Burrowing Owl Research
U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot partnered with the Idaho Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit in 2015 and 2017 to band and satellite tag burrowing owls on the base. This research is part of a larger study tracking the migratory paths of burrowing owls across a range of habitats in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The goal of the research is to determine what factors may be driving declines of this species and whether or not changing conditions on the wintering grounds are influencing population declines on the breeding grounds. Transmitter downloads from Pueblo Chemical Depot burrowing owls indicated the birds are wintering in Chihuahua State and Mexico City, Mexico, and begin northward migrations in early to late March, while resting in Big Bend and Lubbock, Texas, prior to arriving to nesting sites.
Monitoring for burrowing owls occurs on several other Colorado Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office bases including Buckley Space Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, and Peterson Air Force Base.
