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Utah leads multi-agency effort to craft conservation agreement and strategy for pinyon jay
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Summary
DWR outlined a voluntary, non-regulatory conservation agreement and strategy to address steep pinyon jay declines and to inform the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service species status assessment and potential ESA decision.
State wildlife and federal partners told the WRI conference they are drafting a conservation agreement and strategy focused on the pinyon jay after survey data and national Breeding Bird Survey trends identified steep declines.
Scott Gibson, the state pinyon jay biologist, described the species’ range, social behavior and recent declines: national Breeding Bird Survey trends indicate an estimated 84% decline from the 1960s through the 2010s and a global population estimate near 770,000 birds. Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the species for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing in April 2022; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a positive 90‑day finding and is conducting a longer species-status assessment with a final 12‑month decision expected in 2028.
Utah’s response is a voluntary conservation agreement and strategy (CAS). Gibson said the agreement portion will bring together authorities with jurisdiction and stakeholders; the non‑regulatory, non‑binding strategy will set goals and actions such as habitat restoration, monitoring, identifying limiting factors and research to fill data gaps. Partners include DWR/DNR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Trust Lands, Forest Service, BLM, DOD, NRCS and NPS.
Gibson emphasized both promise and limits: “This is voluntary and nonregulatory,” he said. “Participants can pull out within 30 days. The goal is to safeguard the long‑term persistence of pinyon jays in Utah while identifying adaptive strategies as new science becomes available.” He said the team is prioritizing heterogeneity—age and structural diversity in pinyon‑juniper woodlands—and careful monitoring of treatment timing and colony locations.
Conference discussion focused on evidence gaps and management tradeoffs. Gibson said colonies remain poorly documented historically but new region‑wide surveys, telemetry studies and three Ph.D. projects are improving knowledge of movements, colony fidelity and habitat associations. He advised caution about treating active nesting colonies during the breeding season because of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and said the partners will develop monitoring protocols before recommending treatments near known colonies.
Gibson said the agreement is nearly complete and the strategy is scheduled for early 2026; the broader region may use Utah’s process to inform a multi‑state approach.
