Life Under the Fast Lane:

Book excerpt: The book describes results of 20 years of study of the ecology and management of Sacramento's bridge-nesting Purple Martin population. This is the last population of this California Species of Special Concern that remains in the state's Central Valley. Contents include population status, habitat requirements, and evaluation of management actions taken on behalf of the species. Various factors that could be responsible for the dramatic 88% population decline are evaluated in detail. A population model uses information on population size and survival estimates from banding studies to identify the cause of decline as inadequate reproduction, which is tied to the dramatic increase in use of neonicotinoid insecticides in surrounding urban and agricultural lands. The document identifies needed conservation measures and detailed land use planning guidelines for planning, design, environmental analysis, and construction to prevent disturbance of nesting martins and degradation of their habitat by urban development projects. The book also includes a number of accessible and entertaining sidebar explorations on how this long-term research project was conducted, how Western Purple Martins differ from their more abundance eastern counterparts, why martins are nest in colonies, and other topics of general reader interest.