The Mendocino Coast Audubon Society (MCAS), as part of its continuing partnership with the California Department of Parks and Recreation, is working to monitor and protect shorebirds through the Save Our Shorebirds (“SOS”) project.

The project mobilizes volunteers to work toward a five percent increase in the populations of MacKerricher State Parks’s Watchlisted bird species – including the American golden-plover, black turnstone, and red knot, in addition to the federally listed western snowy plover. In addition, volunteers use outreach and education to inform the public about shorebird conservation.

The first two years of SOS (2007-2008) were funded in major part by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, through a grant from California and National Audubon. The remainder of the project costs were covered by individual donations to the local chapter. In 2009, SOS was funded by one of 41 TogetherGreen national Innovation Grants.

In the summer of 2010, dedicated volunteers continued the project on a scaled-back basis.

We are honored to have received a California State Parks Endowment Grant through California Audubon for 2011. We are also are persistently searching for long-term funding for future years of research.

For more information on WatchListed bird species and the SOS project, see the "Links" section of this site.