strategic plan for the north american breeding bird survey
TRANSCRIPT
U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey
Circular 1307
Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
Prepared in cooperation with Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service and Mexico’s National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity
Circular 1307
U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the InteriorDIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary
U.S. Geological SurveyMark D. Myers, Director
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2007
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Suggested citation:U.S. Geological Survey, 2007, Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1307, 19 p.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Author1LastName, Author1FirstName Q.Title of book/ Author Listp. cm. –(U.S. Geological Survey professional paper ; 0000)Includes bibliographic references.1. Subject heading. 2. Subject heading. 3. Subject heading. I. Main entries. II.Main entries. III. Main entries.TN24.M9 M55 2002553’.09786’6—dc21
2001051109ISBN 0-607-97815-9 (Set)ISBN 0-607-97815-7 (Volume 1)ISBN 0-607-97815-5 (Volume 2)
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Contents
Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................ivAcknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ivExecutive Summary .......................................................................................................................................vWhat is the North American Breeding Bird Survey? ...............................................................................1Who participates in the BBS? .....................................................................................................................1History of the BBS..........................................................................................................................................1What is the purpose of the North American Breeding Bird Survey? ....................................................2How are BBS data used?..............................................................................................................................3What are the organizational context and role of the program? .............................................................4Strategic Goals of the North American Breeding Bird Survey ..............................................................5References Cited............................................................................................................................................8
Figures 1. BBS participants come from all walks of life. However, 54 percent are natural
resource professionals ................................................................................................................1 2. Total number of BBS routes sampled annually, 1966 – 2005 .................................................5
Tables 1. Strategic Plan goals, strategies, objectives, actions, outcomes, and measures
for achieving the mission of the North American Breeding Bird Survey program ..........10 2. Timeline for accomplishing action items ................................................................................16
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Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
A publication of the North American Breeding Bird Survey program under the auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey, Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service, and Mexico’s National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity.
ForewordIn November 2005, a group of experts and stakeholders in the North American Breeding
Bird Survey (BBS) met to assist in the development of a 5-year strategic plan for the program. The primary charge of workshop participants was to revisit and revise the tasks remaining from the 2000 review, to identify emerging issues, and to set priorities for making progress on those tasks over the next 5 years. The larger context for this workshop was to develop a work plan for the BBS that helps meet the broader strategic goals of the project organizers, the U.S. Geologi-cal Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service, including the establishment of a Mexican BBS program in collaboration with the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodi-versity. Although placed in the context of a 5-year timeframe, it is recognized that full imple-mentation of the plan may take decades. As such, the strategic plan should be revisited every 5 years to evaluate progress and reprioritize goals, objectives, and strategies as necessary.
AcknowledgmentsThe value of this Plan lies in the input it incorporates from a wide variety of experts and
stakeholders. Participants in the initial face-to-face discussions, organized by Keith Pardieck and David Ziolkowski, Jr., and facilitated by Karen Buehler (K.L. Buehler and Associates, Inc., Alexandria, Va.) and Tom Will, included the following:
Name OrganizationHumberto Berlanga National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity
(Mexico) / North American Bird Conservation InitiativeConnie Downes Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife ServicePaul V. Dresler USGS Status and Trends ProgramErica H. Dunn Environment Canada / Partners in FlightCharles M. Francis Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service Michael Green USFWS Migratory Bird Office (Region 1)Marshall A. Howe USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research CenterEduardo E. Iñigo-Elias Cornell Laboratory of OrnithologyNeal D. Niemuth USFWS Habitat and Population Evaluation TeamKeith L. Pardieck USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research CenterJ. Andy Royle USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research CenterJohn R. Sauer USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research CenterTodd Schneider Georgia Department of Natural ResourcesTed R. Simons North Carolina State Univ./USGS Coop. Research UnitWayne E. Thogmartin USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Science CenterTom C. Will USFWS Migratory Bird Office (Region 3) / Partners in FlightSartor O. Williams, III New Mexico Department of Game and FishDavid J. Ziolkowski, Jr. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Unable to attend the initial discussions, Peter Blancher and Brian Collins provided written comments for consideration. Input from additional experts was sought on early drafts of this Plan, and the final version benefited from contributions made by Jim Nichols, Ken Pollock, and Terry Rich.
Special thanks go to Tom Will for serving as the workshop facilitator on the second day, and to Erica Dunn for composing the initial draft Plan. Keith Pardieck compiled and edited subsequent iterations, and advanced the draft Plan through its final stages. Dave Ziolkowski, Jr.. compiled photos and figures, and prepared captions.
We also acknowledge Dale Simmons and Denis Sun of USGS Publishing Service Center 3, who provided final copy editing and layout design services for this publication.
The USGS Status and Trends of Biological Resources Program, Biological Resources Discipline, funded publication of this Plan.
Executive SummaryThe mission of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is to provide scientifi-
cally credible measures of the status and trends of North American bird populations at conti-nental and regional scales to inform biologically sound conservation and management actions. Determining population trends, relative abundance, and distributions of North American avifauna is critical for identifying conservation priorities, determining appropriate conservation actions, and evaluating those actions. The BBS program, jointly coordinated by the U.S. Geo-logical Survey and Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service, provides the U.S. and Canadian Federal governments, state and provincial agencies, other conservation practitioners, and the general public with science-based avian population trend estimates and other informa-tion for regional and national species’ population assessments.
Despite the demonstrated value of the BBS for furthering avian conservation across North America, its importance is often underappreciated, and it is underfunded compared with many other government-supported programs that report on status of the environment. Today, BBS resources, adjusted for inflation, are below the amount allocated in the 1970s and are still only sufficient to support two biologists. Yet the number of routes, participants, data, and data requests has quadrupled. Data and information management and delivery requirements and security concerns, non-existent in 1966, impose further demands on BBS resources. In addition, the Mexican expansion of the BBS offers new hope for a truly continental approach to avian conservation, but also brings additional challenges. Meeting the goals of this plan will take
The Rusty Blackbird is an ecologically unique species with more than 80 percent of its breeding population in the northern boreal forest. Poorly sampled and widely believed to be declining, this species illustrates the need for expanded monitoring effort in the region. Photo by Gerhard Hofmann.
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cooperation among myriad stakeholders; yet, even with collaboration, most objectives of this plan will be unattainable if BBS program support is not increased.
The BBS developed this strategic plan to help set priorities and identify resources required for the program to continue to meet the evolving needs of the conservation community for information on bird population change. By setting clear goals, strategies, and measures of success, this plan provides a cohesive framework and vision for maintenance and develop-ment of the BBS. The plan identifies two major goals for the BBS, with a number of strategies and objectives to achieve these goals. Over the next 5 years, progress made in addressing each long-term goal and its associated 5-year strategies and objectives will gage the plan’s success. Specific actions, projected outcomes, and measures of success related to accomplishing these are outlined in Table 1, with a timeline in Table 2.
The two main goals for the program, with a summary of the strategies to achieve them, are:
Goal 1: Collect scientifically credible measures of the status and trends of North American bird populations at continental and regional scales.
The North American Breeding Bird Survey will continue to support North American natu-ral resource conservation through the collection of scientifically credible measures of the status and trends of continental bird populations. While doing this, the BBS will work to improve the science behind the program to better meet its mission and the changing needs of the avian conservation community. In partnership with collaborators, the BBS will address detec-tion probability bias and habitat bias, improve analytical methods, and more fully assess and account for observer quality. Moreover, the BBS will improve the quality and breadth of avian population data through strategic increases in route density and the establishment of a Mexican BBS program.
Goal 2: Ensure BBS data and analytical results are widely available and easily acces-sible for use by the avian conservation and management communities.
At the heart of the BBS lies a four-million-record database containing more than 40 years of data on more than 600 bird species. These data are of no value if not well maintained, appropriately analyzed, and widely and easily accessible. The USGS has greatly improved data management and accessibility in recent years. Trend estimates were first made available via the Internet in the mid-1990s, followed closely by the raw data with baseline metadata and standard operating procedures. Nevertheless, numerous enhancements to data management and the usability of BBS results will greatly improve the ability of the BBS to serve avian conserva-tion goals. The BBS needs to ensure that BBS data and results presented on the web site use the best data-management practices and statistical methods, with adequate documentation for users to understand them and any differences between different trend estimates. Moreover, the BBS needs to increase communication with BBS partners and stakeholders to ensure that it continues to meet the avian population status and trends needs of the conservation community and to encourage the development of new products. Working with collaborators, the BBS will develop tools for integrating environmental parameters like habitat change into the analyses, and for integrating BBS data with other avian survey results. In addition, the BBS will continue to improve data and database management through the incorporation of additional data and data fields, such as georeferenced stop locations and more complete metadata for the raw data and results, thus enhancing the uses that can be made of the data.
Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
What is the North American Breeding Bird Survey?
The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is an international avian survey, conducted annually during the breeding season along thousands of roadside survey routes in the United States and Canada. Each route is 24.5 miles (39.2 km) long with counting locations placed at half-mile (800-m) intervals, for a total of 50 stops. At each stop, an observer skilled in avian identification conducts a 3-minute point count, recording every bird seen within a quarter-mile (400-m) radius and every bird heard. Operational for more than 40 years, the BBS has proven to be an inexpensive means of assessing range-wide population trends of a large number of species (Robbins and others, 1986).
Today the BBS provides the foundation for non-game, landbird conservation in North America with more than 2,200 skilled participants sampling 3,000 routes annually across the continental U.S. and southern Canada. Each year long-term population trends are calculated for more than 400 of the greater than 650 bird species recorded on BBS routes. These trends inform researchers and wildlife managers of significant changes in bird population levels and are utilized, along with other indicators, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cana-dian Wildlife Service, state wildlife agencies, and Partners in Flight to establish national and regional avian conservation priorities. Trends, along with both raw and summarized data, are made available on the Internet (http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/).
Who participates in the BBS?More than 8,000 individuals have participated in the
BBS over the last 4 decades, 75 percent of U.S. participants on a volunteer basis (87 percent of Canadian participants). Although the majority of participants are natural resource professionals, they come from all walks of life, including homemakers, students, business people, teachers, doctors, law-yers, scientists, and retirees, to name but a few (Fig. 1). The common threads that bind them to the BBS are their interest in birds, their desire to assist in avian conservation through better scientific knowledge, and their excellent avian identification skills.
Figure 1. BBS participants come from all walks of life. However, 54 percent are natural resource professionals. (Source: 1997 USFWS BBS Participant Survey Results (http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbsnews/Poll98/))
History of the BBSIn the early 1960s, widespread pesticide use, while
potentially effective at controlling many harmful insects, was strongly suspected to be having harmful effects on bird popu-lations. Unfortunately, no long-term regional or continental population data were available for most bird species, making it difficult to demonstrate changes in bird populations. In a bold initiative to remedy this information gap, Chandler S. Robbins and colleagues in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Field-tested in Maryland and Delaware in 1965, the BBS was officially launched in 1966, utilizing 600 roadside routes to obtain range-wide population data on breeding birds in the eastern U.S. and Canada, with Tony Erskine taking the lead for the Canadian Wildlife Service. By 1968, the BBS sampled more than 1,200 routes and encompassed the contiguous United States and the southern half of all Canadian provinces. The BBS has steadily grown since then to include more than 4,100 routes.
In excess of 300 scientific and conservation-based articles utilizing BBS data and trends have been published. Chandler Robbins, Danny Bystrak, and Paul Geissler firmly established the utility of the BBS for tracking large-scale avian popula-tion changes through their 1986 watershed publication, “The Breeding Bird Survey: Its First Fifteen Years, 1965 – 1979” (Robbins and others, 1986). In it they provided baseline popu-lation trend estimates for 230 North American bird species, documented the effects of extreme weather events on birds, and tracked the expansion of exotic and introduced species. In
NaturalResource
Professionals54%
Other47%
1% Gov. - other
9% University
4% Educ.-other
9% Nat. Res.-other
12% State
13% Fed
5% Retired
1989, BBS data were instrumental in documenting large-scale population declines of neotropical migrant woodland bird species in eastern North America (Robbins and others, 1989), galvanizing research and conservation efforts to identify and reverse the causes of those declines. More recently, BBS data focused conservation attention on the plight of declining grass-land bird populations (Peterjohn and Sauer, 1996; Peterjohn and Sauer, 1999; Pardieck and Sauer, 2000). Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian Wildlife Service, Partners in Flight, and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative rely upon the BBS, along with other indicators, to assess avian conservation priorities.
To ensure the continued relevance of the BBS to the goals of the sponsoring agencies, the USGS Patuxent Wild-life Research Center convened a Peer Review Panel in April 1999 to review scientific and operational aspects of the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The Panel noted the excep-tional cost-effectiveness with which BBS fulfills a large num-ber of important agency goals. They also recognized several aspects of the Program that should be addressed if the BBS is to maintain and increase its value for conservation purposes. These included technical issues related to BBS data collection, issues relating to BBS Office operations and management, and suggestions for new program directions (O’Connor and others, 2000). Of the 32 Panel recommendations, 8 have been completed, 12 have not been initiated, and 12 are ongoing, including BBS expansion into Mexico.
Efforts to make the BBS a truly North American program began in earnest in the early 1990s with a 3-year pilot project
to investigate the feasibility of establishing a Mexican BBS program. Study results indicated that expansion of the BBS into northern Mexico was technically feasible, but institutional and ornithological support within Mexico was insufficient at the time to maintain a long-term commitment. A decade later, the Mexican avian conservation community has grown sub-stantially, as has their need for better avian population trend information. To this end, the Mexican National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity has partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service to establish a Mexican BBS by 2010.
What is the purpose of the North American Breeding Bird Survey?
The purpose of the BBS is captured in its mission state-ment:
The North American Breeding Bird Survey provides scientifically credible measures of the status and trends of North American bird populations at con-tinental and regional scales to inform biologically sound conservation and management actions.
A key feature of the BBS that distinguishes it from most other avian monitoring programs is the breadth of its geo-graphical coverage. It is unique in providing annual informa-tion on distribution, abundance, and trends across most of
19701985
19902005
Native to the western U.S., the expansion of the House Finch from a small introduced population in the northeast is illustrated here using data from four time periods. Such maps provide a dramatic example of how BBS data can be used to chart distributional changes in both native and exotic bird species.
2 Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
for development of models that associate bird counts with environmental features such as habitat, landscape features, and weather;
to test predictions from models of bird population change and the factors that might influence change;
for scientific studies investigating underlying variation in bird populations.
Provide avian count data for estimating species’ popula-tion sizes:
to inform selection of population goals;
to assess population status relative to population goals.
How are BBS data used?Results of the BBS are used in numerous ways “to inform
biologically sound conservation and management actions,” and new means of doing so continue to be developed. Some of the ways BBS accomplishes this, with examples of each, include the following:
Helps identify priorities for conservation, manage-ment, and additional research. The Partners in Flight North American Landbird Conservation Plan (Rich and others, 2004) drew heavily on BBS results to identify species and ecosystems of high conservation concern and stewardship responsibility.
Assesses response of bird populations to collective conservation and management activities across their
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The Eastern Meadowlark population trend summary from 1966 to 2005 illustrates the steady population decline witnessed for this species. Grassland birds as a whole have experienced steeper, more consistent declines than any other avian group during this period. Photo by Gary Rosenberg. Graph source: Sauer and others, 2005.
How are BBS data used? �
the breeding ranges of hundreds of species simultaneously. Because population change may differ among regions, no other survey is as useful as the BBS for documenting the status of relatively common and widespread species at a near-continental scale.
The primary functions of the BBS, in order of impor-tance, are to:
Measure avian population change to help identify species’ priorities for conservation, including:
estimation of interval-specific change (population trend) for time periods of management and scientific interest;
estimation of annual indices that also capture annual variation in bird numbers;
estimation of spatial patterns of population change.
These estimates will be made:
for individual species and for defined groups of species (environmental indicators, community guilds);
within Bird Conservation Regions or larger areas;
at a resolution and accuracy useful for large-scale con-servation planning (e.g., the Partners in Flight target: 80-percent power to detect a 50-percent decline over 20 years using a 2-tailed test and significance of 0.10 (Dunn and others, 2005)).
Provide avian count data for model-based conservation planning:
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ranges. BBS data are increasingly being used to esti-mate population size, set population objectives, and keep track of annual changes in populations to deter-mine whether targets are being met.
Provides context for local- to regional-scale abundance and trends, so they can be appropriately interpreted. Population changes in natural reserves (such as national parks) or in areas of habitat management (such as riparian restoration projects or forestry tracts) must be interpreted in the context of broad-scale population changes that take place independently of local action.
Contributes data to a wide variety of research and con-servation applications. BBS counts can be combined with habitat and other data to develop spatially explicit models that provide insight into causative factors and broad-scale patterns in distribution and abundance, which in turn provide guidance for conservation action.
Provides basic biological data on the distribution and abundance of North American birds that are used for educational purposes. Relative abundance estimates; species richness estimates; and species lists for routes, states, regions, and countries derived from BBS data are used to demonstrate biological principles in the
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� Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
classroom and provide regionally explicit information on bird distributions to the general public. Such data can also be used to inform policy makers of the impor-tance of various ecosystems and regions for mainte-nance of avian biodiversity.
What are the organizational context and role of the program?
The BBS is run jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of the program on Status and Trends of Bio-logical Resources, and by Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). It helps to address specific USGS goals of measuring biological health, and responds to the needs of scientists, land and resource managers, policy mak-ers, and the public. BBS contributes to the CWS mandate to conserve wildlife and the ecosystems of which they are a part. While the BBS is not yet established in Mexico, the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) is committed to the development of a Mexican BBS program to address avian population information needs in that country and complete the continental picture.
Strategic Goals of the North American Breeding Bird Survey
The two primary goals of the BBS program are inter-related and of approximately equal importance.
Strategies within each goal are listed in approximate order of priority.
Objectives listed are all high priority within their respective Strategy.
Action items to achieve specific objectives are listed in Table 1, and are labelled as H(igh), M(edium), or L(ow) prior-ity. Low-priority items may be addressed early on if they are easy to do without deflecting attention from higher priority actions. Priorities are the same for all participating countries except where otherwise noted. Table 2 indicates the timeline for accomplishing each action.
These goals flow directly from the BBS mission state-ment and provide the framework for guiding future work on the Breeding Bird Survey:
Goal 1: Collect scientifically credible mea-sures of the status and trends of North American bird populations at continental and regional scales.
Goal 2: Ensure BBS data and analytical results are widely available and easily acces-sible for use by the avian conservation and management communities.
It should be understood that many of the objectives and actions outlined below for meeting these goals address new
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work or support that is needed to further strengthen the BBS. Additional resources are therefore required, beyond those currently allocated to the ongoing program, to achieve these goals.
Goal 1: Collect scientifically credible mea-sures of the status and trends of North American bird populations at continental and regional scales.
Strategy 1A: Build sufficient financial and in-kind support for the BBS to ensure continued operation of the BBS program, while enhancing the scientific credibility, improving geographic coverage, and increasing use and availability of the data.
Despite the demonstrated value of the BBS for further-ing avian conservation across North America, the importance of BBS is often underappreciated, and underfunded compared with many other government-supported programs that report on status of the environment. Beginning in the early 1970s when the BBS consisted of little more than 1,000 routes, the U.S. staff consisted of two biologists to coordinate the effort and to receive, manage, analyze, and make available the infor-mation collected. Today, BBS resources within the U.S. office, adjusted for inflation, are below the amount allocated in the 1970s and still are sufficient to support only two biologists. Yet the number of routes, participants, data, and data requests has quadrupled (Fig. 2). Data and information management and delivery requirements and security concerns, non-existent
Strategic Goals Of The North American Breeding Bird Survey 5
Figure 2. Total number of BBS routes sampled annually, 1966 – 2005. (Includes route totals from Mexican pilot project conducted 1993 – 1995.)
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OUTE
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5000
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1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
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U.S. Canada Mexico4,000
in 1966, impose additional demands for BBS resources. Cur-rent resource levels are barely sufficient to maintain the survey at current levels; additional resources are needed to implement most of the actions identified in this plan.
Objective 1A1: Increase awareness of policy mak-ers and management agencies of the existence and value of the BBS program, and use this awareness to increase support for the program.
Objective 1A2: Ensure an adequate volunteer participant base through increasing support to state/provincial/territorial coordinators and continued development and implementation of ideas for reten-tion and recruitment of participants.
Objective 1A3: Ensure database and electronic infrastructure (e.g., web connectivity) are adequately supported to meet ever-changing technological advances and security concerns to enable timely and accurate data collection and distribution.
Strategy 1B: Strengthen the scientific credibility of BBS results at continental and regional scales.
Although BBS data are currently widely used for many different purposes, there are concerns about possible bias due to variation in detection probabilities, uneven habitat cover-
age, and observer quality. The proportion of birds detected is known to vary among species, habitats, time of day, date in season, observer, amount of traffic, and many other factors. Systematic variation in detection probabilities over time or space could bias estimates of population attributes. A major limitation of the BBS is that routes are laid out on roads. Roads may not sample certain types of habitat, and trends in both habitat and birds may be different along roads than else-where. Routes with increasingly heavy traffic are abandoned, potentially introducing another habitat bias. BBS participants are skilled observers, often with years of field experience. Nonetheless, skill levels are not equal and there is no docu-mentation of skill levels. Documenting skill levels could increase confidence in the survey, and reducing variation in skill levels could increase precision of estimates.
Objective 1B1: Implement projects to evaluate the magnitude of potential bias due to variation in detection probability associated with species detection variation, observer variation, and traffic noise and habitat issues, and determine whether any approaches for estimating detection probability can be routinely implemented in the BBS.
Objective 1B2: Evaluate the magnitude of potential bias associated with non-random coverage of habi-tats, considering differences in habitat availability and habitat change along BBS routes compared with
Scaled Quail RangeScaled Quail on BBS, 2000 - 2005
The distribution of the Scaled Quail, a popular game bird of the southwestern U.S., extends into poorly monitored regions of northern Mexico. Comprehensive population assessments for this and other cross-border species are hampered by the lack of corresponding data from these regions. Photo by Gary Rosenberg. Map source: revised from Schemnitz, 199�.
6 Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
the broader landscape as well as differences in bird distribution and detectability in relation to roadsides, and develop analytic or operational strategies for addressing any resultant bias.
Objective 1B3: Develop assessment and training tools to assess current skill levels of observers, and to enhance skill levels, particularly for new recruits, thus reducing variation in observer effects.
Strategy 1C: Improve geographic coverage of the BBS.
BBS routes were initially set up evenly across the survey area. However, routes have been added in regions with high volunteer density, and existing routes are not always covered. Much of northern Canada is not sampled at all, so data for many species come from only a small proportion of a species range. As a result, trend information for those species cannot be considered reliable, as it only represents a small portion of their range. No routes are currently run in Mexico, but Dunn and others (2005) estimated that a BBS-style program could provide adequate population trend estimates for more than 80 bird species found in northern Mexico.
Objective 1C1: Increase BBS route coverage in areas within the current BBS area that are currently undersampled, through strategic recruitment or real-location of existing volunteers.
Objective 1C2: Work with Mexican authorities to expand the BBS into Mexico by the year 2010.
Objective 1C3: Develop innovative approaches to survey poorly sampled areas in such a way that data can be integrated with the larger database for analytic purposes. Options to be considered include short routes, off-road routes, use of microphone recordings to calibrate observer effects, etc.
Goal 2: Ensure BBS data and analytical results are widely available and easily acces-sible for use by the avian conservation and management communities.
Strategy 2A: Ensure that BBS data and results presented on the web site use the best data-man-agement practices and statistical methods, with
adequate documentation for users to understand them.
Results from the BBS can be used to inform conservation and management actions only if the data, results from analyses of those data, and interpretations of those results are all widely and easily available to users. Data must be available in ways that are easily understood by users, and analyzed in statisti-cally defensible ways. Currently, population trend estimates are provided on both USGS and CWS web sites, but using different statistical methods, with somewhat different results. Furthermore, new statistical approaches (e.g., hierarchical models) have been published, and presented as improvements, but not yet implemented in an operational context. Such diver-sity of approaches, while a healthy component of scientific research, can confuse users and undermine credibility of the survey if not adequately documented and explained. Data-management needs are also evolving as the survey expands, as additional data are collected (such as detectability measures or habitat data), and with increased demand for interoperability with other programs.
Objective 2A1: Continue to improve and add value to the results and information presented on the BBS web site by ensuring that the most appropri-ate analysis methods are used, that these methods provide the information required by users, and that the approaches are adequately documented.
Objective 2A2: Continue to improve database management to cope with increased data collection, and to ensure that best available data-management practices are met.
Strategy 2B: Increase communication with BBS partners and stakeholders to ensure BBS con-tinues to meet the avian population status and trends needs of the conservation community and to encourage the development of new products.
The successful execution of this Plan and the continued relevance of the BBS for avian conservation depend upon open communication between BBS partners and stakeholders.
Objective 2B1: Increase communications with key users of BBS data.
Objective 2B2: Promote development of products by partners that synthesize and interpret BBS results.
Strategic Goals Of The North American Breeding Bird Survey �
References Cited
Dresler, P.V., James, D.L., Geissler, P.H., Bartish, T.M., and Coyle, J., 2004, Strategic plan for the U.S. Geological Survey Status and Trends of Biological Resources Program: 2004-2009: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1277, 23 p.
Dunn, E.H., Altman, B.L., Bart, J., Beardmore, C.J., Berlanga, H., Blancher, P.J., Butcher, G.S., Demarest. D.W., Dettmers, R., Hunter, W.C., Iñigo-Elias, E.E., Panjabi, A.O., Pashley, D.N., Ralph, C.J., Rich, T.D., Rosenberg, K.V., Rustay, C.M., Ruth, J.M., and Will, T.C., 2005, High priority needs for range-wide monitoring of North American landbirds: Partners in Flight Technical Series, No. 2, September 2005, on the World Wide Web at URL http://www.partnersinflight.org/pubs/ts/02-MonitoringNeeds.pdf
Link, W.A., and Sauer, J.R., 2002, A hierarchical analysis of population change with application to Cerulean Warblers: Ecology, v. 83, p. 2832-2840.
O’Connor, R.J., Dunn, E., Johnson, D.H., Jones, S.L., Petit, D., Pollock, K., Smith, C.R., and Welling, E., 2000, A programmatic review of the North American Breeding Bird Survey: Report of a peer review panel to the U.S. Geologi-cal Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Md., February 2000, on the World Wide Web at URL http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbsreview/
Peterjohn, B.G., and Sauer, J.R., 1996, The 1994 and 1995 summary of the North American Breeding Bird Survey: Bird Populations, v. 3, p. 48-66.
Peterjohn, B.G., and Sauer, J.R., 1999, Population status of North American grassland birds from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, in Vickery, P.D., and Herkert, J.R., eds., Ecology and conservation of grassland birds in the Western Hemisphere: Lawrence, Kansas, Allen Press, Inc., Studies in Avian Biology, v. 19, p. 27-44.
Pardieck, K.L., and Sauer, J.R., 2000, The 1995-1999 sum-mary of the North American Breeding Bird Survey: Bird Populations, v. 5, p. 30-48.
Rich, T.D., Beardmore, C.J., Berlanga, H., Blancher, P.J., Bradstreet, M.S.W., Butcher, G.S., Demarest, D.W., Dunn, E.H., Hunter, W.C., Iñigo-Elias, E.E., Kennedy, J.A., Mar-tell, A.M., Panjabi, A.O., Pashley, D.N., Rosenberg, K.V., Rustay, C.M., Wendt, J.S., and Will, T.C., 2004, Partners in Flight North American Landbird Conservation Plan: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y., March 2005, on the World Wide Web at URL http://www.partnersinflight.org/cont_plan/
Robbins, C.S., Bystrak, D., and Geissler, P.H., 1986, The Breeding Bird Survey: Its first fifteen years, 1965-1979: Washington, D.C., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Resource Pub. 157, 196 p.
Robbins, C.S., Sauer, J.R., Greenberg, R.S., and Droege, S., 1989, Population declines in North American birds that migrate to the neotropics: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v. 86, p. 7658-7662.
Sauer, J.R., Hines, J.E., and Fallon, J., 2005, The North Ameri-can Breeding Bird Survey: Results and analysis 1966-2005: Laurel, Md., U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, version 6.2.2006.
Schemnitz, S.D., 1994, Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata), in Poole, A., and Gill, F., eds., The birds of North America, No. 106: Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Wash-ington, D.C., The American Ornithologists’ Union, on the World Wide Web at URL http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/
8 Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
Tabl
e 1.
St
rate
gic
Plan
goa
ls, s
trate
gies
, obj
ectiv
es, a
ctio
ns, o
utco
mes
, and
mea
sure
s fo
r ach
ievi
ng th
e m
issi
on o
f the
Nor
th A
mer
ican
Br
eedi
ng B
ird S
urve
y pr
ogra
m.—
Cont
inue
d
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
Goa
l 1: C
olle
ct s
cien
tific
ally
cre
dibl
e m
easu
res
of th
e st
atus
and
tren
ds o
f Nor
th A
mer
ican
bi
rd p
opul
atio
ns a
t con
tinen
tal a
nd re
gion
al s
cale
s.St
rate
gy 1
A: B
uild
suf
ficie
nt fi
nanc
ial a
nd in
-kin
d su
ppor
t for
the
BB
S to
ens
ure
cont
inue
d op
erat
ion
of th
e B
BS
prog
ram
, whi
le e
nhan
cing
th
e sc
ient
ific
cred
ibili
ty, i
mpr
ovin
g ge
ogra
phic
cov
erag
e, a
nd in
crea
sing
use
and
ava
ilabi
lity
of th
e da
ta.
Obj
ectiv
e 1A
1: In
crea
se a
war
enes
s of
pol
icy
mak
ers
and
man
agem
ent a
genc
ies
of th
e ex
iste
nce
and
valu
e of
the
BB
S pr
ogra
m,
and
use
this
aw
aren
ess
to in
crea
se s
uppo
rt fo
r the
pro
gram
.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1A1a
(H).
Form
a w
orki
ng g
roup
to d
evel
op id
eas f
or in
crea
s-in
g su
ppor
t to
BB
S, a
nd to
ass
ist w
ith a
nd e
valu
ate
prog
ress
on
acc
ompl
ishi
ng th
e ob
ject
ive.
Idea
s may
incl
ude
seek
ing
incr
ease
d ba
se su
ppor
t and
cyc
lical
fund
s, or
form
ing
a B
BS
endo
wm
ent u
nder
a n
on-g
over
nmen
t org
aniz
atio
n.
• Ide
as id
entif
ied
to in
crea
se b
ase
fund
ing.
• Fun
ding
incr
ease
d to
acc
ompl
ish
othe
r obj
ectiv
es,
thro
ugh
appr
opria
te im
plem
enta
tion
of th
ese
idea
s.
• Wor
king
gro
up e
stab
lishe
d.• A
ppro
pria
te id
eas d
evel
oped
and
impl
emen
ted.
• Bas
e fu
ndin
g in
crea
sed
to a
ccom
plis
h ob
ject
ives
.
1A1b
(H).
Dev
elop
and
dis
tribu
te a
pub
licity
pac
ket,
ask
user
s lik
e Pa
rtner
s in
Flig
ht to
hig
hlig
ht th
e im
porta
nce
of B
BS
to
them
, sho
w c
onne
ctio
ns a
nd b
enef
its to
indu
stry
.
• Rai
sed
awar
enes
s am
ong
the
gene
ral p
ublic
and
pol
icy
mak
ers o
f the
impo
rtanc
e an
d ut
ility
of B
BS
incr
ease
s su
ppor
t for
pro
gram
.
• Out
reac
h an
d pu
blic
ity p
rodu
cts d
evel
oped
and
dis
trib-
uted
to k
ey p
artn
ers i
nclu
ding
indu
stry
.
1A1c
(L).
Upd
ate
bibl
iogr
aphy
of s
cien
tific
and
con
serv
atio
n do
cum
ents
that
use
BB
S da
ta.
• Im
porta
nce
of B
BS
for s
cien
ce a
nd c
onse
rvat
ion
emph
asiz
ed.
• Pro
vide
s add
ition
al fu
el fo
r out
reac
h.
• Bib
liogr
aphy
com
plet
ed a
nd m
aint
aine
d.
Obj
ectiv
e 1A
2: E
nsur
e an
ade
quat
e vo
lunt
eer p
artic
ipan
t bas
e th
roug
h in
crea
sing
sup
port
to s
tate
/pro
vinc
ial/t
erri
tori
al
coor
dina
tors
and
con
tinue
d de
velo
pmen
t and
impl
emen
tatio
n of
idea
s fo
r ret
entio
n an
d re
crui
tmen
t of p
artic
ipan
ts.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1A2a
(M).
Dev
elop
stro
nger
par
tner
ship
s with
stat
e an
d pr
ovin
-ci
al/te
rrito
rial c
onse
rvat
ion
agen
cies
and
enc
oura
ge in
cor-
pora
tion
of B
BS
into
offi
cial
dut
ies o
f the
ir st
aff b
y ru
nnin
g ro
utes
and
/or b
eing
regi
onal
coo
rdin
ator
s.
• Sta
te/p
rovi
ncia
l res
ourc
es a
vaila
ble
to a
ssis
t in
mee
ting
rout
e co
vera
ge g
oals
(e.g
., re
mot
e ro
ute
cove
rage
) and
tra
inin
g go
als.
• BB
S be
tter i
nteg
rate
d w
ith c
onse
rvat
ion
initi
ativ
es a
nd
with
loca
l mon
itorin
g pr
ogra
ms.
• 30%
of s
tate
s hav
e in
crea
sed
com
mitm
ent t
o B
BS.
• At l
east
two
prov
ince
s hav
e ad
ditio
nal s
taff
cont
ribut
-in
g to
BB
S.
1A2b
(H).
Form
wor
king
gro
up to
furth
er d
evel
op, p
riorit
ize,
an
d im
plem
ent p
artic
ipan
t out
reac
h an
d tra
inin
g st
rate
gies
su
ch a
s men
torin
g pr
ogra
ms,
BB
S tra
iner
mod
ules
, rec
ruit-
men
t fly
ers,
Pow
erPo
int p
rese
ntat
ions
, inc
orpo
ratio
n of
BB
S in
form
atio
n in
fiel
d gu
ides
, tex
t boo
ks a
nd te
achi
ng p
lans
, an
d pe
riodi
c pu
blic
atio
n of
BB
S re
late
d ar
ticle
s in
popu
lar
mag
azin
es.
• Gre
ater
par
ticip
atio
n in
BB
S pr
ogra
m.
• Lar
ger p
ool o
f tra
ined
par
ticip
ants
.• R
educ
ed v
aria
tion
amon
g pa
rtici
pant
s due
to tr
aini
ng.
• New
out
reac
h an
d re
crui
tmen
t mat
eria
ls a
re d
evel
oped
.• A
t lea
st o
ne n
ew tr
aini
ng p
rogr
am in
itiat
ed.
• Rat
e of
recr
uitm
ent o
f new
obs
erve
rs in
crea
ses.
1A2c
(H).
Hol
d co
ordi
nato
r mee
tings
at l
east
eve
ry 3
yea
rs, w
ith
regi
onal
mee
tings
mor
e of
ten
as o
ppor
tuni
ties a
llow.
• Im
prov
ed c
omm
unic
atio
n be
twee
n na
tiona
l offi
ces a
nd
regi
onal
coo
rdin
ator
s.• G
reat
er p
artic
ipat
ion
and
outre
ach
by re
gion
al c
oord
i-na
tors
.
• Coo
rdin
ator
s mee
t eve
ry 2
-3 y
ears
.
10 Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
Tabl
e 1.
St
rate
gic
Plan
goa
ls, s
trate
gies
, obj
ectiv
es, a
ctio
ns, o
utco
mes
, and
mea
sure
s fo
r ach
ievi
ng th
e m
issi
on o
f the
Nor
th A
mer
ican
Br
eedi
ng B
ird S
urve
y pr
ogra
m.—
Cont
inue
d
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
1A2d
(H).
Prov
ide
coor
dina
tors
with
impr
oved
recr
uitm
ent a
nd
man
agem
ent r
esou
rces
such
as W
eb-b
ased
han
dboo
k, re
vise
d an
d en
hanc
ed m
aps,
and
elec
troni
c ou
treac
h m
ater
ials
(e.g
., fa
ct sh
eet,
Pow
erPo
int,
etc.
).
• Reg
iona
l coo
rdin
ator
s hav
e m
ore
tool
s for
recr
uitin
g pa
rtici
pant
s.• S
atis
fact
ion
amon
g pr
ogra
m c
oord
inat
ors a
nd p
artic
i-pa
nts i
mpr
oved
.
• Web
-bas
ed h
andb
ook
avai
labl
e.• P
ropo
rtion
of r
oute
s with
impr
oved
map
s.• A
t lea
st tw
o ne
w o
utre
ach
prod
ucts
dev
elop
ed.
1A2e
(M).
Eval
uate
BB
S st
affin
g ne
eds.
Add
supp
ort s
taff
as
need
ed.
• Pro
fess
iona
l BB
S st
aff a
ble
to e
ngag
e m
ore
fully
in
deve
lopm
ent o
f out
reac
h, tr
aini
ng, a
nd sc
ient
ific
prod
ucts
.
• Sta
ffing
nee
ds e
valu
ated
and
reco
mm
enda
tions
dev
el-
oped
.• S
taff
hire
d to
mee
t rec
omm
ende
d le
vels
.1A
2f (L
). D
evel
op in
cent
ive
stra
tegi
es to
enc
oura
ge p
artic
ipa-
tion
(e.g
., en
cour
age
empl
oyer
s of s
kille
d bi
rder
s to
supp
ort
thos
e em
ploy
ees’
parti
cipa
tion,
offe
r aw
ards
for n
otab
le B
BS
achi
evem
ents
, hig
hlig
ht a
par
ticip
ant o
n W
eb e
ach
year
, etc
.)
• Par
ticip
ant r
eten
tion
incr
ease
d th
roug
h gr
eate
r pro
gram
sa
tisfa
ctio
n.• A
t lea
st tw
o ne
w re
tent
ion
stra
tegi
es d
evel
oped
.• P
artic
ipan
t ret
entio
n ra
te in
crea
sed.
Obj
ectiv
e 1A
�: E
nsur
e da
taba
se a
nd e
lect
roni
c in
fras
truc
ture
are
ade
quat
ely
supp
orte
d to
mee
t eve
r-ch
angi
ng te
chno
logi
cal a
dvan
ces
an
d se
curi
ty c
once
rns
to e
nabl
e tim
ely
and
accu
rate
dat
a co
llect
ion
and
dist
ribu
tion.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1A3a
(H).
Eval
uate
BB
S co
mpu
ter p
rogr
amm
ing
and
supp
ort
need
s. A
dd st
aff a
s req
uire
d to
mee
t cur
rent
mai
nten
ance
and
fu
ture
nee
ds.
• BB
S is
abl
e to
mee
t avi
an c
onse
rvat
ion
need
s in
a m
ore
timel
y an
d co
hesi
ve m
anne
r.• B
BS
biol
ogis
ts a
re fr
eed
to a
ddre
ss b
iolo
gica
l asp
ects
of
pro
gram
.• D
ata
are
proc
esse
d m
ore
quic
kly
and
effic
ient
ly.
• Sta
ff ar
e av
aila
ble
to e
nsur
e W
eb p
rogr
ams a
re u
pdat
ed
as n
eces
sary
and
syst
em is
app
ropr
iate
ly d
ocum
ente
d.
• Eva
luat
ion
com
plet
e.• C
ompu
ter s
taff
hire
d to
mee
t nee
ds.
• Web
inte
rfac
es a
re m
ore
user
-frie
ndly
and
wid
ely
used
.• D
ata
are
avai
labl
e in
a ti
mel
y m
anne
r eac
h ye
ar• D
atab
ase
docu
men
tatio
n is
com
plet
e
Stra
tegy
1B
: Str
engt
hen
the
scie
ntifi
c cr
edib
ility
of B
BS
resu
lts a
t con
tinen
tal a
nd re
gion
al s
cale
s.
Obj
ectiv
e 1B
1: Im
plem
ent p
roje
cts
to e
valu
ate
the
mag
nitu
de o
f pot
entia
l bia
s du
e to
var
iatio
n in
det
ectio
n pr
obab
ility
ass
ocia
ted
with
spe
cies
det
ectio
n va
riat
ion,
obs
erve
r var
iatio
n,
and
traf
fic n
oise
and
hab
itat i
ssue
s, a
nd d
eter
min
e w
heth
er a
ny a
ppro
ache
s fo
r est
imat
ing
dete
ctio
n pr
obab
ility
can
be
rout
inel
y im
plem
ente
d in
the
BB
S.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1B1a
(H):
Esta
blis
h w
orki
ng g
roup
to id
entif
y an
d se
t prio
ri-tie
s for
inco
rpor
atio
n in
to th
e B
BS
prot
ocol
met
hods
for
exam
inin
g sy
stem
atic
bia
s red
uctio
n pr
otoc
ols i
mpl
emen
ted
on e
xper
imen
tal b
asis
. Res
ults
of e
xper
imen
ts sh
ould
lead
to
spec
ific
scie
ntifi
cally
def
ensi
ble
reco
mm
enda
tions
for
inco
rpor
atin
g m
easu
res o
f det
ectio
n pr
obab
ility
into
the
BB
S,
and
if fe
asib
le, a
pro
cess
and
tim
etab
le fo
r im
plem
enta
tion
over
5 y
ears
.
• Stu
dies
con
duct
ed.
• Rec
omm
enda
tions
for i
ncor
pora
ting
dete
ctab
ility
est
i-m
atio
n pr
otoc
ols a
re d
evel
oped
, if a
ppro
pria
te.
• Con
fiden
ce in
BB
S in
crea
sed
thro
ugh
incr
ease
d un
der-
stan
ding
of f
acto
rs in
fluen
cing
dat
a.
• Wor
king
gro
up e
stab
lishe
d.• R
eque
st fo
r pro
posa
ls is
sued
.• A
t lea
st o
ne su
ch st
udy
initi
ated
by
the
2008
BB
S se
ason
.• D
etec
tabi
lity
mea
sure
s hav
e be
en a
sses
sed,
and
if a
p-pr
opria
te, a
re ro
utin
ely
inco
rpor
ated
in th
e B
BS.
Table 1 11
Tabl
e 1.
St
rate
gic
Plan
goa
ls, s
trate
gies
, obj
ectiv
es, a
ctio
ns, o
utco
mes
, and
mea
sure
s fo
r ach
ievi
ng th
e m
issi
on o
f the
Nor
th A
mer
ican
Br
eedi
ng B
ird S
urve
y pr
ogra
m.—
Cont
inue
d
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
Obj
ectiv
e 1B
2: E
valu
ate
the
mag
nitu
de o
f pot
entia
l bia
s as
soci
ated
with
non
-ran
dom
cov
erag
e of
hab
itats
, con
side
ring
diff
eren
ces
in h
abita
t av
aila
bilit
y an
d ha
bita
t cha
nge
alon
g B
BS
rout
es c
ompa
red
with
the
broa
der l
ands
cape
as
wel
l as
diffe
renc
es in
bir
d di
stri
butio
n
and
dete
ctab
ility
in re
latio
n to
road
side
s, a
nd d
evel
op a
naly
tic o
r ope
ratio
nal s
trat
egie
s fo
r add
ress
ing
any
resu
ltant
bia
s.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1B2a
(H):
Com
plet
e co
llect
ion,
ent
ry, a
nd v
alid
atio
n of
coo
r-di
nate
s for
all
BB
S st
ops,
to e
nabl
e be
tter i
nves
tigat
ions
of
habi
tat a
nd la
ndsc
ape
effe
cts o
n bi
rd c
ount
s.
• Pre
cise
loca
tions
are
ava
ilabl
e fo
r res
earc
hers
to c
las-
sify
hab
itats
alo
ng B
BS
rout
es.
• Per
iodi
c as
sess
men
t of h
abita
t cha
nge
at B
BS
stop
s en
able
d.• O
ther
hab
itat s
peci
fic st
udie
s ena
bled
.
• 90%
of s
top
loca
tions
geo
refe
renc
ed u
sing
GIS
/GPS
.
1B2b
(H):
Con
duct
a st
udy
at th
e la
rges
t pos
sibl
e sc
ale
(con
tin-
gent
on
avai
labi
lity
of re
mot
e se
nsin
g da
ta) o
f the
deg
ree
to
whi
ch B
BS
rout
es sa
mpl
e ha
bita
ts a
nd a
ltitu
des r
epre
sent
a-tiv
ely.
Stu
dy sh
ould
resu
lt in
reco
mm
enda
tions
for a
ddre
ssin
g an
y po
tent
ial b
ias a
ssoc
iate
d w
ith u
nrep
rese
ntat
ive
sam
plin
g.
• Mag
nitu
de o
f pot
entia
l bia
s ass
ocia
ted
with
une
ven
habi
tat s
ampl
ing
is u
nder
stoo
d.• S
trate
gies
dev
elop
ed to
redu
ce a
ny p
oten
tial b
ias,
e.g.
, th
roug
h al
tere
d an
alys
is m
etho
ds o
r sam
plin
g de
sign
.
• Stu
dy c
ondu
cted
and
repo
rt pr
epar
ed.
• Pro
cedu
res d
evel
oped
and
impl
emen
ted
to a
ddre
ss
habi
tat b
ias,
if ne
cess
ary.
1B2c
(H):
Con
duct
stud
y us
ing
rem
otel
y se
nsed
dat
a to
de
term
ine
whe
ther
rate
s of c
hang
e in
hab
itats
diff
er a
long
ro
adsi
des v
ersu
s aw
ay fr
om ro
ads.
• Rec
omm
enda
tions
dev
elop
ed fo
r sta
ndar
d an
alyt
ic o
r op
erat
iona
l pro
cedu
res t
o ad
dres
s any
resu
ltant
bia
s, if
nece
ssar
y.
• Stu
dy c
ondu
cted
and
repo
rt pr
epar
ed.
• Hab
itat a
djus
tmen
ts in
corp
orat
ed in
to B
BS
anal
ytic
or
oper
atio
nal p
roce
dure
s, if
appr
opria
te.
1B2d
(M):
Des
ign
and
set p
riorit
ies f
or a
dditi
onal
stud
ies t
o ad
-dr
ess i
ssue
s of h
abita
t bia
s. St
udie
s mig
ht fo
cus o
n pa
rticu
lar
grou
ps o
f spe
cies
.
• Wor
king
gro
up c
onsi
stin
g of
USG
S, C
WS,
and
oth
er
scie
ntis
ts p
rovi
des g
uida
nce
and
supp
ort i
n ad
dres
sing
ha
bita
t bia
s iss
ues e
stab
lishe
d.• P
riorit
ies f
or a
dditi
onal
stud
ies i
dent
ified
.
• Wor
king
gro
up e
stab
lishe
d by
200
7.• A
t lea
st o
ne h
abita
t bia
s stu
dy in
itiat
ed.
Obj
ectiv
e 1B
�: D
evel
op a
sses
smen
t and
trai
ning
tool
s to
ass
ess
curr
ent s
kill
leve
ls o
f obs
erve
rs, a
nd to
enh
ance
ski
ll le
vels
, pa
rtic
ular
ly fo
r new
recr
uits
, thu
s re
duci
ng v
aria
tion
in o
bser
ver e
ffect
s.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1B3a
(H).
Dev
elop
trai
ning
, ass
essm
ent,
and
self-
test
ing
tool
s fo
r cur
rent
and
pot
entia
l vol
unte
ers.
• Obs
erve
r qua
lity
mai
ntai
ned
and/
or a
sses
sed
thro
ugh
train
ing
and
test
ing.
• Tra
inin
g an
d/or
self-
asse
ssm
ent t
ool d
evel
oped
.• R
ecom
men
datio
ns fo
r obs
erve
r ass
essm
ent d
evel
oped
.1B
3b (M
). D
evel
op re
com
men
datio
ns fo
r per
iodi
c ob
serv
er
hear
ing
test
s (in
form
al v
s. fo
rmal
test
s, m
anda
tory
vs.
volu
n-ta
ry),
set a
ccep
tabl
e st
anda
rds,
deve
lop
and
mai
ntai
n re
sults
da
taba
se.
• Obs
erve
r qua
lity
mai
ntai
ned
at h
igh
leve
ls a
nd h
earin
g-re
late
d ob
serv
er b
ias r
educ
ed.
• Sta
ndar
ds se
t for
acc
epta
ble
hear
ing
and
reco
mm
enda
-tio
ns fo
r hea
ring
test
s dev
elop
ed.
• Ope
ratio
nal p
roce
dure
s in
plac
e fo
r obs
erve
rs to
take
he
arin
g te
sts.
Stra
tegy
1C:
Impr
ove
geog
raph
ic c
over
age
of th
e B
BS.
Obj
ectiv
e 1C
1: In
crea
se B
BS
rout
e co
vera
ge in
are
as w
ithin
the
curr
ent B
BS
area
that
are
cur
rent
ly u
nder
sam
pled
, th
roug
h st
rate
gic
recr
uitm
ent o
r rea
lloca
tion
of e
xist
ing
volu
ntee
rs.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1C1a
(H):
Dev
elop
and
impl
emen
t met
hods
for o
ptim
al d
istri
bu-
tion
and
dens
ity o
f rou
tes t
o im
prov
e co
vera
ge o
f all
spec
ies
with
mod
erat
e to
larg
e ra
nge
size
and
abu
ndan
ce, a
nd d
evel
op
guid
elin
es fo
r BB
S co
ordi
nato
rs o
n th
e be
st st
rate
gy fo
r di
strib
utin
g vo
lunt
eers
.
• BB
S co
ordi
nato
rs h
ave
clea
r gui
delin
es o
n w
hen
and
how
to d
irect
recr
uitm
ent e
fforts
.• P
reci
sion
of B
BS
trend
s im
prov
ed th
roug
h op
timal
al
loca
tion
of ro
utes
.
• Opt
imal
rout
e al
loca
tion
guid
elin
es d
evel
oped
.
12 Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
Tabl
e 1.
St
rate
gic
Plan
goa
ls, s
trate
gies
, obj
ectiv
es, a
ctio
ns, o
utco
mes
, and
mea
sure
s fo
r ach
ievi
ng th
e m
issi
on o
f the
Nor
th A
mer
ican
Br
eedi
ng B
ird S
urve
y pr
ogra
m.—
Cont
inue
d
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
1C1b
(H):
Impl
emen
t stra
tegi
c in
crea
ses i
n ro
ute
cove
rage
to
faci
litat
e in
crea
se in
num
ber o
f spe
cies
that
mee
t pre
ci-
sion
targ
ets a
t con
tinen
tal a
nd re
gion
al sc
ales
. (W
ill re
quire
co
mpl
etio
n of
act
ion
1C1a
.)
• Hig
h-qu
ality
pop
ulat
ion
trend
info
rmat
ion
avai
labl
e fo
r mor
e bi
rd sp
ecie
s to
enab
le b
ette
r con
serv
atio
n pl
anni
ng.
• Pro
porti
on o
f rec
omm
ende
d ne
w ro
utes
that
are
act
u-al
ly c
over
ed.
Obj
ectiv
e 1C
2: W
ork
with
Mex
ican
aut
hori
ties
to e
xpan
d th
e B
BS
into
Mex
ico
by th
e ye
ar 2
010.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1C2a
(H):
Con
duct
wor
ksho
p at
the
Nor
th A
mer
ican
Orn
itho-
logi
cal C
onfe
renc
e in
Ver
acru
z, M
exic
o, in
Oct
ober
200
6 to
dis
cuss
impl
emen
tatio
n ap
proa
ches
, ide
ntify
rese
arch
ne
eds,
and
deve
lop
wor
king
gro
up to
dev
elop
and
impl
emen
t st
rate
gy.
• Wor
king
gro
up id
entif
ied
to e
stab
lish
stra
tegy
and
tim
elin
e fo
r ini
tiatio
n of
Mex
ican
BB
S pr
ogra
m.
• Par
tner
s ide
ntifi
ed to
ass
ist w
ith im
plem
enta
tion
and
train
ing.
• Res
earc
h ne
eds i
dent
ified
(e.g
., St
rate
gy 1
C3)
.
• CO
NA
BIO
, USG
S, a
nd C
WS
hold
join
t wor
ksho
p at
N
AO
C.
• Mex
ican
coo
rdin
ator
s and
par
tner
s ide
ntifi
ed.
• Stra
tegy
and
impl
emen
tatio
n pl
an d
evel
oped
.
1C2b
(H fo
r Mex
ico)
: Tra
nsla
te B
BS
mat
eria
ls a
nd fo
rms i
nto
Span
ish.
• Allo
ws g
reat
er p
artic
ipat
ion
and
outre
ach
amon
g no
n-En
glis
h sp
eake
rs.
• Inc
reas
ed p
artic
ipat
ion
amon
g M
exic
an c
itize
ns.
• Ess
entia
l BB
S m
ater
ials
ava
ilabl
e in
Eng
lish
and
Sp
anis
h.
1C2c
(H fo
r Mex
ico)
: Dev
elop
stra
tegi
es sp
ecifi
c to
par
ticip
ant
train
ing
and
recr
uitm
ent i
n M
exic
o. F
or e
xam
ple,
recr
uit s
taff
from
pro
tect
ed a
reas
, enc
oura
ge d
evel
opm
ent o
f ind
igen
ous
bird
ing
orga
niza
tions
, dev
elop
trai
ning
mat
eria
ls, e
ngag
e ec
o-to
uris
ts a
nd g
uide
s in
train
ing/
men
torin
g of
loca
l peo
ple,
in
vest
igat
e us
e of
fina
ncia
l inc
entiv
es, e
tc.
• Suf
ficie
nt sk
illed
par
ticip
ants
are
ava
ilabl
e to
ach
ieve
co
vera
ge g
oals
in M
exic
o.• T
rain
ing
prog
ram
s im
plem
ente
d.• N
umbe
r of p
eopl
e w
ho c
ompl
ete
train
ing
prog
ram
s and
pa
rtici
pate
in M
exic
an B
BS.
Obj
ectiv
e 1C
�: D
evel
op in
nova
tive
appr
oach
es to
sur
vey
poor
ly s
ampl
ed a
reas
in s
uch
a w
ay th
at d
ata
can
be in
tegr
ated
w
ith th
e la
rger
dat
abas
e fo
r ana
lytic
pur
pose
s. O
ptio
ns to
be
cons
ider
ed in
clud
e sh
ort r
oute
s, o
ff-ro
ad ro
utes
, us
e of
mic
roph
one
reco
rdin
gs to
cal
ibra
te o
bser
ver e
ffect
s, e
tc.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
1C3a
(M; H
for C
anad
a an
d M
exic
o): A
naly
ze B
BS
data
from
a
subs
et o
f sto
ps (e
.g.,
first
20
or 3
0) to
exa
min
e ef
fect
of a
“s
hort
rout
e” d
esig
n on
pre
cisi
on a
nd m
agni
tude
of t
rend
s. D
eter
min
e w
heth
er u
se o
f sho
rt ro
utes
to fa
cilit
ate
expa
nsio
n of
BB
S in
to p
artic
ular
regi
ons c
ould
be
inco
rpor
ated
into
st
anda
rd c
ontin
enta
l ana
lyse
s.
• Det
erm
ine
feas
ibili
ty o
f usi
ng sh
ort r
oute
s to
enha
nce
cove
rage
in a
reas
whe
re re
gula
r rou
tes a
re lo
gist
ical
ly
not f
easi
ble,
such
as r
emot
e ar
eas w
ith li
mite
d ro
ad
cove
rage
.
• Spe
cific
reco
mm
enda
tions
rega
rdin
g th
e im
plem
enta
-tio
n of
shor
t rou
tes d
evel
oped
.
1C3b
(M; H
for C
anad
a an
d M
exic
o): E
valu
ate
anal
ytic
al
met
hods
that
can
inco
rpor
ate
rout
es ru
n by
diff
eren
t obs
erv-
ers e
ach
year
, con
side
ring
optio
ns su
ch a
s dou
ble
obse
rver
ap
proa
ches
, or m
icro
phon
e re
cord
ings
.
• Allo
w u
se o
f sea
sona
l sta
ff to
cov
er ro
utes
in re
mot
e ar
eas w
here
long
-term
vol
unte
ers a
re n
ot a
vaila
ble.
• Rec
omm
enda
tions
dev
elop
ed o
n ap
prop
riate
met
hods
to
surv
ey ro
utes
in a
reas
whe
re it
is n
ot p
ract
ical
to
mai
ntai
n ob
serv
er c
ontin
uity
.
Table 1 1�
Tabl
e 1.
St
rate
gic
Plan
goa
ls, s
trate
gies
, obj
ectiv
es, a
ctio
ns, o
utco
mes
, and
mea
sure
s fo
r ach
ievi
ng th
e m
issi
on o
f the
Nor
th A
mer
ican
Br
eedi
ng B
ird S
urve
y pr
ogra
m.—
Cont
inue
d
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
Goa
l 2: E
nsur
e B
BS
data
and
ana
lytic
al re
sults
are
wid
ely
avai
labl
e an
d ea
sily
acc
essi
ble
for u
se b
y th
e av
ian
cons
erva
tion
and
man
agem
ent c
omm
uniti
es.
Stra
tegy
2A
: Ens
ure
that
BB
S da
ta a
nd re
sults
pre
sent
ed o
n th
e w
eb s
ite u
se th
e be
st d
ata-
man
agem
ent p
ract
ices
and
sta
tistic
al m
etho
ds,
with
ade
quat
e do
cum
enta
tion
for u
sers
to u
nder
stan
d th
em.
Obj
ectiv
e 2A
1: C
ontin
ue to
impr
ove
and
add
valu
e to
the
resu
lts a
nd in
form
atio
n pr
esen
ted
on th
e B
BS
web
site
, by
ensu
ring
th
at th
e m
ost a
ppro
pria
te a
naly
sis
met
hods
are
use
d, th
at th
ese
met
hods
pro
vide
the
info
rmat
ion
requ
ired
by
use
rs, a
nd th
at th
e ap
proa
ches
are
ade
quat
ely
docu
men
ted.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
Act
ion
2A1a
(H):
Com
plet
e an
alys
is u
sing
hie
rarc
hica
l mod
els
as p
er L
ink
and
Saue
r (20
02) t
o pr
oduc
e tre
nd e
stim
ates
and
an
nual
indi
ces b
y re
gion
, and
mak
e th
ese
resu
lts a
vaila
ble
as
part
of th
e st
anda
rd W
eb-b
ased
repo
rts.
• Mos
t cur
rent
and
cre
dibl
e an
alys
es a
vaila
ble
to u
sers
on
web
.• A
nnua
l ind
ices
ava
ilabl
e to
incr
ease
und
erst
andi
ng o
f no
n-lin
ear p
opul
atio
n ch
ange
• Hie
rarc
hica
l mod
els u
sed
to p
rovi
de tr
end
estim
ates
for
all s
peci
es b
y re
gion
on
web
.• A
nnua
l ind
ices
of b
ird p
opul
atio
n ab
unda
nce
prov
ided
.• A
naly
ses u
pdat
ed in
a ti
mel
y m
anne
r to
inco
rpor
ate
new
dat
a ea
ch y
ear.
2A1b
(H):
Dev
elop
a c
ompr
ehen
sive
use
rs’ g
uide
that
exp
lain
s w
hat B
BS
is, h
ow it
wor
ks, a
nd h
ow it
is a
naly
zed
(cla
rifyi
ng
diffe
renc
es a
mon
g ap
proa
ches
, inc
ludi
ng b
etw
een
U.S
. and
C
anad
a), i
nclu
ding
the
limita
tions
of t
he su
rvey
.
• Use
rs h
ave
bette
r und
erst
andi
ng o
f BB
S da
ta a
nd
anal
yses
, and
are
bet
ter a
ble
to in
corp
orat
e re
sults
into
m
anag
emen
t dec
isio
ns a
nd o
ther
use
s.• C
redi
bilit
y of
tren
ds in
crea
sed.
• Use
r gui
de d
evel
oped
thro
ugh
join
t effo
rt of
USG
S an
d C
WS
and
avai
labl
e on
BB
S w
eb si
te.
2A1c
(H):
Form
a st
atis
tical
wor
king
gro
up to
mee
t ann
ually
an
d di
scus
s and
revi
ew B
BS-
rela
ted
anal
ytic
al p
rogr
ess a
nd
plan
ana
lyse
s to
addr
ess u
sers
’ and
coo
rdin
ator
s’ ne
eds.
• Wor
king
gro
up e
nsur
es q
ualit
y an
d di
rect
ion
of a
naly
ti-ca
l pro
gres
s con
tinue
s to
mee
t BB
S ne
eds.
• New
and
impr
oved
stat
istic
al m
etho
ds a
re in
corp
orat
ed
into
BB
S an
alys
es.
• Sta
tistic
al w
orki
ng g
roup
est
ablis
hed.
• Ann
ual m
eetin
gs h
eld.
2A1d
(M):
Add
mor
e de
tail
on q
ualit
y of
tren
ds, e
ither
dis
play
ed
on th
e w
eb si
te o
r in
a do
wnl
oada
ble
file
with
det
ails
of t
he
reas
on fo
r ass
igni
ng e
ach
colo
r-cod
ed “
qual
ity d
ot.”
• Qua
lity
of tr
ends
cle
arly
doc
umen
ted
to h
elp
avoi
d m
isin
terp
reta
tion
of re
sults
.• I
mpr
oved
tren
d qu
ality
indi
cato
rs d
evel
oped
and
add
ed
to w
eb a
naly
ses.
2A1e
(L):
Inve
stig
ate A
rc/IM
S ty
pe to
ols t
hat c
ould
allo
w u
sers
to
sele
ct ro
utes
from
non
-sta
ndar
d re
gion
s for
dat
a do
wn-
load
ing
or fo
r ana
lysi
s onl
ine
(e.g
., C
orne
ll La
bora
tory
of
Orn
ithol
ogy
and
Bird
Ban
ding
Lab
orat
ory)
.
• Too
l allo
ws s
elec
tion
and
anal
yses
of c
usto
m d
ata
sets
to
add
ress
rese
arch
and
man
agem
ent q
uest
ions
.• M
ore
flexi
ble
and
robu
st d
ata
retri
eval
pos
sibl
e.
• Ava
ilabi
lity
of su
ch to
ols o
n B
BS
site
.
Obj
ectiv
e 2A
2: C
ontin
ue to
impr
ove
data
base
man
agem
ent,
to c
ope
with
incr
ease
d da
ta c
olle
ctio
n, a
nd to
ens
ure
that
bes
t ava
ilabl
e da
ta m
anag
emen
t pra
ctic
es a
re m
et.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
2A2a
(H):
Ensu
re a
ll as
pect
s of B
BS
prog
ram
hav
e ap
prop
riate
an
d cu
rren
t met
adat
a. T
his i
nclu
des,
but i
s not
lim
ited
to, r
aw
data
file
s, ro
ute
desc
riptio
ns, i
nclu
ding
cha
nges
, tax
onom
y ch
ange
s, an
d an
alyt
ical
pro
duct
s suc
h as
tren
d es
timat
es,
trend
map
s, re
lativ
e ab
unda
nce
map
s, an
d an
nual
indi
ces.
• Met
adat
a pr
ovid
e B
BS
data
use
rs w
ith in
form
atio
n ne
eded
to u
tiliz
e da
ta e
ffici
ently
.• C
ompl
eted
met
adat
a fo
r all
BB
S da
ta a
re a
vaila
ble
on
NB
II a
nd B
BS
web
site
s by
2008
.• M
etad
ata
upda
ted
annu
ally
.
1� Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
Tabl
e 1.
St
rate
gic
Plan
goa
ls, s
trate
gies
, obj
ectiv
es, a
ctio
ns, o
utco
mes
, and
mea
sure
s fo
r ach
ievi
ng th
e m
issi
on o
f the
Nor
th A
mer
ican
Br
eedi
ng B
ird S
urve
y pr
ogra
m.—
Cont
inue
d
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
2A2b
(H):
Ensu
re in
tegr
ity o
f sto
p lo
catio
n da
taba
se th
roug
h ap
prop
riate
qua
lity-
cont
rol a
nd d
ata-
mai
nten
ance
pro
cedu
res
incl
udin
g de
velo
pmen
t of i
nter
activ
e to
ol to
map
, rev
iew.
and
ed
it ro
ute
stop
loca
tions
onl
ine
(e.g
., G
oogl
e m
aps,
NB
II,
Min
neso
ta M
ap S
erve
r, eB
ird).
• Inc
reas
ed a
ccur
acy
and
relia
bilit
y of
rout
e an
d st
op
loca
tion
info
rmat
ion.
• Dat
a in
tegr
ity a
nd m
aint
enan
ce p
roto
cols
dev
elop
ed b
y 20
07.
• Int
erac
tive
rout
e m
appi
ng a
nd e
ditin
g to
ol d
evel
oped
by
200
8.
2A2c
(M):
Com
plet
e a
stan
d-al
one
data
-ent
ry p
rogr
am fo
r use
rs
in o
rder
to in
crea
se a
mou
nt o
f dat
a su
bmitt
ed e
lect
roni
cally
. (A
lso
see
1A3c
.)
• Inc
reas
ed p
ropo
rtion
of B
BS
parti
cipa
nts s
ubm
it da
ta
elec
troni
cally
, thu
s red
ucin
g da
ta-e
ntry
bur
den
to B
BS
staf
f.
• Sta
nd-a
lone
pro
gram
com
plet
ed, t
este
d, a
nd d
istri
bute
d to
all
parti
cipa
nts.
2A2d
(M; H
for C
anad
a an
d M
exic
o): D
evel
op F
renc
h an
d Sp
anis
h la
ngua
ge d
ata
entry
, ret
rieva
l, an
d m
anag
emen
t web
ap
plic
atio
ns.
• Per
mits
full
parti
cipa
tion
of S
pani
sh- (
Mex
ico)
and
Fr
ench
- (C
anad
a) sp
eaki
ng p
artic
ipan
ts.
• Num
ber o
f web
app
licat
ions
ava
ilabl
e in
Fre
nch
and
Span
ish.
2A2e
(L):
Scan
his
toric
pap
er fi
eld
shee
ts a
nd c
omm
ent f
orm
s. Pr
ovid
e el
ectro
nic
imag
e ac
cess
.• E
nhan
ced
secu
rity
of h
isto
ric d
ata.
• Res
earc
hers
and
pub
lic h
ave
acce
ss to
his
toric
stop
da
ta.
• Pro
vide
s ave
nue
for t
hird
par
ties t
o di
gitiz
e st
op d
ata
and
prov
ide
to B
BS
offic
e.
• Pro
porti
on o
f his
toric
fiel
d sh
eets
that
hav
e be
en e
lec-
troni
cally
scan
ned.
• At l
east
one
web
tool
dev
elop
ed to
mak
e im
ages
ava
il-ab
le, t
akin
g in
to a
ccou
nt p
rivac
y is
sues
.
Stra
tegy
2B
: Inc
reas
e co
mm
unic
atio
n w
ith B
BS
part
ners
and
sta
keho
lder
s to
ens
ure
BB
S co
ntin
ues
to m
eet t
he a
vian
pop
ulat
ion
stat
us
and
tren
ds n
eeds
of t
he c
onse
rvat
ion
com
mun
ity a
nd to
enc
oura
ge th
e de
velo
pmen
t of n
ew p
rodu
cts.
Obj
ectiv
e 2B
1: In
crea
se c
omm
unic
atio
ns w
ith k
ey u
sers
of B
BS
data
.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
2B1a
(H):
Dev
elop
adv
isor
y gr
oup,
inco
rpor
atin
g re
sear
cher
s an
d m
anag
ers,
to p
rovi
de g
uida
nce
and
eval
uatio
n of
pro
gres
s on
this
pla
n.
• Inc
reas
ed c
omm
unic
atio
n be
twee
n pa
rtner
s and
BB
S of
fices
.• A
chie
ving
goa
ls o
f stra
tegi
c pl
an re
mai
ns a
prio
rity,
an
d ac
tions
are
und
erta
ken
mos
t effi
cien
tly to
ach
ieve
th
ose
goal
s.
• Adv
isor
y gr
oup
esta
blis
hed
by 2
007.
• Gro
up re
view
s pro
gres
s ann
ually
and
subm
its w
ritte
n pr
ogre
ss re
port
enum
erat
ing
acco
mpl
ishm
ents
and
pr
ovid
ing
guid
ance
for f
utur
e su
cces
ses.
Obj
ectiv
e 2B
2: P
rom
ote
deve
lopm
ent o
f pro
duct
s by
par
tner
s th
at s
ynth
esiz
e an
d in
terp
ret B
BS
resu
lts.
Act
ion
Out
com
eM
easu
res
2B2a
(M):
Enco
urag
e de
velo
pmen
t of p
rodu
cts t
hat i
nteg
rate
B
BS
data
with
oth
er so
urce
s of d
ata
to g
ive
impr
oved
mea
-su
res o
f the
stat
us o
f bird
pop
ulat
ions
in N
orth
Am
eric
a.
• BB
S re
sults
bet
ter i
nteg
rate
d w
ith o
ther
mon
itorin
g re
sults
in N
orth
Am
eric
a.• A
t lea
st o
ne n
ew in
tegr
ated
pro
duct
dev
elop
ed.
Table 1 15
Tabl
e 2.
Ti
mel
ine
for a
ccom
plis
hing
act
ion
item
s. (S
ee T
able
1 fo
r com
plet
e de
scrip
tion
of e
ach
actio
n.)—
Cont
inue
d.
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
Goa
l 1: C
olle
ct s
cien
tific
ally
cre
dibl
e m
easu
res
of th
e st
atus
and
tren
ds o
f Nor
th A
mer
ican
bir
d po
pula
tions
at c
ontin
enta
l and
regi
onal
sc
ales
.St
rate
gy 1
A: B
uild
suf
ficie
nt fi
nanc
ial a
nd in
-kin
d su
ppor
t for
the
BB
S to
ens
ure
cont
inue
d op
erat
ion
of th
e B
BS
prog
ram
, whi
le e
nhan
cing
the
scie
ntifi
c cr
edib
ility
, im
prov
ing
geog
raph
ic c
over
age,
and
incr
easi
ng u
se a
nd a
vaila
bilit
y of
the
data
.
Obj
ectiv
e 1A
1: In
crea
se a
war
enes
s of
pol
icy
mak
ers
and
man
agem
ent a
genc
ies
of th
e ex
iste
nce
and
valu
e of
the
BB
S pr
ogra
m, a
nd u
se th
is a
war
enes
s to
incr
ease
sup
port
for t
he
prog
ram
.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1A1a
(H).
Form
wor
king
gro
up to
furth
er d
evel
op id
eas,
assi
st w
ith
and
eval
uate
pla
n pr
ogre
ss.
1A1b
(H).
Dev
elop
and
dis
tribu
te a
pub
licity
pac
ket.
1A1c
(L).
Upd
ate
bibl
iogr
aphy
.
Obj
ectiv
e 1A
2: E
nsur
e an
ade
quat
e vo
lunt
eer p
artic
ipan
t bas
e th
roug
h in
crea
sing
sup
port
to s
tate
/pro
vinc
ial/t
erri
tori
al c
oord
inat
ors
and
cont
inue
d de
velo
pmen
t and
impl
emen
tatio
n of
idea
s fo
r ret
entio
n an
d re
crui
tmen
t of p
artic
ipan
ts.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1A2a
(M).
Dev
elop
stro
nger
par
tner
ship
s with
stat
e co
nser
vatio
n ag
enci
es.
1A2b
(H).
Form
out
reac
h an
d tra
inin
g w
orki
ng g
roup
.
1A2c
(H).
Hol
d m
ore
freq
uent
coo
rdin
ator
mee
tings
.
1A2d
(H).
Prov
ide
coor
dina
tors
with
impr
oved
recr
uitm
ent a
nd
man
agem
ent r
esou
rces
.
1A2e
(M).
Eval
uate
BB
S st
affin
g ne
eds.
1A2f
(L).
Dev
elop
ince
ntiv
e st
rate
gies
to e
ncou
rage
ong
oing
par
-tic
ipat
ion.
Obj
ectiv
e 1A
�: E
nsur
e da
taba
se a
nd e
lect
roni
c in
fras
truc
ture
are
ade
quat
ely
supp
orte
d to
mee
t eve
r-ch
angi
ng te
chno
logi
cal a
dvan
ces
and
secu
rity
con
cern
s to
ena
ble
timel
y an
d ac
cura
te d
ata
colle
ctio
n an
d di
stri
butio
n.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1A3a
(H).
Eval
uate
BB
S co
mpu
ter p
rogr
amm
ing
and
supp
ort
need
s.
16 Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
Tabl
e 2.
Ti
mel
ine
for a
ccom
plis
hing
act
ion
item
s. (S
ee T
able
1 fo
r com
plet
e de
scrip
tion
of e
ach
actio
n.)—
Cont
inue
d.
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
Stra
tegy
1B
: Str
engt
hen
the
scie
ntifi
c cr
edib
ility
of B
BS
resu
lts a
t con
tinen
tal a
nd re
gion
al s
cale
s.
Obj
ectiv
e 1B
1: Im
plem
ent p
roje
cts
to e
valu
ate
the
mag
nitu
de o
f pot
entia
l bia
s du
e to
var
iatio
n in
det
ectio
n pr
obab
ility
ass
ocia
ted
with
spe
cies
det
ectio
n va
riat
ion,
obs
erve
r var
iatio
n,
and
traf
fic n
oise
and
hab
itat i
ssue
s, a
nd d
eter
min
e w
heth
er a
ny a
ppro
ache
s fo
r est
imat
ing
dete
ctio
n pr
obab
ility
can
be
rout
inel
y im
plem
ente
d in
the
BB
S.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1B1a
(H):
Esta
blis
h de
tect
ion
prob
abili
ty w
orki
ng g
roup
.
Obj
ectiv
e 1B
2: E
valu
ate
the
mag
nitu
de o
f pot
entia
l bia
s as
soci
ated
with
non
-ran
dom
cov
erag
e of
hab
itats
, con
side
ring
diff
eren
ces
in h
abita
t ava
ilabi
lity
and
habi
tat c
hang
e al
ong
BB
S ro
utes
com
pare
d w
ith th
e br
oade
r lan
dsca
pe a
s w
ell a
s di
ffere
nces
in b
ird
dist
ribu
tion
and
dete
ctab
ility
in re
latio
n to
road
side
s, a
nd d
evel
op a
naly
tic o
r ope
ratio
nal s
trat
egie
s fo
r add
ress
ing
any
resu
ltant
bia
s.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1B2a
(H):
Com
plet
e da
taba
se o
f coo
rdin
ates
for a
ll B
BS
stop
s.
1B2b
(H):
Con
duct
a st
udy
of th
e de
gree
to w
hich
BB
S ro
utes
sa
mpl
e ha
bita
ts a
nd a
ltitu
des.
1B2c
(H):
Con
duct
stud
y to
det
erm
ine
whe
ther
rate
s of c
hang
e in
ha
bita
ts d
iffer
on-
road
s ver
sus o
ff-ro
ads.
1B2d
(M):
Des
ign
and
set p
riorit
ies f
or a
dditi
onal
stud
ies t
o ad
dres
s is
sues
of h
abita
t bia
s.
Obj
ectiv
e 1B
�: D
evel
op a
sses
smen
t and
trai
ning
tool
s to
ass
ess
curr
ent s
kill
leve
ls o
f obs
erve
rs, a
nd to
enh
ance
ski
ll le
vels
, par
ticul
arly
for n
ew re
crui
ts, t
hus
redu
cing
var
iatio
n in
ob
serv
er e
ffect
s.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1B1
(M).
Dev
elop
trai
ning
, ass
essm
ent,
and
self-
test
ing
prog
ram
s fo
r pot
entia
l vol
unte
ers.
1B2
(M).
Dev
elop
reco
mm
enda
tions
for p
erio
dic
obse
rver
hea
ring
test
s, et
c.
Stra
tegy
1C:
Impr
ove
geog
raph
ic c
over
age
of th
e B
BS.
Obj
ectiv
e 1C
1: In
crea
se B
BS
rout
e co
vera
ge in
are
as w
ithin
the
curr
ent B
BS
area
that
are
cur
rent
ly u
nder
sam
pled
, thr
ough
str
ateg
ic re
crui
tmen
t or r
eallo
catio
n
of e
xist
ing
volu
ntee
rs.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1C1a
(H):
Dev
elop
and
impl
emen
t met
hods
for o
ptim
al d
istri
butio
n an
d de
nsity
of r
oute
s.
1C1b
(H):
Incr
ease
rout
e co
vera
ge to
incr
ease
num
ber o
f spe
cies
th
at m
eet p
reci
sion
targ
ets.
Table 2 1�
Tabl
e 2.
Ti
mel
ine
for a
ccom
plis
hing
act
ion
item
s. (S
ee T
able
1 fo
r com
plet
e de
scrip
tion
of e
ach
actio
n.)—
Cont
inue
d.
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
Obj
ectiv
e 1C
2: W
ork
with
Mex
ican
aut
hori
ties
to e
xpan
d th
e B
BS
into
Mex
ico
by th
e ye
ar 2
010.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1C2a
(H):
Con
duct
wor
ksho
p at
NA
OC
and
form
wor
king
gro
up to
de
velo
p an
d im
plem
ent s
trate
gy.
1C2b
(H fo
r Mex
ico)
: Tra
nsla
te B
BS
mat
eria
ls a
nd fo
rms i
nto
Span
ish.
1C2c
(H fo
r Mex
ico)
: Dev
elop
stra
tegi
es fo
r par
ticip
ant t
rain
ing
and
recr
uitm
ent i
n M
exic
o.
Obj
ectiv
e 1C
�: D
evel
op in
nova
tive
appr
oach
es to
sur
vey
poor
ly s
ampl
ed a
reas
in s
uch
a w
ay th
at d
ata
can
be in
tegr
ated
with
the
larg
er d
atab
ase
for a
naly
tic p
urpo
ses.
Opt
ions
to b
e co
nsid
ered
incl
ude
shor
t rou
tes,
off-
road
rout
es, u
se o
f mic
roph
one
reco
rdin
gs to
cal
ibra
te o
bser
ver e
ffect
s, e
tc.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
1C3a
(M; H
for C
anad
a an
d M
exic
o): E
xam
ine
effe
ct o
f a “
shor
t ro
ute”
des
ign
on tr
ends
.
1C3b
(M; H
for C
anad
a an
d M
exic
o): E
xam
ine
effe
ct o
n tre
nd
prec
isio
n of
cha
ngin
g ob
serv
ers.
Goa
l 2: E
nsur
e B
BS
data
and
ana
lytic
al re
sults
are
wid
ely
avai
labl
e an
d ea
sily
acc
essi
ble
for u
se b
y th
e av
ian
cons
erva
tion
and
man
agem
ent c
omm
uniti
es.
Stra
tegy
2A
: Ens
ure
that
BB
S da
ta a
nd re
sults
pre
sent
ed o
n th
e w
eb s
ite u
se th
e be
st d
ata-
man
agem
ent p
ract
ices
and
sta
tistic
al m
etho
ds, w
ith a
dequ
ate
docu
men
tatio
n
for u
sers
to u
nder
stan
d th
em.
Obj
ectiv
e 2A
1: C
ontin
ue to
impr
ove
and
add
valu
e to
the
resu
lts a
nd in
form
atio
n pr
esen
ted
on th
e B
BS
web
site
, by
ensu
ring
that
the
mos
t app
ropr
iate
ana
lysi
s m
etho
ds a
re u
sed,
th
at th
ese
met
hods
pro
vide
the
info
rmat
ion
requ
ired
by
user
s, a
nd th
at th
e ap
proa
ches
are
ade
quat
ely
docu
men
ted.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
Act
ion
2A1a
(H):
Com
plet
e hi
erar
chic
al a
naly
sis a
nd p
rovi
de
resu
lts o
n In
tern
et, e
tc.
2A1b
(H):
Dev
elop
a c
ompr
ehen
sive
BB
S us
ers’
guid
e.
2A1c
(H):
Form
a st
atis
tical
wor
king
gro
up to
dis
cuss
and
revi
ew
BB
S an
alyt
ical
pro
gres
s.
2A1d
(M):
Add
mor
e de
tail
on q
ualit
y of
tren
ds.
2A1e
(L):
Inve
stig
ate A
rc/IM
S-ty
pe to
ols f
or se
lect
ing
rout
es fr
om
non-
stan
dard
regi
ons,
etc.
18 Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010
Tabl
e 2.
Ti
mel
ine
for a
ccom
plis
hing
act
ion
item
s. (S
ee T
able
1 fo
r com
plet
e de
scrip
tion
of e
ach
actio
n.)—
Cont
inue
d.
[(H
), hi
gh p
riorit
y; (M
), m
ediu
m p
riorit
y; (L
), lo
w p
riorit
y]
Obj
ectiv
e 2A
2: C
ontin
ue to
impr
ove
data
base
man
agem
ent,
to c
ope
with
incr
ease
d da
ta c
olle
ctio
n, a
nd to
ens
ure
that
bes
t ava
ilabl
e da
ta-m
anag
emen
t pra
ctic
es a
re m
et.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
2A2a
(H):
Ensu
re a
ll as
pect
s of B
BS
prog
ram
hav
e ap
prop
riate
and
cu
rren
t met
adat
a.
2A2b
(H):
Dev
elop
tool
s to
enha
nce
inte
grity
of s
top
loca
tion
data
base
.
2A2c
(M):
Com
plet
e a
stan
d-al
one
data
-ent
ry p
rogr
am.
2A2d
(M; H
for C
anad
a an
d M
exic
o): D
evel
op F
renc
h an
d Sp
anis
h la
ngua
ge w
eb a
pplic
atio
ns.
2A2e
(L):
Scan
his
toric
pap
er fi
eld
shee
ts a
nd c
omm
ent f
orm
s.
Stra
tegy
2B
: Inc
reas
e co
mm
unic
atio
n w
ith B
BS
part
ners
and
sta
keho
lder
s to
ens
ure
BB
S co
ntin
ues
to m
eet t
he a
vian
pop
ulat
ion
stat
us a
nd tr
ends
nee
ds o
f the
con
serv
atio
n co
mm
unity
and
to e
ncou
rage
the
deve
lopm
ent o
f new
pro
duct
s.
Obj
ectiv
e 2B
1: In
crea
se c
omm
unic
atio
ns w
ith k
ey u
sers
of B
BS
data
.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
2B1a
(H):
Dev
elop
adv
isor
y gr
oup
to p
rovi
de g
uida
nce
and
annu
al
eval
uatio
n of
pla
n pr
ogre
ss.
Obj
ectiv
e 2B
2: P
rom
ote
deve
lopm
ent o
f pro
duct
s by
par
tner
s th
at s
ynth
esiz
e an
d in
terp
ret B
BS
resu
lts.
Act
ion
2006
200�
2008
2009
2010
2B2a
(M):
Enco
urag
e de
velo
pmen
t of p
rodu
cts t
hat i
nteg
rate
BB
S da
ta w
ith o
ther
sour
ces o
f dat
a to
giv
e im
prov
ed m
easu
res o
f the
st
atus
of b
ird p
opul
atio
ns in
Nor
th A
mer
ica.
Table 2 19
For additional information on the North American Breeding Bird Survey, write to:Keith PardieckU.S. Geological SurveyPatuxent Wildlife Research CenterSuite 403812100 Beech Forest Rd.Laurel, MD 20708-4038
or visit the BBS Web site at:http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/