By Robert Penner, Chair of the WHSRN – USA Committee, The Nature Conservancy – Kansas
The Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN)’s USA Committee is thrilled to announce Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge as the 2022 winner of the annual Outstanding WHSRN Site Award. Salt Plains NWR, located in north central Oklahoma, is an important stopover site for shorebirds within the Midcontinent flyway, habitats that link shorebird migration routes spanning Canada, the U.S., Central and South America.
The Outstanding WHSRN Site award is an honorary annual award created by the WHSRN–USA Committee to recognize and honor WHSRN sites in the US that are living up to the true spirit of WHSRN, with partners demonstrating outstanding work in ongoing conservation and site management for shorebirds.
The Salt Plains NWR joined WHSRN in February 1994 as a designated Site of Regional Importance for shorebirds. In 1996, the refuge began participating in the International Shorebird Survey (ISS), tracking the number of shorebirds using Salt Plains NWR during their annual migration. In 2019, its status was upgraded to a Site of International Importance, due to improved understanding of the significant role Salt Plains NWR plays in supporting more than 20 percent of the North American breeding population of Snowy Plovers (Charadrius nivosus).
Snowy Plover nestlings at Salt Plains NWR. Photo: Glen Hensley.
Shorebirds are one of the bird groups facing the most significant population declines, and their future survival requires proactive habitat management and conservation now. WHSRN recognizes the importance of shorebird sites, but their designation alone does not guarantee protection of important shorebird habitats—for shorebirds to thrive, site partners must make shorebirds a focus of their work. Since its designation as a WHSRN site, partners at Salt Plains NWR have ensured that shorebirds have remained a priority at the site, undertaking targeted habitat restoration efforts with shorebirds in mind, earning it the 2022 Outstanding WHSRN Site Award.
In addition to Snowy Plovers, the Salt Plains NWR provides habitat for high numbers of Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, and White-rumped Sandpiper during spring migration, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, and Stilt Sandpiper during fall migration, and Spotted Sandpiper and Baird’s Sandpiper during both fall and spring.
Least Sandpiper (left and second from right) and Western Sandpiper (middle and right) at Salt Plains NWR. Photo: Glen Hensley.
The refuge’s salt flats are used by these migrating shorebirds for feeding and roosting. But these salt flats are threatened by saltcedar, an invasive shrub, that is encroaching along the banks of rivers and waterways. It has been estimated that approximately 346 acres (140 hectares) of shorebird habitat are lost annually—as saltcedar spreads, it destroys favorable nesting areas and increases the number of hiding places for predators to more easily hunt shorebirds and their young.
To combat this issue, the refuge has implemented a saltcedar control program along the drainages and periphery of the salt flats, striving to restore and increase available nesting habitat for Snowy Plovers. The control program includes removing saltcedar as well as applying herbicides to kill saltcedar in the areas that attract the highest density of Snowy Plovers.
For more information about Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge visit: https://whsrn.org/whsrn_sites/salt-plains-nwr/
Cover Photo: Shorebird mixed flock at Salt Plains NWR. Photo: Glen Hensley
