Nationwide, the population of the eastern meadowlark has declined by more than 75 percent over the past 40 years.

That statistic is shocking, but it makes sense when the bird's favored habitat, grasslands, is taken into account. Grasslands, whether they're wild meadows or farmers' hayfields, are in decline across the country.

In Penfield, members of a citizens group are directing attention to the plight of grassland birds like the meadowlark and they are doing it in the context of a planned town park on Salt Road.

"Open space in the town has never been used for habitat preservation, so here's the perfect opportunity," says Georgena Terry, a member of the Penfield Green Initiative.

The 82-acre Sherwood property has 30-some acres of grasslands - enough to be a benefit to grassland birds.

Town officials are making plans for the park and in May 2008 adopted a concept developed by Environmental Design & Research, which mapped out possible locations for multi-use trails of varying width and type. The EDR plan, however, calls for trails that loop through the edge one of the grassy areas.

PGI members would like to see one trail - the one that loops through a large part of the grasslands - closed from May to July, when the birds' breeding season peaks. This would protect the birds from human activities, but would still leave the front two-thirds of the park available for use, because the trail in question is located in a rear corner.

That idea, which Terry and PGI suggested during a January Town Board meeting, fits with EDR's plan, which urges the preservation of the park's grasslands. Among EDR's recommended steps: mowing the existing grasslandsevery one or two years so that they don't grow into brush or wooded areas.

Penfield officials say that they are open to PGI's approach. The park's in the planning stages and officials are still outlining goals and priorities for it, says Supervisor George Wiedemer.

"We don't have much more than a concept at the moment," he says.

Town Board members said that they'd talk about the idea as they discuss plans for the park.

The ranks of grassland birds - not just eastern meadowlarks - are dwindling.

Across the country, the bobolink population has decreased by half over the past four decades. Bobolinks have fared better in New York; the population is 80 to 90 percent of what it was 40 years ago, says Mike Morgan, a wildlife ecologist who coordinates Audubon of New York's grassland bird program.Bobolinks are more general in their habitat preferences, and the St. Lawrence River Valley is a hotspot for bobolink breeding and that may buffer statewide declines, Morgan says.

The Rochester area falls within the summer breeding grounds for certain grassland bird species - both the eastern meadowlark and the bobolink are included in that group.

In 2007, the Audubon Society released a report that said grassland birds have been declining faster than any habitat-specific bird group in the Northeastern United States; habitat loss is considered to be the major contributor. Underlying that is unchecked development and sprawl - one-time expansive grassy fields are now housing developments or shopping plazas.

Agricultural changes may also be a culprit. Early summer hayfield mowing can eradicate habitat and destroy nests, since that's when the birds are breeding. Or when farmland is abandoned and not cultivated, grassy fields begin growing into brush and, if left undisturbed long enough, become forests.

Grassland birds won't nest in just any open field. All species prefer to nest away from field edges,

 and they can be picky about which grasses and growth they'll breed in. Field size matters, too.

The grassland birds that are likely to breed in the Rochester area, though, are more general in their preferences. That's particularly true of bobolinks and savannah sparrows.

At either its February 11 or 25 meetings, the Penfield Town Board will hold a workshop to discuss priorities and plans for the Sherwood property, Wiedemer said last week.

The planning will be handled through the parks department and some of the town's volunteer advisory boards - namely Parks and Recreation and the Trails Committee. And town officials say that both boards will weigh in on PGI's trail-closing idea.

But park planning can be notoriously tricky. Sometimes, it's not just a matter of cutting a few trails and installing some benches. Sometimes it's a matter of competing interests - hikers, mountain bikers, naturalists, dog owners, and so on.  It'll be a balancing act for the town, Wiedemer says.

"Everybody just has to be sensitive to each other's needs," he says.

Bobolink photo provided by Tim Lentz, http://www.flickr.com/photos/seabamirum/