History of the RINS Project
The Bureau of Land Management’s Salt Lake Field Office (BLM SLFO) has been collecting data on raptor nests for many years. In 1996, a BLM wildlife biologist initiated a cooperative study with HawkWatch International (HWI). The focus was Ferruginous hawks, and in 1996 and 1997 a summer intern was recruited to survey and monitor the nests, primarily in Tooele and Box Elder Counties (the West Desert). In 1997, volunteers were also recruited to assist in some areas. In 1998 and 1999, BLM obtained funding to hire two summer technicians to monitor and tag the nests, to band the young Ferruginous hawks, and to record the exact GPS locations of all the raptor nests in the West Desert.
In 1997, Dawn Sebesta was one of the HWI volunteers recruited, but instead of volunteering in the West Desert, she surveyed for nests in Rich County, an area with considerable BLM land but no historic Ferruginous nests. From 1997 to 2000, Dawn Sebesta found more than 100 raptor nests including active Ferruginous hawks, and in 2001, volunteers joined her in locating and monitoring nests in Rich County.
In 1998, HWI volunteers and some falconers began surveying the mountains north of Wendover, primarily for prairie falcons. This survey greatly expanded in 1999 when the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) provided funding for HWI to continue surveying for all raptor nests in northwest Utah. In 2000, BLM joined UDWR in funding HWI biologists to survey the area north of Interstate 80 and west of the Great Salt Lake. BLM also provided HWI with raptor nest data that had been collected in the previous years. BLM and UDWR continue to fund and provide support to HWI for this Northwest Utah Nest Survey (NUNS) study north of I-80.
In 2000, the nests south of I-80 were not going to be monitored. On May 23, 2000, Dawn Sebesta volunteered to monitor nests in some areas not being monitored by NUNS and to enlist volunteers to assist her. It was late in the nesting season, but Dawn Sebesta and four teams of volunteers checked 226 nests in the West Desert, finding 30 active nests.
Beginning in 2001, Dawn Sebesta enlisted more volunteers and established the Raptor Inventory Nest Survey (RINS) to continue monitoring and expanding the BLM nest inventory in the West Desert and Rich County: an effort which will continue as long as volunteers are willing to help. The nests are part of a long-term BLM project in the SLFO.
The numbers of RINS volunteers and raptor nests discovered and monitored expanded in 2002 and 2003. Dawn Sebesta banded increasing numbers of nestlings, particularly Ferruginous hawks and owls. In 2003, RINS was recognized as the largest volunteer effort ever undertaken by the BLM in the State of Utah. For her accomplishments with RINS, the BLM awarded Dr. Dawn W. Sebesta Ph.D. the Utah State Director's Public Land Partner Award, their highest recognition for a volunteer.
On October 4, 2003, Dawn Sebesta and another RINS volunteer, Jim Messinger, died in a light plane crash while surveying for raptor nests in the West Desert. Three RINS volunteers stepped up to form the RINS Working Group. A new office was established in Sandy, Utah, and the volunteer work has continued.
The BLM made further recognition with the 2004 National Volunteer Award presented to the Raptor Inventory Nest Survey Group for "Making A Difference on Public Lands" which was awarded June 3, 2004. And again in August 2004, the "Take Pride In America" was awarded to the RINS group.
The RINS project includes nests outside of the West Desert and Rich County. In 1997, Dawn Sebesta began monitoring nests in Summit and Wasatch Counties (DS nest inventory). Other volunteers joined her and have continued to monitor these areas. Volunteers have added nests throughout northern and central-southern Utah to the RINS nest inventory, and continue to monitor these nests. The RINS project continues to expand.
The nests that belong to the BLM inventory as well as the DS nests are part of the RINS project and surveyed annually by volunteers. RINS was founded and organized by Dawn Sebesta and is currently being supervised by the RINS Working Group. The information RINS volunteers gather serves a vital role in providing pertinent data that would otherwise go unknown to federal, state and local land managers.