Pinyons Jay populations have been estimated to have declined by 80% in the last fifty years. With the recent petition to list the Pinyon Jay under the ESA, natural resource managers would greatly benefit from a better understanding of how Pinyon Jays use their lands. Particularly of importance is the location of Pinyon Jay nesting colonies. These colony sites are often used for multiple years by the same flocks of Pinyon Jays. Knowing the locations of these colonies would allow managers to make informed decisions regarding fuel treatments, recreation use, improvements, etc.

The goal of this project is to better understand how Pinyon Jays use GSENM, particularly for breeding and nesting. The main objective of this survey effort is to locate Pinyon Jay colonial nesting sites within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Colony sites will be delineated and nests with be geolocated. Data collected at the nest site will include nest tree species, nest height and location within the tree, and the estimated age of the nest. Additional information can be collected if requested by GSENM. The location and behaviors of all detected Pinyon Jays will also be documented.

Location - Pinyon Jays are known to occur at GSENM, but little is known of their landscape use and nesting status. Known as the "Science Monument", GSENM is the ideal location to study and protect this Federally petitioned species. Timing - With the recent petition to list the Pinyon Jay under the ESA, it's an important time for natural resource managers to better understand the status of Pinyon Jays on their lands. In addition, data that I gathered while recreating at GSENM in May of 2023 will provide a starting point and some insight into Pinyon Jay activity on the monument. I have already found one active Pinyon Jay colony, which was passed along to GSENM. Following up on other detections, including the presence of fledglings and the occurrence of breeding behaviors, will likely lead to additional colony sites with minimal effort.

From GSENM Management Plan - "Emphasize GSENM as a living, outdoor laboratory." - Conducting biological surveys at GSENM achieves this purpose. GSENM was establish, in part, for this purpose. - "Protect and/or restore GSENM's biological resources." - These surveys will help to protect the Federally petitioned Pinyon Jay and its nesting colonies at GSENM. This will help to ensure that the Pinyon Jay population at GSENM is healthy during a time of large population decline nationally for this species. From the Utah Wildlife Action Plan - The goal of the Wildlife Action Plan is: "To manage native wildlife species and their habitats, sufficient to prevent the need for additional listings under the Endangered Species Act." - Conducting surveys for the Federally petitioned Pinyon Jay will provide data that will help to guide land management decisions in a way that can benefit and protect this species at GSENM. Through better management and protection of the Pinyon Jay, Federal listing can be avoided.

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not applicable - the Pinyon Jay has been petitioned for listing, but currently is not protected under the ESA

Surveys will be conducted according to Version 1 of the Pinyon Jay Road-based Protocol, which is attached in the images/documents section. I helped to develop the field survey portion of this protocol and have used it for the past three field seasons in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. This survey effort will focus on collecting Pinyon Jay presence/absence data, which will help guide the surveyor (myself) to nesting colony locations. Zuzax Field Biology LLC does not intend to do any data analysis or occupancy modeling with this data. This analysis would increase the budget significantly. With the raw data, GSENM can conduct their own occupancy modeling, if they so desire. Due to the large size of GSENM, this survey effort will only encompass a portion of the monument. Priority survey areas, if any, will be determined by GSENM staff. Habitat suitability and previous Pinyon Jay sightings will help to guide the survey effort. Surveys will be conducted during peak breeding and nesting activity, when the birds are most detectable, which generally occurs over a 4-6 week period from late March to mid-May. Colony delineation may occur after the breeding season is complete, to minimize disturbance at the colony site. I have been conducting Pinyon Jay surveys for the past 13 years. Very few researchers, if any, have as much experience with this species in a field setting. I have located more than 60 Pinyon Jay nesting colonies and hundreds of nests.

Future monitoring of Pinyon Jays and Pinyon Jay colonies found during this survey effort will be at the discretion of GSENM. While not required, future monitoring of these sites can provide important information concerning the status (population, trends, nesting success, etc.) of the Pinyon Jay at GSENM.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument - Marc Coles-Ritchie (Science Coordinator and Ecologist) and Cameron McQuivey (Wildlife Biologist) have both been contacted about this potential survey effort.

All pertinent data collected concerning Pinyon Jay colonial nesting sites and Pinyon Jay use of GSENM will be provided to the monument upon completion of the surveys. GSENM can use this data, at their discretion, to help guide future management decisions. This data can also be used in the future for additional research efforts, such as monitoring, colony site vegetation surveys, etc.

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