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Audubon
North Carolina, the state office of the National Audubon Society, has announced
the release of Important Bird Areas of North Carolina, a scientific
assessment of the most important habitats for birds in the state. The
culmination of six years of study, the publication identifies 92 places from the
mountains to the coast that are vital for breeding, migrating, and
over-wintering birds. The
nearly 4.5 million acres of land and waters encompassed by the report range from
internationally known natural heritage sites such as 300,000 acres of Great
Smoky Mountains National Park to a handful of two-acre islands that are little
known but vital to breeding waterbirds. Manmade
features, such as Falls and Jordan lakes, known for their growing populations of
Bald Eagles in the midst of developing cities, also made the list.
One Important Bird Area (IBA) includes 600,000 acres of ocean off Cape
Hatteras where seabirds congregate and forage in huge numbers. “Important
Bird Areas have no minimum or maximum size limit,” said Audubon North Carolina
Deputy Director Walker Golder, leader of the IBA program in the state.
“What these sites have in common is that all are important and all are
essential to North Carolina’s birds.” The
National Audubon Society is the lead agent for the United States in implementing
the global Important Bird Areas (IBA) program. As part of a nationwide
initiative and a global partnership to identify and conserve habitats critical
to birds, Audubon has initiated IBA programs in 46 states with programs in all
50 states expected in 2005. IBAs
are identified at a state level by a thorough analysis of bird populations and
habitats, then approval by a state IBA Technical Committee, comprising leading
experts on birds and their habitats. These areas may hold large concentrations
or an exceptional diversity of birds, harbor rare or endangered species, or
harbor a representative assemblage of birds associated with rare or threatened
habitat. Once approved at a state level, sites can then be reviewed by the
National IBA Technical Committee for continental or global IBA status. Being
named an IBA places no restrictions on property or its future uses.
However, Audubon seeks to work cooperatively with interested landowners
and managers to monitor, protect, and improve these sites for birds and other
wildlife. The program dovetails
with other natural heritage protection efforts, such as the state’s One North
Carolina Naturally initiative. “As
a voluntary program, the IBA recognition is meant to inspire rather than
require,” noted Chris Canfield, Audubon North Carolina’s executive director.
“To inspire greater appreciation of priority landscapes and more
sensitive management, to inspire partnerships toward expanded protections and
community stewardship.” Of
the 92 North Carolina locations described and mapped in the report, 68 are in
the coastal plain and sandhills, 16 are in the mountains, and 8 lie in between
in the Piedmont. According to
Audubon North Carolina, the distribution of sites reflects where expanses of
relatively undisturbed or suitable lands exist for concentrations of at-risk,
sensitive, or diverse species of birds. Over
the next three years, Audubon will focus its conservation efforts on a number of
priority sites from the coast to the mountains. These focal IBAs are places where opportunities for
acquisition or other protections of vulnerable lands are available, where
current management needs improvement, and/or where additional data collection is
needed. Some
IBAs have been targeted for purchase so the sites will forever be protected. The
Lea-Hutaff Island complex along the southern coast is one of the last relatively
undisturbed barrier islands in the state. Cooperative efforts to buy-out owners of the island have been
ongoing and will be increased, with final ownership being transferred to the
state under Audubon’s management. The island supports breeding species such as
the threatened Piping Plover, Least and Common terns, American Oystercatchers,
and thousands of migrating and wintering shorebirds. Other
sites, such as the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, seemingly protected
as public natural lands, are actually under great threat.
Audubon is currently challenging in federal court an attempt by the US
Navy to place a jet landing field just miles away from this prime wintering
ground for 100,000 Tundra Swans and Snow Geese. One
outcome of the IBA process has been the identification of gaps in knowledge of
bird numbers across the state. Audubon,
working with other organizations and volunteers, is undertaking additional data
gathering at locations thought to be prime bird habitat but insufficiently
documented. The popular Grandfather
Mountain has long been known as a place to see birds, such as Northern Saw-whet
Owls, Peregrine Falcons, and Red Crossbills.
But scientific methods for monitoring populations were only recently
initiated under Audubon’s leadership. “Presenting
the results of the initial identification phase of the Important Bird Areas
program is only a first step. Our assessment of North Carolina’s birds and
their habitats is ongoing and we will continue to update the list of IBAs and
their conservation needs,” said Golder. “But
the real success will be accomplishing on-the-ground conservation that results
in the long-term protection of birds and their habitats. We look forward to
working with conservation groups, private landowners, and federal, state, and
local governments to make Important Bird Areas of North Carolina the true
blueprint for bird conservation in the state.” Audubon recently celebrated its 100th anniversary in North Carolina. With 12,000 members and seven chapters statewide, Audubon North Carolina's mission is to conserve and protect important ecosystems for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and the people of the state. Audubon carries out that mission through education, direct conservation, and public policy initiatives. Its system of 19 coastal island sanctuaries provides breeding habitat for tens of thousands of waterbirds from more than 20 species. For more information, and to see the full text of the Important Bird Areas of North Carolina, please visit www.ncaudubon.org or call 910-686-7527.
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