Workshops target a variety of audiences providing the opportunity to educate and create partnerships that benefit wildlife conservation including birds.

Landowner Workshops are hosted by landowners, and include field tours and opportunities to discuss cost-sharing programs for wildlife conservation. Workshops also create a forum for landowners to meet representatives from a variety of organizations who share information and ideas including ideas for economic diversification and conservation.

Resource Manager Workshops bring habitat conservation principles to land managers in a way that integrates with the habitat management activities they already perform.

Urban Workshops put the urban public in touch with where their food comes from while also educating them about wildlife supported by private landowners. An emphasis on interaction and learning in a working landscape shows the voting public the importance of our farmers and ranchers and the role the urban public can play in promoting bird conservation.

Between 2003 and 2007 RMBO’s Stewardship Division hosted 34 workshops that were attended by 1665 individuals.

Landowner visits may be requested by workshop participants or other interested landowners. An RMBO biologist will conduct an inventory of the birds on a farm or ranch and talk one-on-one with the landowner about way to integrate wildlife and habitat management into their operations. When appropriate, habitat enhancement or restoration projects may be discussed including funding opportunities available through RMBO and partner organizations. Between 2003 and 2007 RMBO's Stewardship Division conducted 200 landowner visits resulting in 32 habitat enhancement projects.

Tools and Outreach Materials have been developed to open the door for partnerships with producers. Metal and fiberglass escape ramps for stock tanks have been produced and distributed to private producers. These ladders minimize bird mortalities from drowning while improving livestock water quality at the same time. Thousands have been distributed in the Great Plains. Outreach materials produced and/or distributed by RMBO include Sharing Your Land with Prairie Wildlife, Sharing Your Land with Pinyon-Juniper Birds, A Pocket Guide to Prairie Birds, Integrating Bird Conservation into Range Management, The Playas-Reflections of Life on the Plains (DVD), The Lesser Prairie Chicken: Echoes of the Past? (DVD), Mountain Plover Nest Conservation in Cultivated Fields (DVD), and fact sheets for various at-risk species.

The Colorado Birding Trail is a major nature tourism initiative to promote non-consumptive outdoor recreation, conservation of resources by private landowners, and a diversified income for rural economies. The birding trail will link outdoor recreation sites, both public and private, into a network of sites where visitors can observe birds and other wildlife, often in addition to archaeological and paleontological treasures. The trail is a collaborative effort between the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Audubon, RMBO, Colorado Field Ornithologists, Colorado State Parks, and Playa Lakes Joint Venture.

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory has been involved with the Colorado Birding Trail (CBT) since its conception, developing GIS layers for nominated sites, conducting CBT workshops, and conducting landowner visits that have resulted in 70+ private sites being on the CBT. In addition to providing a means for landowners to experience the economic benefits of habitat conservation, the CBT will be an important conservation tool on private land by encouraging landowners to maintain or improve existing habitat on their land. Visit the CBT at www.coloradobirdingtrail.com