A new report by the partners within the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) documents how important public lands are to the conservation of bird species within the United States, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. "The State of the Birds 2011" report is the nation's first assessment of the distribution of birds on public lands. It is intended to help public agencies identify which species have significant potential for conservation in each habitat. The report assessed the distribution of birds on nearly 850 million acres of public land and 3.5 million square miles of ocean. According to the report, publicly owned habitats support at least half of the entire U.S. distributions of more than 300 bird species.

"The ?State of the Birds 2011' report is a measurable indicator of how well we are fulfilling our shared role as stewards of our nation's public lands and waters," said Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. "Although we have made enormous progress in conserving habitat on public lands, we clearly have much more work to do. The good news is that because birds so extensively use public lands and waters as habitat, effective management and conservation efforts can make a significant difference in whether these species recover or slide towards extinction."

The first "State of the Birds" report was released by NABCI in 2009. Each report synthesizes major bird-monitoring databases, including data from professional biologists and thousands of citizens. Whereas the 2009 report focused on the general status of bird populations in North America, the subsequent reports have cross-referenced that data with specific conservation-related issues that impact birds. The 2010 report analyzed the potential impacts of climate change on bird populations, citing specific adaptation and habitat loss concerns. This year's report combined bird distribution data from the eBird citizen-science project with the Protected Areas Database of the United States to ascertain the percentage of each species' U.S. distribution on public lands.

Major challenges to bird conservation on public lands are outlined within the 2011 report, including the clash of multiple-use mandates within some agencies and threats from other forms of habitat loss. To reduce direct mortality and minimize habitat degradation and fragmentation, the report recommends crafting bird- and wildlife-friendly guidelines and safeguards during energy development, including wind and solar energy, onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling and also transmission lines,? In addition, the proliferation of invasive species, including predators, pests and diseases, along with the need to restore natural fire regimes across landscapes, and the impacts of growing human populations are outlined.

With these challenges comes the need for cooperative management approaches and the shared responsibility across numerous federal, state and local agencies. Authored by NABCI partners, the report provides a forum for government agencies, private organizations, and bird initiatives helping federal, state, and non-governmental organizations across the continent to meet their common bird conservation objectives. NABCI fosters collaboration on key issues of concern, including bird monitoring, conservation design, private lands, international objectives, and state and federal agency support for integrated bird conservation. The "State of the Birds" reports provide scientific direction for NABCI partners' collaborative efforts.

"The state of our birds is a measurable indicator of how well we are doing as stewards of our environment, and the signal is clear," the report notes. "Greater bird conservation efforts are needed to realize the vision of a nation sustained economically, biologically and spiritually by abundant natural resources and spectacular wildlife in perpetuity."

The State of the Birds 2011 report is available online, as are links to the previous two reports. (jas)