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Thanks to Chris Eberly for distributing the October 2009 newsletter for Partners in Flight:

October 2009

Partners in Flight 20th Anniversary

In 2010, PIF will celebrate 20 years of bird conservation activity and will share the spotlight in the IMBD (http://www.birdday.org/) theme – The Power of Partnerships. We will sponsor the opening evening social at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Milwaukee on 22-27 March 2010 and will have a Special Session on the program. The PIF 20th Anniversary Steering Committee is working on a number of other events, products and activities. Contact Alicia King (Alicia_F_King@fws.gov) or Sue Bonfield if you would like to contribute (sbonfield@aol.com).

Partners in Flight Tri-National Vision for Bird Conservation

Saving Our Shared Birds: The PIF Tri-National Vision for Landbird Conservation is currently being reviewed by Mexican colleagues to ensure that our vision truly is shared. Once those comments are received, the writing team will produce a revision that will be circulated for broader peer review. We have decided to delay release of Saving Our Shared Birds until after the North American in March 2010 so as to avoid conflicts with release of the update to State of the Birds which will be delivered at that conference. Rather, we will deliver Saving Our Shared Birds in conjunction with International Migratory Bird Day events in May. The PIF Science Committee is making presentations on the content of the document. If you would like to schedule a presentation, contact anyone on the Science Committee.–Terry Rich

Setting Regional Population Objectives Workshop

The recent workshop on population objectives held in St. Louis has resulted in a number of action Items. Each of these has one or more leads and a timeline (not shown here).
• Collect all workshop notes and presentations; make available to all workshop participants via FTP
• Finish a draft outline for the guidance document, incorporating ideas captured during the final session of the workshop, make suggestions on authors for different sections of document, and circulate to workshop participants for comment
• Develop a draft proposal for a Bird Initiative Science Team that would provide a mechanism for more formal communication between Joint Ventures and the non-game Bird Initiatives regarding science issues, especially linking population objectives between continental and regional scales
• Develop draft matrix on minimal and comprehensive content for development of regional population objectives
• Work on drafting a section for the guidance document on approaches to developing population objectives from population estimates
For further details, contact Jane Fitzgerald jfitzgerald@abcbirds.org

4th International PIF Conference – Needs Assessment and Proceedings

The McAllen conference Proceedings and Needs Assessment were completed in early October. The document will be posted to the PIF web site in the near future. A limited number of hard copies will be printed as soon as we can raise another $3000. Hard copies will be delivered to sponsors and a plan for distributing the remaining copies is being developed. Information on how you can obtain a copy will be distributed via PIF listserves.

AFWA Bird Conservation Committee Meeting Results

PIF has participated in the various committees of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies since the early 1990s because the states have been critical – often central – to progress in bird conservation in the US and beyond. Summaries from the recent AFWA Bird Conservation Committee meetings in Austin, including power point presentations and updates, can be found on the AFWA website at http://www.fishwildlife.org/about_comm_bird.html.–Deb Hahn
(dhahn@fishwildlife.org)

Network of Bird Banders of Costa Rica

For more than a year, we have been working towards establishing and developing the organization of “Red de Anilladores de Aves de Costa Rica.” (Network of bird banders of Costa Rica). This group held its first meeting in March 2008, comprised primarily of researchers working in Costa Rica who are interested in sharing banding data, archiving data for the long term, as well as facilitating processing and analysis of banding data. This group is also interested in sharing information about internships, financing opportunities, personnel sharing and expertise exchange in order to maintain high data quality and bird safety standards .

An important component of this initiative is the availability and distribution of free bands to different Costa Rican banding projects. We currently have bird bands allocated for projects of Network participants, thanks to the support of Porzana Inc. which generously provided us with a donation of 37,000 bands for resident birds with the inscription “avescr.org.”

Bird bands are available for those who already have pertinent permissions for bird banding in Costa Rica and are members of the Red de Anilladores de Aves de Costa Rica. Bird bands should be requested directly from the Network; all banding data should be subsequently reported to a safe database managed by LaMNA. The Network warranties that data will be property of the person or institution that reported them, and available to researches only with the permission of the owner.

Recently, the Redwood Sciences Laboratory of the U.S. Forest Service, and PRBO Conservation Science (formerly Point Reyes Bird Observatory) has supported us in the development of a series of databases that include:
· Band Management Database (ready)
· Banding Data Management Database (in progress)
· Point count Data Management Database (ready)
These tools, as well as online analysis and the technological platform, will be available to LaMNA and Network members.

Finally, we are excited to have established an office and banding effort at INBio headquarters in Heredia, with the training, integration and coordination of Costa Rican bird banders as its main goal. We also expect to have access to a national Technological Platform because of an agreement with the US Forest Service and INBio. If you are a bird bander, a station coordinator, or if you have questions about bird banding programs in Costa Rica, please contact us through our email: anillos@avescr.org or visiting our web site www.avescr.org.–Pablo Elizondo (jpelizondo@zeledonia.org)

New International Section on PIF Web Site

With the help of Carol Beidleman (PIF International WG Co-Chair), we have begun to develop some additional web content for our international partners. You will notice that the link on the main menu tab now says “PIF International” rather than “La Tangara”. When you click on that button you will reach a page where you can link to the La Tangara information as before, but you will also be able to link to a new PIF Mesoamerica page with links to 1) their country-by-country contact information, 2) the letter of collaboration between PIF and the SMBC in English and Spanish, and 3) the report on the Bird Banding Techniques and Certification workshop in El Salvador held in 2008. Carol will continue working with PIFMeso to get additional information about the group up on this page and we’ll expand with information that they want to make available as we can. They will be responsible for informing me about any updates/changes that need to be made.

This international section is a work in progress. We obviously need to build up the connections with both Canada and Mexico. Please send ideas to me. Janet Ruth (janet_ruth@usgs.gov).

Species Vulnerability Assessment

Although we did not succeed this summer in obtaining USGS funding to conduct a species vulnerability assessment for landbirds, we continue to make progress on this topic. BirdLife has assembled life history attribute data for all North American birds and shared that draft information on a restricted basis with PIF. At the September meeting of the USFWS Migratory Bird Program, we discussed this information and how to proceed. I will run a pilot analysis on a subset of the species to see if any logical rule sets result in arraying species a way that tells us something we did not know. There is some skepticism that anything new will emerge. Results will be shared with the USFWS biologists who were in that meeting, several of whom are on the PIF Science Committee.—Terry Rich (terry_rich@fws.gov)

Recommendations for BCR Map Changes Being Accepted

The Tri-national NABCI Committee asked that each national committee consider a process for receiving requests for changes to the Bird Conservation Region (BCR) map for their country. The U.S. NABCI Committee will be accepting requests for updates to the BCR map through 31 December 2009. More information and the request form can be found at http://www.nabci-us.org/bcrchanges.html.

Monitoring Subcommittee – Database Management Workshop

Effective data management is integral to successfully conserving bird populations of concern in North America. The Report Opportunities for Improving Avian Monitoring (2007) emphasizes the need to maintain bird population monitoring data in modern management systems and provide greater access to avian monitoring information. Improvements to bird conservation data management should focus on developing and supporting efficient data architectures and minimizing long-term information loss. The Subcommittee sponsored a workshop (http://www.nabci-us.org/monitoring_database.html) in July 2009 at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center where attendees developed criteria to enable bird initiatives to evaluate management frameworks for priority databases. These criteria will ultimately result in unified recommendations to address resource needs to protect extant and create desired but nonexistent priority databases in the long term.—Deb Hahn (dhahn@fishwildlife.org)

National Phenology Network

The NPN (http://www.usanpn.org/) Research Coordination Network held its 3rd annual meeting in Milwaukee on 5-9 October. Terry Rich, Geoff Geupel (PRBO Conservation Science) and Janis Dickinson (Cornell) contributed from the bird side. The group is dominated by climatologists, modelers, remote sensing specialists and biogeographers, but there was a good mix of other specialties in attendance. A Plant and Animal Working Group (includes all Kingdoms) was formed and has already specified some objectives to be achieved within 6 months. These include 1) disseminating a survey of the “ten most important ecological questions we can ask if we wish to understand and project the patterns, processes, and outcomes of shifts in phenology with climate change,” 2) conducting a review of the peer-reviewed literature where phenological changes have already been published (all taxa, USA/North America, 5+ years of data), and 3) locating and securing legacy databases that have phenological content. The latter should be coordinated with the Avian Knowledge Network for bird databases. Anyone knowing of published literature on phenological changes in birds in the US or North America should contact Terry. This information will supplement the usual lit search tools.

MAPS Program 2004, 2005, and 2006 Report

We are pleased to announce the publication of The Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program 2004, 2005, and 2006 Report in Volume 9 of Bird Populations, the online journal of global avian demography and biogeography published by The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP). A pdf copy of this report, which includes analyses of 15 years (1992-2006) of standardized MAPS data, can be downloaded from http://birdpop.net/pubs/files/desante/2009/554_DeSante2009.pdf.

Our report documents 15-year program-wide (continental) and regional estimates of adult apparent survival, recapture probability, and proportion of residents for 192 landbird species based on analyses of more than 406,000 individual adult capture histories garnered from the operation of more than 650 MAPS stations, as well as annual changes in indices of productivity and adult population size based on analyses of over 662,000 aged individuals. Some important results derived from these analyses are that both productivity and adult survival tended to remain relatively constant over most of the continent during 2004-2006, at least as compared to earlier years, and, consequently, so did adult population sizes. The generally alternating, out-of-phase patterns of annual changes in productivity and adult population size that have characterized previous years were less in evidence during 2004-2006, presumably because the annual changes during these latter years were generally small and non-significant.

We found 15-year (1992-2006) program-wide declines in productivity, adult survival, and adult population size for all species pooled, but because of the relative stability of each of these parameters during 2004-2006, the magnitudes of the 15-year declines were less than those for the 12-year period, 1992-2003. Still, continent-wide adult population sizes of all species pooled declined by nearly -1.8% per year over the past 15 years. Moreover, the declining tendencies in both productivity and adult survival may well increase the difficulty of reversing these population declines.—Danielle Kaschube (dkaschube@birdpop.org)

USFWS Climate Change Strategic Plan

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed Strategic Plan for Climate Change lays the foundation for the agency’s role in the Department of the Interior’s national efforts to conserve fish and wildlife in a rapidly changing climate. The proposed Action Plan for Climate Change, an appendix to the Strategic Plan, details the specific actions the Service will take during the next five years to implement the Strategic Plan.
As we refine and finalize the draft Strategic Plan based on partner and public feedback in the months ahead, we will move quickly to identify and fill knowledge gaps, expand capability to plan and work with partners, identify the habitats and corridors most important across landscapes, and effectively anticipate and address climate change. The documents will not be final until these processes are completed and they are published in final form. The Service requests substantive comments, factual information, and other constructive criticism to help improve both plans. Comments will be accepted through 23 November 2009. See http://www.fws.gov/home/climatechange/strategic_plan.html.

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives

Given the broad impacts of climate change, management responses to such impacts must be coordinated on a landscape-level basis. For example, wildlife migration and related needs for new wildlife corridors, the spread of invasive species and wildfire risks, typically will extend beyond the borders of National Wildlife Refuges, BLM lands, or National Parks. Additionally, some bureau
responsibilities (e.g., Fish and Wildlife Service migratory bird and threatened and endangered species responsibilities) extend nationally and globally. Because of the unprecedented scope of affected landscapes, Interior bureaus and agencies must work together, and with other federal, state, tribal and local governments, and private landowner partners, to develop landscape-level strategies for understanding and responding to climate change impacts. Interior bureaus and agencies, guided by the Climate Response Council, will work to stimulate the development of a network of collaborative “Landscape Conservation Cooperatives.” These cooperatives, which already have been formed in some regions, will work interactively with the relevant DOI Regional Climate Change Response Center(s) and help coordinate adaptation efforts in the region. See http://www.fws.gov/science/shc/lcc.html for details.

2010 Conservation Leadership Programme Awards

The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is now accepting applications for 2010 Conservation Awards. The CLP aims to promote the development of emerging conservation leaders and equip them with the capacity to address the most pressing conservation issues of our time. We do this by providing small grants, training, mentoring and networking opportunities, where award winners gain practical skills and experience and develop leadership capabilities through the implementation of projects focused on high-priority biodiversity conservation issues.

The CLP is a partnership of four international conservation organizations – Birdlife International, Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International and the Wildlife Conservation Society – with support from multinational energy company BP. The CLP has been helping young conservationists to achieve their goals and move into positions of influence within the conservation sector – and 2010 marks the 25th Anniversary of this highly successful program.

This year we are happy to announce that we will be accepting applications from teams working across Africa, Asia, Eastern and South-eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. Countries that are NOT ELIGIBLE include those countries designated as high-income economies by the World Bank, with the exception of island nations in the Pacific and Caribbean and some countries in the Middle East. If you have any questions about eligible countries, please contact the CLP. The deadline is 6 November 2009. See www.ConservationLeadershipProgramme.org. Questions may be sent to toclp@birdlife.org.

NABCI Legislative/Policy Updates

The Joint Venture Communications Team and the NABCI Communication Subcommittee developed a Joint Venture Legislation Fact Sheet. The Fact Sheet is being used by a number of non-federal organizations to promote the Joint Venture legislation in the Senate. In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2188, the Joint Ventures for Bird Habitat Conservation Act of 2009, which was introduced by Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD). The bill formally authorizes the FWS Joint Ventures Program. Senator Cardin is preparing to move the House passed bill (HR 2188) through the Senate Water and Wildlife Subcommittee.

On September 22nd, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife met to consider three bills—reauthorization of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (HR 2213); amending the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (HR 3433); and reauthorization of the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act (HR 3537). The USFWS, Ducks Unlimited, National Audubon Society, and American Bird Conservancy spoke to the three proposed bills. HR 3443 would allow the non-federal share of the US contribution to the costs of wetland conservation projects carried out in Canada to include cash contributions from non-US sources and allow funds from Canadian sources to account for up to half of the non-federal share of project costs. HR 2213 would re-authorize appropriations for five years, and incrementally raise the level of authorization each year from $8 million in FY2010 to $20 million in FY2015. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved an identical bill in June 2009 (S. 690).

MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES

Mesoamerican Society for Conservation and Biology

The MSBC will meet in Belize City, Belize, on 26-30 October 2009. PIF will be sponsoring a training session – Strengthening Partners in Flight Mesoamerica’s Migratory Bird Conservation Efforts through Training in Statistical Analysis and Scientific Writing. Although we were not able to raise the funds required to meet all the objectives of the training, we will be able to hold the session. Our commitment to MSBC is to offer training in conjunction with each annual conference to meet various bird conservation needs in Mesoamerica. We badly need partners to step up to meet the modest annual funding needs for various training sessions (typically around $15,000 each year). For a report of last year’s training, see http://www.partnersinflight.org/pubs. For more details on this year’s conference, see http://msbcbelize2009.com/live/.

PIF Western Working Group

The PIF WWG will meet 3-5 November 2009 at McMenamins Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, OR. The Grand Lodge is approximately 45 miles west of the Portland airport (PDX). For logistical details and an agenda, contact Mike Green (michael_green@fws.gov)

NABCI Winter meeting

The next U.S. NABCI Committee meeting will be held on 12-13 January 2010 in Arlington, VA. See http://www.nabci-us.org/ or contact Deb Hahn for details (dhahn@fishwildlife.org)

Joint Meeting of the AOU, COS and SCO

The American Ornithologists’ Union, Cooper Ornithological Society and Society of Canadian Ornithologists will meet on 7-11 February 2010 in San Diego. Early registration and abstracts are both due 6 November 2009. PIF has a symposium of 10 papers that will cover content in Saving Our Shared Birds (see above). This will be a large and very exciting meeting of ornithologists from around the world. Plan now to attend (http://www.birdmeetings.org/cosaousco2010/).

PIF Southeast Working Group

Just wanted to let you know that the 2010 Southeast Partners in Flight meeting will be held in Gainesville, FL from March 9 – 11. This will be a joint meeting with the Adaptive Management Conference Series. We’re still nailing down a few more details but some more info (including a draft agenda and hotel information) will be available on the website (http://sepif.org/) and over this listserve soon.—
Rua Mordecai (rua.mordecai@gmail.com)

North American and National PIF Meetings

The next national PIF committee meeting will be held in conjunction with the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Milwaukee, WI on 22-27 March 2010 (http://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/). The PIF Implementation Committee will meet on 20-21 March, and it’s possible that the Science Committee will meet prior to those dates. Details will be circulated as usual via PIF listserves.—Terry Rich

25th International Ornithological Congress 2010

The 25th International Ornithological Congress will also be held in Campos do Jordão, Brazil, 22-28 August 2010. The deadline for early registration has been extended to 30 October and the deadline for abstracts has been extended to 5 November. See http://www.acquaviva.com.br/sisconev/index.asp?Codigo=26 for details.

Other Ornithological Society Meetings

Details on the annual conferences of other major ornithological societies in North American can be found at http://www.osnabirds.org/.

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The next newsletter will be issued on 1 January 2010. Items are due 15 December 2009 to Terry Rich (terry_rich@fws.gov).