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Current Status:

Threats include habitat loss due to urbanization and other land use practices, as well as nest parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird.

Achievements:

Establishment of the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge has begun with the purchase of 3,500 acres containing golden-cheeked warbler habitat, offering safe haven for the bird on Federal land. Formal section 7 consultations also have been completed for a variety of projects including: a golf course and resort hotel, apartment and housing complex (Army Corps of Engineers); business development (Environmental Protection Agency); radio tower (Federal Communications Commission); and various highway projects (Federal Highway Administration). Consultation resulted in no-jeopardy biological opinions, and all reasonable and prudent measures were accepted. Two other section 7 consultations are anticipated on military base operations (Department of Defense) and technical assistance on brush clearing and conservation measures (Soil Conservation Service). In addition, Travis County, the city of Austin, The Nature Conservancy, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, National Audubon Society, Fish and Wildlife Service, and other groups continue to cooperate on a comprehensive Habitat Conservation Plan for seven listed species in the Austin, Texas, area. Also, the Golden-cheeked Warbler Recovery Plan has been completed, and a recovery team appointed. The Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Soil Conservation Service, and other entities to formulate Golden-cheeked Warbler Conservation Management Guidelines for private landowners.

Current Recovery Needs:

Needed recovery actions include increased landowner education and involvement, identification of winter and migratory habitat, reduced nest parasitism from cowbirds, and protection of all habitat types (e.g., nesting, wintering) required to recover this bird.

Section 6 Funding and Activities:

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department received $20,500 in FY 1991 and $35,000 in FY 1992 for a Geographical Information System (GIS) project to locate potential warbler habitat. A total of $53,000 funded the GIS, with $2,500 set aside to conduct banding and a habitat study.

Partnerships

Department of Defense: Fort Hood Military Reservation and Camp Bullis are monitoring goldencheeked warbler populations. Fort Hood also is conducting a banding project. Both studies are in their second year.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Involvement in the Habitat Conservation Plan and the Conservation Management Guidelines has helped to move species recovery activities forward.

The Nature Conservancy: The Hill Country Bioreserve, under development by this Fish and Wildlife Service partner, includes a majority of the species' range.

Recovery Plan Status:

Plan approved 9/30/92.