Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Streaked Horned Larks are a federally threatened and Washington state-endangered subspecies found only in Washington and Oregon. In Washington, the species relies on heavily fragmented grassland habitat in the South Puget Sound region. A better understanding of the dynamics of species that exist in highly fragmented habitats is a challenge in population ecology. For Streaked Horned Larks, this understanding could also help to inform reintroductions of the species. We are working with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ecostudies Institute, and other partners to develop an integrated population model for this species, which will allow for movement between habitat islands in the South Puget Sound region. We will then couple model output with expert judgments to evaluate a suite of proposed strategies for Streaked Horned Lark reintroductions. Reintroduction has the potential to be a valuable management strategy for Streaked Horned Larks, and information that will allow decision makers to choose amongst proposed reintroduction strategies can accelerate recovery of this species.