Laguna Babícora: important site for waterfowl in the central migratory route

Known as the land of cranes and geese, Laguna Babícora in Chihuahua, is one of the key sites for waterfowl that travel the Central Migratory Route of Mexico. The lagoon does not maintain a constant water mirror, but rather is a natural swamp that receives runoff from the mountains in the upper part of the basin. During the autumn and winter migratory season the lagoon presents optimal characteristics to receive the thousands of waterfowl that arrive to take refuge and feed themselves.

In the lagoon you can see more than 60% of the global population of the Gray Crane (Grus canadensis), the White Goose (Chen caerulescens), and the Ross Goose (Chen rossii), as well as high concentrations of diverse ducks and shorebirds. However, the habitat is threatened by change in land use, overgrazing, and silting of the basin’s drainage canals.

For its conservation, we work for the protection and management of the lagoon’s habitat in coordination with local communities, academic institutions, authorities, and other organizations. An example of this work was the support we gave to the Nicolás Bravo community to desilt more than 12 km of canals and prevent a reduction in the number of flooded sites for birds. In addition, in collaboration with the Peña Blanca ejido, we restored soils on 600 hectares of the upper part of the basin, where individual terraces were constructed with shoots of Táscate (Juniperus pinchotii), Pine (Pinus Engelmannii) and Encino (Quercus rugosa) as some agricultural and forestry activities left areas devoid of vegetation, which led to areas being degraded by water and wind erosion.

In the last 8 years, the communities of Colonia Nicolás Bravo, Ejido Peña Blanca, and Ejido Gómez Farías have allocated 9 726 hectares through conservation agreements valid for 20 years for the protection of the Babícora Lagoon. Our goal is to safeguard 80% of the lagoon area, as well as restore and manage the basin with the participation of these communities.