ascertain the current status of Black Rosy-finch in Utah, document the results in the literature, and respond to data requests in the event of potential listing petition under the ESA. Furthermore, if Black Rosy-finches are proven to be at-risk, focus can be shifted to identifying and addressing threats that could include habitat shifting and alteration due to climate change. Either way, filling data gaps for Black Rosy-finch will allow us to conserve this species in Utah.

07/01/2020

06/30/2021

2021

In 2018, a partnership of government, non-profit, and academic biologists began the Utah Rosy-Finch Project. The partnership was developed based on a shared goal to ensure rosy-finches persist into the future. In Utah, the State Wildlife Action Plan outlines a lack of information as a threat to the Black Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte atrata) and the partnership's goal was to understand this species' life history requirements. Since the Project's inception, the scope expanded to support data collection for our peers across state lines, where possible. This included the inclusion of North American's two other species of rosy-finch; the Gray-crowned (Leucosticte tephrocotis) and Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis), One objective was not achieved, however: a Master's student was not successfully recruited to extend the project and publish the results. This was due to pandemic-relate disruptions, and the loss of our academic project lead at USU (recruited to the University of Georgia). The $8,000 in project funds allocated to stipend were not expended, nor were the $2,000 in USU student staff time (which were covered by Dr. Rushing out of other funds). This report summarizes datasets that resulted from the Rosy-Finch Project between February 2019 and May 2021. Project objectives are to: 1. Use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) methods to collect data about Black Rosy-finch survival and distribution. 2. Use an observational study supported by community scientists to collect data on rosy-finch abundance. 3. Use stable isotopes from keratin samples to understand rosy-finch distribution. 4. Build an additional partnerships with community stakeholders to further research priorities.

We successfully completed objectives in many project themes: Banding - 12 banding events were held (new project totals: USGS aluminum bands: 131 Black Rosy-finch, 593 Gray-crowned Rosy Finch; RFID bands: 71 Black Rosy-finch, 442 Gray-crowned Rosy-finch) RFID feeders - four RFID stations were maintained, the data cards collected and data collated, and 10's of thousands of RFID visits were logged. Feeder Counts - Over 1,000 feeder counts were received from volunteers, entered, and QA/QC'd, resulting in 1,792 observation of Black Rosy-finch, 3,759 Brown-capped Rosy-finch, and 9,395 Gray-crowned Rosy-finch. Isotopic Analysis of keratin samples - 38 samples collected, and a lab/analyst contracted for d2H isotopic ratios (results & draft manuscript anticipated June 2022). Preliminary results indicate rosy-finch are medium-distance migrants, with at least a portion of Utah's breeding birds wintering in northern AZ and NM, while at least a portion of WY and MT's breeding birds over-winter in Utah and likely CO. Feeder counts and RFID band-detections indicate March as the peak transition for the departure of over-wintering birds and the return of local breeders. These preliminary patterns, however, are also clearly displaced by weather events. And all are pending further analysis. Please see the attached 2020-2021 completion report for a thorough explication of the 2020-2021 project year accomplishments.

Our goals for 2021-2022 are: RFID Feeders 1) Maintain RFID-enabled feeders and banding stations at Alta, Powder Mountain, and Dutch John from December 2021 -- May 2022 to collect data on rosy-finch survival and movement. 2) Estimate rosy-finch survivorship from 2019-2021 RFID dataset, evaluate effectiveness of methodology, and make recommendations to the Rosy-Finch Working Group for regional application. Feeder Counts 1) From December 2021 -- April 2022, recruit, train, and manage at least 100 volunteers to collect rosy-finch abundance and distribution data from across the species' range. 2) Increase volunteer participation and coordination across the range of rosy-finches including in California, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada. 3) Design, create, and test a new Survey123 application to streamline volunteer data entry and enforce data quality in the coming years. 4) Provide data to eBird.org to supplement abundance map products. 5) Investigate A. Seasonal timing (and potentially abundance) of Black Rosy-finch and B. If the proportion of marked individuals in the population can be estimated from feeder counts. Isotopic Analysis of Keratin Samples 1. We will use the hydrogen isotopes in rosy-finch keratin samples to understand the annual distribution of rosy-finches (Vander Zanden et al. 2018). 2. We will create origin maps or geographic assignments based on annual average stable hydrogen isotope precipitation models. These have been very effective in other systems at identifying and leveraging needed conservation partners by demonstrating seasonal connectivity. 3. By June 2022, draft a manuscript for peer-review on rosy-finch distribution from isotopic analysis. This project is on-going, with additional over-lapping support from the Tracy Aviary and multiple sources of significant in-kind support. Utah project partners have initiated a Pacific Flyway-wide Rosy-finch Working Group, co-facilitated by ID G&F staff, recognizing that Rosy-finch conservation will inherently be a multi-state project. We are still hopeful a stable funding line can be found to support a student to bring a dedicated focus and advance the work.