IBAs around the US and World

Role of Virginia IBA Program in Other Bird Conservation Initiatives

Activities so far this year

For more information:

A science-based 
public, university and government partnership, 
defining and conserving through education
Virginia habitat critical to North American birds
 

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The first Important Bird Area (IBA) Program was initiated by BirdLife International in Europe in the mid-1980s.  Since then, more than 3,600 sites in fifty-one European countries have been identified as IBAs, with millions of acres better protected as a result.  Today, IBAs are being identified on nearly every continent. 

In the U.S., more than 500 IBAs have been identified through a partnership of the National Audubon Society (NAS) and the American Bird Conservancy.  NAS, which has focused on creating state-based IBA programs, is now the U.S. Partner Designate of BirdLife International.  According to Frank Gill, NAS Director of Science, “IBAs have a unique power to unite people, communities and organizations in proactive bird conservation, one place at a time.”

Habitat loss is a major cause for the decline of many bird species around the world.  The IBA Program is responding by identifying and conserving key sites using science-based priorities.  An IBA is a place that provides essential habitat for one or more species of birds, whether in breeding season, winter, or during migration.

National Audubon Society’s goal is, by 2005, to have Important Bird Areas identified in all fifty states, with significant on-the-ground conservation occurring in half the states.
 

Role of Virginia IBA Program in other
Bird Conservation Initiatives

IBAs are considered a key implementation tool for the new North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI), which is coordinating the primary national bird conservation initiatives: the North America Waterfowl Management Plan, the Partners in Flight initiative on neotropical migrants, the North America Colonial Waterbird Plan, and the National Shorebird Conservation Plan.  Virginia contains portions of four Bird Conservation Regions as established by NABCI initiatives.  The Virginia IBA Program will identify within these BCRs perhaps 50-200 smaller units, at a scale which best facilitates on-the-ground conservation planning. 

Through BirdSource, an interactive web site designed and maintained by Audubon and  Cornell University’s Laboratory of Ornithology, IBA data are now being prepared for easy and interactive map-based queries on the Internet by land managers, state leaders, and the general public.

While the proposed Virginia Birding Trail  promotes wildlife viewing, education and nature tourism at birding sites which provide ready access for people, the IBA Program protects birds through the identification and conservation of bird sites critical for providing nesting, wintering and migration stopover habitat.

We will use data from and work with the Natural Heritage Program,  who maps observations of  federal and state listed species, toward identifying key distributions of a broader set of declining birds.  Thus we seek to prevent the need to list new bird species as threatened or endangered.   The Natural Heritage Program is a partnership of the Virginia Dept. of Conservation and Recreation and The Nature Conservancy.
 

Activities This Year

Virginia Audubon Council, representing six chapters statewide and 16,000 members, has been busy this year laying the groundwork for its highly anticipated state office and IBA Program.  The Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries has responded with interest in a long-term partnership with Audubon for science, conservation and education, and has agreed to contract with VA Audubon Council to operate the IBA Program using federal funds.  Technical and steering committees will form on program startup, which is expected soon.  Community support is building already.  The Virginia Society of Ornithology has signed on as an IBA partner and donated the proceeds of its World Series of Birding team.  Richmond chapter volunteers organized an IBA benefit featuring the singer/songwriter Walkin' Jim Stoltz, whose multimedia concert inspires children and adults with the value of wild places.
 

For more information:

Ellen Ackerman, Interim Coordinator         
Virginia Important Bird Areas Program
P. O. Box 1089
Ashland, VA 23005
ellenackerman@virginiaaudubon.org