ESRI Conservation Program Resources:

Birds

(ECP and CTSP members, sites of interest for mapping/GIS, scholarly papers and ESRI Conference Proceedings, and sites with public conservation and GIS data for downloading) (To use email addresses, just delete the %20 or mailto; in the address)

(Legend: CTSP sites are coded "c" plus the year of the grant, (cs=software, cm=mac), ECP grantees are coded "e". Many groups, especially newer grantees, do not yet have their own sites and are colored green. Other new groups may be described or supported by other sites)

American Bird Conservancy, Dc e98 . (1250 24th Street NW, Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20037 tel:(202) 778 9705 fax:(202) 778 9778 Gis Contact: Michael Parr, Director of Program Development email:mparr@abcbirds.org) GIS PROGRAM: "Our ultimate goal in the project, which we are currently calling 'Conservation Landscape', is to create an interactive map of conservation and development projects to help donors and conservation agencies spot gaps, overlaps, potential conflicts, and to overcome any associated problems. For example, a foundation might want to know which conservation groups are working in a certain habitat, a rainforest advocacy group might want to know where new oil development projects are being situated, and an international conservation group might want to arrange a workshop on agroforestry for all NGOs working in a particular ecosystem. The data set will include organization names, contact details, websites, budgets, type of project, and donors. Don't Miss: Conservation Landscape: "is a Geographic Information System (GIS) which allows users to determine the locations of conservation and development projects, and assess their likely impacts on biological diversity.Conservation Landscape uses ArcView 3.1 which was provided under a grant from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Conservation Program. It uses data on protected areas provided by the World Conservation Monitoring Center (from the CD 'A Global Overview of Forest Conservation'), information about ecological regions from the World Wildlife Fund, information on Endemic Bird Areas from BirdLife International, and information on conservation funding from the Biodiversity Support Program. Conservation Landscape is supported by the Leo Model Foundation. "

Archbold Biological Station, Fl e91 . (P.O. Box 2057 Lake Placid, Florida 33862 USA, Phone: 941-465-2571 FAX: 941-699-1927 Email: archbold@archbold-station.org, URL: www.archbold-station.org) "Archbold Biological Station is an independent, non-profit research facility, devoted to long-term ecological research and conservation....Researchers at Archbold are active in the development of rational priorities and methods for natural resources protection, both locally and globally. Station staff also work closely with private conservation organizations, especially The Nature Conservancy, to establish biological priorities for land acquisition and habitat management. Archbold has helped to develop a major plan for a network of biological preserves to protect endangered habitats on the Lake Wales Ridge."

Audubon Christmas Bird Count Page, Md . (Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD ) ."This home page is designed to display temporal and geographic patterns in populations of wintering North American birds. It uses summarized CBC results from the period 1959 - 1988....The CBC "is the oldest and largest wildlife survey in the world" (Butcher 1990). The National Audubon Society sponsors the survey and publishes results. It is designed as a series of circular count areas, and birders count birds within these "circles" each year on a prespecified day around 25 December. With lots of circles (over 1,500) and a long history (the CBC was started in 1900), it is hard to dispute Greg Butcher's "oldest and largest" label for the survey (Butcher 1990)....This Home Page presents the first trend analysis of the data conducted by the Biological Resource Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, using data provided by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. " see: New Distribution Maps and clickable maps with site-specific information . Also Survey and Research Results .

BALTIC SEA BIRDS, Lithuania: . Ecology, Numbers, Distribution, Movements, Vulnerability, Conservation (Gedas Vaitkus, Lithuanian Institute of Ecology, Akademijos 2, 2600 Vilnius, LITHUANIA, tel.: +370-2-697206, fax.: +370-2-729257 e-mail: seabird@post.5ci.lt) Projects: SBTC - the Sea Bird Transect Counts database management system, Sea bird studies in Central and Eastern Baltic, The Baltic Sea Birds on-line library, Links to relative Web-sites . "European sea-birders have no unique and standard software solutions to analyse their raw offshore data and plot sea bird densities. The only standard is sampling method itself. I believe that all separate groups do have developed some routines and initial database capacities to store their raw data and perform first-step analysis to get samples of 10-min data points. There is a large standard database called ESAS, where the data is being accumulated. I would recommend you to contact people from the most outstanding sea bird study groups in Europe: Mark Tasker (mltasker@aol.com) and JNCC:Seabirds (seabirds.jncc@abdn.ac.uk) from England, Mardik Leopold (m.f.leopold@ibn.dlo.nl) or Kees Camphuysen (camphuy@nioz.nl) from the Netherlands, Jan Durinck (oc-marin@inet.uni-c.dk) from Denmark."

Birding on the Web BirdLinks page . (by Willem-Pier Vellinga email: vellinga@phys.rug.nl and Jack Siler email; siler@stat.wharton.upenn.edu ). "Features: -Recent digests and archives of virtually all email lists related to birds -FAQs, birdrelated information in general, and many others." Organized by geographic region, species, software, travel.

BirdLife International, UK . (SECRETARIAT OFFICE: BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge CB3 0NA, UNITED KINGDOM. Tel: +44 1 223 277 318, Fax: +44 1 223 277 200, Email:birdlife@birdlife.org.uk ) "BirdLife International, formerly the International Council for Bird Preservation, is a federation of national conservation organisations spread across the world with official representation in 115 countries....BirdLife International currently run a programme of over 65 field projects, ranging from species management, through environmental education and training to the development and implementation of multiple land-use and rural development programmes. Many such projects involve the sustainable utilisation and conservation of tropical forests, especially in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, but with increasing attention on South America as well "

Birdlinks . (by Rolf A. de By. email: %20deby@itc.nl) "I try to cover most of the globe, though especially outside of the Northamerican continent, as that part of the world receives enough attention from others. I include links to a number of high-content pages in Canada and the US for follow-up."

Bird Links to the World . (by Denis LePage email: %20dlepage@botzoo.uct.ac.za) over 3500 links to birding resources worldwide.

BirdBase + BirdArea, Ca: (Santa Barbara Software Products, 1400 Dover Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93103 USA, Phone/Fax: 805 963 4886 E-Mail: sbsp@aol.com) "Nearly all birders who report to the American Birding Association life lists over 6000 and use computers use this software. It is the birding software most widely used by all those over the 1400 species reporting threshold."

Birds of the US National Parks, Ca . (Director: Dr. James Quinn, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, California 95616 USA, tel: (530) 752-4389 email:info@ice.ucdavis.edu ) "The Information Center of the Environment has developed a database of plants and vertebrate species within lands owned by the US National Parks. These databases are available as Microsoft FoxPro© run-time programs, called NPFlora and NPFauna."

Birdsource: Audubon/Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ny . (159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca NY 14850, Steve Kelling: stk2@cornell.edu Tel: 607-254-2478 ) "Birdsource is a revolutionary partnership between citizens and scientists. Designed and managed by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, BirdSource is an interactive website where the enthusiasm of birders is combined with state-of-the-art technology to promote conservation and environmental learning...BirdSource's interactive information system will become the definitive long-term record of North American bird populations throughout the 21st Century." Birdsource uses ESRI's IMS technology to collect observations and data from thousands of amateur ornithologists and citizen scientists across the country, and to analyze and display population and time series data in their interactive Maproom. "Using GIS, we found significant changes in several bird species overwintering ranges that appears to be correlated to temperature....Our results will be the first North American evidence indicating that global warming is affecting bird populations." .The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a membership institute dedicated to the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds....Cornell University Ornithology Collections .The collection currently consists of approximately 37,000 skins, 4,300 skeletons , 1,200 fluid-preserved specimens, 3,200 egg sets, 700 nests, and 1,000 uncataloged mounts...Specimens are present from all continents and more than 125 different countries..

BLM Birds of Prey Program, Boise ID e92: (Larry Ridenhour: Larry_Ridenhour@blm.gov) . Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area . The Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA) was established by Congress in August 1993. ....Spatial model for vegetation - prey - predator complex.

Colorado Bird Observatory, Co, c99 . (13401 Piccadilly Road Brighton, CO 80601 tel:303-659-4348 fax:303-659-5489 email:cobirdobs@aol.com ) "CBO's mission is the conservation of Rocky Mountain and Great Plains birds and their habitats through research and public education. CBO's work is designed to increase people's understanding of birds - how they interact with people, what habitats they use, and what factors threaten their survival. CBO promotes a broad, balanced approach to bird conservation and accomplishes its goals through the education of children, teachers, natural resource managers, and the general public" . GIS PROJECTS: ".Prairie Partners: CBO's project to conserve grasslands and grassland birds through coalition-building and public education. CBO staff conduct bird surveys on the private lands of our partners to collect data on distribution and abundance of grassland birds and local-level habitat data....Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas: A database on distribution and abundance of Colorado's birds, a result of the largest natural history survey ever conducted in Colorado - a massive effort by 1200 field workers over eight years....Partners in Flight Species Prioritization: CBO has led this effort to establish conservation priorities for all North American birds by developing a system of assigning scores based on conservation need. Our scoring system is in use by the National Audubon Society and many organizations and government agencies to guide conservation and management efforts. Scores are maintained at CBO and available for downloading from our web site...Birds Monitored 2001 monitors populations of all of Colorado's breeding bird species on a long-term basis. "

Ducks Unlimited, Tn e94 .(Dick Kempka, GIS Director, Ducks Unlimited, Inc. One Waterfowl Way, Memphis, TN, 38120 USA, tel: (901)758-3795 fax: (901)758-3850 email:dkempka@ducks.org) "DU is recognized as the world's authority on wetlands and waterfowl conservation. To reach the waterfowl population goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, DU pioneered the approach of developing plans for the entire continent. DU's Continental Conservation Plan has played a major role in boosting North America's waterfowl population by more than 50 percent since 1993." DU GIS Program: "Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology enables DU to determine where our habitat work will be most effective. Combining satellite images with other information, such as wetland densities, land-use practices, land ownership, wildlife use, and more; DU's GIS specialists produce digital "thunderstorm" maps. These maps graphically display land use and also can be used to assess results once projects are complete. " Canada geese tracking is a new web site designed to follow the migratory progress of tagged geese, by Dr. Richard Malecki and Dr. Bruce Batt, DU's chief biologist.

Electronic Resources on Ornithology (by Christopher Majka & Empty Mirrors Press email: %20natural@chebucto.ns.ca ) "on-line versions of some publications on birds written by Christopher Majka. "

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton PA c96 . (1700 Hawk Mountain Road, KEMPTON, PENNSYLVANIA 19529-9449, Info Line: (610) 756-6000 Offices: 610-756-6961 Fax: 610-756-4468 GIS contact: Mark Monroe) "Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is a 2,380-acre nature preserve straddling the Kittatinny Ridge in eastern Pennsylvania. Established in 1934, Hawk Mountain was the world's first refuge devoted to the protection of birds of prey...Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is conducting its first ever biological inventory of its property. ..The goals of the inventory are to derive species lists for the Sanctuary, map unique communites of species distributions, and survey for rare and endangered species. All records will be entered into a GIS (Geographic Information System) and mapped along with physiographic and cultural attributes of the site."

Hawk Watch International, Ut . (HawkWatch International P.O. Box 660 Salt Lake City, UT 84110-0660; (801) 524-8511 (800) 726-HAWK email: webmaster@hawkwatch.org or hawkwatch@juno.com) HawkWatch International is a non-profit membership organization staffed primarily by volunteers. We monitor and promote the conservation of eagles, hawks and other birds of prey throughout the Western Hemisphere. We also provide public and classroom environmental education programs.

International Crane Foundation, Baraboo WI c95 . (P.O. Box 447, Baraboo, WI 53913-0447 USA, Tel: 608-356-9462 Fax: 608-356-9465 Contact: Jeb Barzen, email %20jeb.icf@baraboo.com) "The International Crane Foundation (ICF) works worldwide to conserve cranes and the wetland and grasslands communities on which they depend"...GIS Program: "We have been developing a GIS for data entry and analysis of observations of wild Sandhill Cranes in central Wisconsin...The study produces tens of thousands of point observations of crane location, behavior, and habitat per field season. Analysis of the data will consist of identifying patterns in time and place using overlays with other data layers such as habitat/land cover polygons, wetland maps, and maps of crane home ranges and breeding sites." Another major project is "remote sensing study of habitat change over the last 4 decades in the Zambezi River delta of Mozambique...To evaluate ecological change, ICF is comparing aerial photos from the 1960s and 1970s, and Landsat data from the 1970s and 1990s. " The third major project is the study of crane migrations in Asia. "ICF's Director, Dr. George Archibald, placed a satellite tracking radio transmitter on a Black-Necked crane in Bhutan early in 1998. Using a network of satellites to triangulate the transmitter, the bird's position was recorded several times per day for a period of several months during the crane's migration to Tibet in the spring of 1998. The location fixes were emailed to ICF, where we updated a coordinate file used to create a point theme showing the bird's progress on its migration route."

LANIUS Software, Ca . (1470 Creekside Drive, Suite 23 Walnut Creek, CA 94596. tel:925-932-4201email at: logshrike@compuserve.com.) "offers a variety of database applications and also provides expert database consultant services at competitive prices. Although we build any application to meet your specifications, we specialize in custom design of sighting or occurrence database applications."

Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas, CA c96 . (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90007. tel:(213) 745-BIRD (745-2473), fax:(213) 746-2999 Contact Mark Wimer, mailto:mwimer@ix.netcom.com (note 11-99 Mark Wimer is leaving for a position at the USGS BRD Patuxent River Station) "The Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas is a project sponsored by Los Angeles Audubon Society and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in cooperation with other Los Angeles County Audubon Chapters. Atlas Project volunteers began field work in Spring 1995 in an effort to map the breeding ranges of the 200 or so bird species nesting in the county. The ultimate goal is to publish an atlas containing those maps as well as detailed accounts for each species." GIS STATUS: "Organizations that have already benefited from the Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas data and maps made possible in part by the CTSP grant include: - university professors and students working on a particular species and wanting distribution information. - US Forest Service biologists wanting information to help manage certain areas. - biological consultants working in a certain area, looking for endangered species. - Local conservation groups wanting breeding evidence to help protect open space. - US Fish and Game and other agency biologists looking to amass statewide distribution information for a certain species. "...Maps of Atlas Regions, Breeding Distribution, and volunteer Coverage.

Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Ma e95 . (Linda Leddy, President Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences P.O. Box 1770, Manomet, MA 02345 U.S.A. Tel: 508 224-6521 Fax: 508 224-9220 GIS Contact: Elizabeth P. Mallory, Ph. D.email: %20epmallory@manomet.org) "For over 25 years, Manomet has built science-based collaborative solutions to environmental problems. Through our partnerships we continue to expand that initiative to find sustainable solutions to complex environmental and socio-economic issues. Manomet's goal is to craft solutions to these issues consistent with the best available scientific information. Focus areas: 1.Sustainable Forestry, 2.Wetlands Conservation, 3.Sustainable Fisheries, 4.Avian Biodiversity . see: US Shorebird Conservation Plan . see: Division of Conservation Forestry . Shifting Mosaic Forestry Model: "In Maine, with over 10 million acres of industrial timberland, Manomet is working to integrate economic and ecological goals. Together with two of Maine’s major forest products companies, Manomet is testing a new forest management model, called the "Shifting Mosaic," to see if both goals can be met on private commercial timberland. The results of testing the model on the landscape are communicated to the public regularly through a "stakeholder council," which includes environmental groups, loggers, mill workers, government, community leaders, and others. The immediate goal is to provide to the public information about forestry and forest ecology so responsible public policy can be developed." see also: Sustainable Forestry Research and Information Center .

National Audubon Society, Ny . (700 Broadway; New York, NY 10003 . tel:212 979 3000 fax:212 979 3188 email: %20webmaster@list.audubon.org ) Named after John James Audubon, the American ornithologist, naturalist, and wildlife painter, the National Audubon Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity. .Electronic Activism Information Sources .Desktop Activist Guide: Know What's Happening In Congress .Links to other Birding Sites.. Links to chapters..

North American Breeding Bird Survey, Md . (Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, G. Gough, I. Thomas, and B. G. Peterjohn. 1997. The North American Breeding Bird Survey Results and Analysis. Version 96.4. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD ) "The BBS Home Page is a source of information about distributions and population changes of North American birds. It is also a tool for learning about birds, with with connections to the ID tips with pictures of common North American birds and quizzes on bird distribution and identification. The BBS is a large-scale survey of North American birds. It is a roadside survey, primarily covering the continental United States and southern Canada, although survey routes have recently been initiated in Alaska and northern Mexico. The BBS was started in 1966, and the over 3,500 routes are surveyed in June by experienced birders. ". .Distribution Maps: "These are relative abundance maps, estimated over the interval 1982-1996. ", Trend Maps. . Clickable Abundance Maps : "This program allows you to estimate mean abundance from BBS data for any species, at any location in the survey area. " Dont miss: Geographic and Temporal Analysis of Winter Bird Populations : "Here, CBC results are presented as both large-scale maps of average, effort-adjusted abundance, and as maps that allow users to access all information available for any location in North America. "

New Jersey Audubon Society, Ny e95 (9 Hardscrabble Road, PO Box 126, Bernardsville, New Jersey 07924, (908) 204-8998 E-mail: hq@njaudubon.org.. NJAS Web: Chris Baker, (609) 861-0700 cmbo@njaudubon.org ) "The New Jersey Audubon Society (NJAS) is a privately supported, not-for profit, statewide membership organization. Founded in 1897, and one of the oldest independent Audubon societies, NJAS has no connection with the National Audubon Society...In 1975 the New Jersey Audubon Society founded the Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO Center for Research and Education, 600 Route 47 North, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210. tel: 609-861-0700, Cape May Birding Hotline (609-861-0466), E-mail: cmbo2@njaudubon.org . Hours: Daily, 10-5 ) as a leader in education, research, conservation, and recreational birding programs". CMBO also operates the New Jersey Breeding Bird Atlas : "Our Breeding Bird Atlas Project is working to map the distribution of New Jersey's breeding birds. The information on both the common and rare species will give us baseline data for tracking bird population trends in the state. "

Peregrine Fund, Boise, ID e92 . (566 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, Idaho 83709 Ph. 208-362-3716, Fax 208-362-2376 E-mail, tpf@peregrinefund.org) ...working to conserve biological diversity and enhance environmental health of birds by focusing on management and conservation of species and their habitat, and through education and scientific investigation. see: Madagascar Project . " ...The Peregrine Fund is helping the Malagasy Government and local people solve this problem by creating two new protected areas. The first is in a wetland on the west coast of the island. It will protect almost half the breeding population of endangered Madagascar Fish Eagles. Here we are working with local people to help them become the guardians of the wetlands they share with the eagle, and which provide fish to eat and other natural resources to the people... " . other projects: Peregrine Falcon Recovery - Eastern & Central USA, Peregrine Falcon Recovery - Western US,A Aplomado Falcon Restoration, California Condor Restoration, Bald Eagle Release and Recovery, Hawaiian Bird Conservation & Restoration, Arctic Peregrine Falcon, Iceland Gyrfalcon, Migrant and Wintering Raptors, Maya Project, Songbird Research and Conservation, Former Soviet Union, Europe, Mauritius Kestrel, Madagascar Project, Pan Africa Conservation Program, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Arabia, Philippine Eagle Conservation, Asia-Pacific . Their Harpy Eagle Conservation Project was a 1997 winner in the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards Program: "Focusing on the most powerful eagle in the world, our international team integrated the Global Positioning System (GPS), Satellite Telemetry (ARGOS), Geographic Information System software (GIS), and communication technology to boost and demonstrate local capacity for conservation of Neotropical rainforests. "

Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, Ne e98 . ( 6611 W Whooping Crane Dr, Wood River, NE 68883 USA tel:308-384-4633, fax:308-384-7209, e-mail:trust@whoopingcrane.org. ) . . "The Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of migratory bird habitat along Nebraska's Platte River. The Trust's mission is to protect and maintain the physical, hydrological, and biological integrity of the Big Bend area of the river (Overton to Grand Island), so that it continues to function as a life support system for whooping cranes and other migratory species. The Trust acquires land and water rights, manages, protects and restores habitat, and conducts research related to migratory birds and their habitat needs...The Trust currently owns and manages 9,600 acres. Most of this land is in native pasture, hayland or other riparian habitats, with about 1,000 acres in row crop agriculture...In 1982, the Trust pioneered a GIS for the Platte River with its MOSS inventory of channel and riparian habitat, but technological advancements made this system obsolete. "

Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Stinson Beach , CA e92 . (Point Reyes Bird Observatory, 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, California 94970, Email: prbo@prbo.org, tel:415-868-1221, fax:415-868-1946) . Our mission is to conserve birds and the environment using science to understand and find solutions to problems threatening wildlife populations and ecosystems....RESEARCH PROGRAMS: Farallon Islands, Coastal and Estuarine, Terrestrial, Theoretical Ecology. GIS STATUS: "Prior grants to PRBO have made our web page possible (www.prbo.org), where we have maps of historical and current bird distribution in California. These document shrinking habitats for some common birds. Such analysis allows us to be proactive in identifying the causes of, and solutions to, environmental degradation. The latest ArcView grant is being used to fulfill a grant from the Packard Foundation to analyze 9 years of data on riparian bird communities across California...Analysis is being used to improve the Riparian Bird Conservation Plan, co-written and sponsored by PRBO, Partners in Flight, and funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Packard Foundation. To date, analysis is also being used by the US Bureau of Land Management, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nature Conservancy, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore, Lassen National Volcanic Park and the Lassen National Forest. Prior grants have also allowed us to join a multi-state team investigating the influence of riparian habitat fragmentation on bird abundance, nest success, and on avian predation and parasitism rates. Future projects include working with our Marine Program on breeding sea birds on the Farallon Islands, tracking how changes in ocean temperature affect colony success through changes in food resources. "

Potomac Valley Audubon Society, Va c99 . (Post Office Box 578, Shepardstown, West Virginia 25443 USA tel:301 790 2800 x 387 fax:301 733 4229 GIS Contact: Lisa LaCivita, email:LacivitaL@hcc.cc.md.us ) "Founded in 1982, The Potomac Valley Audubon Society (PVAS) is a non-profit local chapter of the National Audubon Society (www.audubon.org). We serve residents of Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan Counties in West Virginia, and Washington County in Maryland. With over 500 members, PVAS is one of the region's leading citizen groups dedicated to protecting the environment and appreciating nature." GIS PLANS: "Our first GIS project consists of creating a GIS of the 500 - 600 PVAS members. During the first year of the grant, existing membership data will be transferred into the database portion of the GIS. An initial survey will add membership information (such as Email addresses). We will ask members if they are interested in receiving information on the wide range of volunteer opportunities available through PVAS. A specific follow-up survey would be sent to these members providing the basis for our volunteer GIS database. The database will be geocoded to allow for community based projects." . .Arcexplorer Fun Night: " I brought information about the GIS grant program to our December board meeting and received a unanimous vote in support of this effort. When board members asked what they could do to help, I explained the grant recommendation to try the ArcExplorer software. I felt it would show organizational support if PVAS members could come to the community college computer labs and try out this software. On December 16, 1998 (nine days before Christmas!) eight PVAS members and one student, spent three hours having fun with ArcExplorer and Arc Data On-line. "

Predatory Bird Research Group, Santa Cruz CA c97 . (c/o Long Marine Lab, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 . tel: (831) 459-2466, email mailto:FalcoNet@cats.ucsc.edu) "SCPBRG is a member of the University of California, Santa Cruz's Institute of Marine Sciences. Organization founders, the late UCSC professor emeritus, Ken Norris, and Santa Cruz veterinarian, Jim Roush, formed the SCPBRG a little more than two decades ago in response to declining populations of peregrine falcons and other birds." Eagle Mapping & GIS "Grainger Hunt, Ron Jackman, Janet Linthicum and Brian Walton are involved in studying the international movements and local ecology of bald eagles originating in or visiting California in cooperation with the US Forest Service, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and the California Department of Water and Power...The goal of this research is to use a powerful new technology to shed a vastly brighter light on the origin of both wintering and native bald eagles in California, their patterns of movement, and the factors influencing habitat use and life history. "

Seattle Audubon Society, Wa . (8050 35th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115 (206) 523-4483 email: mailto:info@seattleaudubon.org) . One of the oldest and largest environmental organizations in the Northwest, the Seattle Audubon Society has, since its founding in 1916, always depended upon the dedicated efforts of volunteers to accomplish its mission. Our mission statement reads: "Seattle Audubon Society serves its members in thieir endeavors to appreciate, preserve and enjoy birds and the natural environment in the Pacific Northwest." We have about 500 active volunteers working indoors and out-of-doors in our extensive education, conservation and wetlands programs. see: Earthcare Northwest, the official newsletter of the Seattle Audubon Society" See also: How your choice of coffee can help save tropical birds! .

The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, Ma . (Jim Corven-Director WHSRN Secretariat, Manomet Observatory P.O. Box 1770 Manomet, MA 02345 Tel: 508 224-6521 Fax: 508 224-9220 Email: jmcorven@tiac.net) links wetland and grassland sites essential to migratory shorebirds in a voluntary, nonregulatory program of research, training, and collaborative effort for habitat management and protection. Shorebirds migrate across the hemisphere, some from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego. Their movements carry them through wetlands with immense natural value to wildlife and to humans alike. The Network uses shorebirds as symbols of the intense conservation challenge that wetlands face and of the need for international cooperation in the protection of these areas. Launched in 1985 through the efforts of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the International Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA), and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP), the Network brings together wildlife agencies, private conservation groups, and other organizations to solve conservation challenges faced by migratory shorebirds and their habitats

Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas, Wi, e97 . (Data Management Center, Dept. of Natural and Applied Science, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay WI USA tel:414-465-2545 fax:414-465-2376 . email:wbba@uwgb.edu . GIS Contact: Jennifer Davis , ) "The Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas (WBBA), an on-going project administered by the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, began in the spring of 1995 and data collection will continue for at least five years. The purpose of the WBBA is to: . .-provide a permanent record of the bird species breeding in the state. . . -provide baseline data for monitoring future changes in bird populations. . . -assess habitat needs of breeding species and document species diversity. . . -document abundance and distribution of rare and endangered species. provide comparisons with historical studies... " Don't miss their ONLINE SPECIES MAPS: "Species Maps display quads with Probable or Confirmed breeding status."

Application of GIS to Home Range Analysis in the Island Scrub Jay . (Rodd Kelsey California State University 5331 The Toledo Long Beach, CA 90803 Telephone: 310-439-4025 Fax: E-mail: roddk@aol.com) . The Island Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma insularis) is an endemic bird species on Santa Cruz Island, California. A significant amount of work has been accomplished over the last twenty years concerning the demography of this species. However, very little work has been completed on its home range and habitat utilization. The jay defends territories in a variety of habitats across the Island. I will determine home range size in different habitats across the Island. In addition, these home range sizes will be utilized to estimate Island population that can then be applied to minimum viable population analysis. This study will use GIS techniques to map territories and estimate total Island population size. Scanned aerial photos will be georectified and used for digitizing spots maps obtained in the field. The coordinates for these territories will then be exported to CALHOME, an external home range analysis program. Once home range sizes are determined, they will be combined with existing digital vegetation maps to estimate total population size.

Applying GIS and Remote Sensing to Avian Research: A Case Study on the Ouachita National Forest (1996 Paper, Robert C. Weih, Philip A. Tappe, Chris W. Bennett, Ronald E. Thill)...After collating the GIS layers, 524 bird census points were established along 72 miles of transect. The transects were positioned to sample many different combinations of vegetation spectral types and physical features of the landscape, as determined by the GIS analysis. All bird census points were then located in the field and their positions recorded with differentially corrected Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates. Habitat information such as basal area, canopy height, canopy coverage, vegetation density, and vegetation vertical profiles were also measured at each bird census point....The spatial arrangement of these categories was used to examine previously over or under sampled areas and to modify bird census points for the 1996 sampling season. In addition, analyses of avian communities as they relate to stand and landscape level habitat parameters were initiated that incorporated the spatial modeling features of GIS.

Migration Maps for Some North American Neotropical Migrants, by Sam Droege and Charles Wetherill .(Patuxent Wildlife Research Center USGS/BRD 12100 Beech Forest Road Laurel, MD 20708 Work: 301-497-5840 Home: 410-798-6759 Email: Frog@usgs.gov ) ..."These maps were used as handout materials in the 1993 Migration Monitoring Workshop. Data were scavenged from a diverse set of bird banding sites and counting programs..."

Multi-scale analysis of bird species relationships by Anne Black, Point Reyes Bird Observatory "Nearly 20 years ago, The Nature Conservancy began restoring natural habitats and flooding regimes in its Cosumnes Nature Preserve....PRBO has been monitoring bird communities in these newly restored sites for the past 10 years. This summer, we will be initiating the first analysis of this data to answer the questions: how do bird communities respond to restoration, and which restoration techniques seem to provide the 'best' habitat most quickly?"

NBS Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) :(National Biological Survey, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708-4037, TEL 301-497-5790 FAX 301-497-5784 email:BBL@nbs.gov) The North American Bird Banding Program is jointly administered by the United States Biological Resource Division and the Canadian Wildlife Service to study the movement, survival, and behavior of birds.

NBS North American Breeding Bird Survey : (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Suite 4039, Laurel, Maryland 20708-4039 USA, Tel: 301-497-5500 Fax: 301-497-5505) A source of population trend and distribution information for most species of North American birds.

All text by the respective organizations/authors, January 2, 1997

Web layout & design: Charles Convis, ESRI, January 2, 1996