2011 STATE OF THE BIRDS REPORT ISSUED
In early May, a coalition of groups coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the “2011 State of the Birds Report,” a report which finds that public lands and waters provide essential habitat for the survival of hundred United States bird species.
In the U.S., about 90 percent of the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) represent some federal, state, or municipal land-category, a fact which stresses the importance of public lands to the Important Bird Area program. Some examples include the following:
… 97% of the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler’s distribution is on public lands.
… 79% of the Gunnison Sage-Grouse’s distribution is on public lands.
… More than 75% of the breeding season distribution of Sage Sparrows and Le Conte’s Thrashers is on public lands.
… Almost 46% of the distribution of the California Gnatcatcher, a threatened species, is found on Department of Defense lands such as Camp Pendleton.
…An average of 78% of the declining Hawaiian forest birds on Kauai exist on public lands owned by the state.
This recent State of the Birds Report comes at a time of extreme budgetary challenges and it underscores the importance of maintaining support for the management of our public lands. The report’s findings also highlight the importance of a number of pending policy and spending decisions that the Obama Administration is now considering which could have far-reaching impacts on bird populations on public lands.
Reprinted from The Birding Community e-Bulletin, May 2011, by Paul J. Baicich
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