Native Tree Restoration Revives Birdlife

Restoration projects planting native trees in the Colorado River Delta are helping breeding bird populations recover across degraded floodplains in Mexico.

“The Colorado River Delta is proof that targeted restoration works,” said Eduardo González-Sargas, research scientist and ecologist at Colorado State University. “With continued investment and the right science guiding the way, the Delta’s birds and the ecosystem they depend on have a real chance to recover.”

Surveys conducted between 2002 and 2021 recorded more than 100,000 birds across 230 sites in the delta. Species that rely on riverside forests, including Yellow-breasted Chat, Song Sparrow and Abert’s Towhee, increased in restored areas where native cottonwoods, willows and mesquites were replanted. Researchers identified 163 bird species overall, including 53 confirmed breeding species, and found that wetter, mature restoration zones delivered the strongest recovery. The findings are expected to help guide a new United States–Mexico Colorado River water-sharing agreement in 2026 and offer lessons for restoring damaged rivers and wetlands worldwide.