IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS

UTAH’S IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS PROGRAM
Utah's Important Bird Areas Program has come to fruition through the partnerships of many organizations and individuals in Utah, including state and federal agencies, numerous conservation and birding organizations, and the academic community. The Utah IBA Technical Advisory Committee, chaired by Val Grant, President of Brigerland Audubon Society, finalized the criteria and nomination forms for the Utah IBA program in May of 2002. The Technical Advisory Committee works to identify Utah's IBAs and will forward sites that are potentially of continental or global significance to the National Technical Committee for their review. A steering committee will be formed to help in other efforts associated with the IBA program, such as overseeing monitoring and conservation efforts at the IBA sites that are selected.

On May 8, 2003, five sites were formally announced as new IBAs: Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Deseret Land and Livestock Ranch, Fremont River within Capitol Reef National Park, and Clear Lake Waterfowl Management Area. These IBAs contain a variety of habitats, including wetlands and riparian systems, shrubsteppe and forest areas, with each habitat serving different bird species. Three of the sites are critical to waterfowl and/or wading birds: Ouray NWR is used by more than 1,400 American White Pelicans peaking in mid-September to mid-November, Fish Springs NWR serves 500 White-faced Ibis during the breeding season, and Clear Lake Waterfowl Management Area surveys show use by 6,000 Northern Pintail during spring migration. Deseret Land and Livestock Ranch is home to more than 2,000 Sage Grouse, while the Fremont River within Capitol Reef National Park contains up to 1,000 Virginia's Warblers just prior to fall migration.

On May 5, 2004, ten additional sites were formally announced, bringing the total of sites announced to fifteen. These include the five major bays on Great Salt Lake - Farmington, Ogden, Bear River, Gilbert (or South Arm), and Gunnison (or North Arm); Provo and Goshen Bay on Utah Lake; Cutler Marsh-Amalga Barrens in Cache County; the Upper Strawberry Watershed in Wasatch County; and Lytle Preserve in Washington County. Eight of these new IBAs in the Greater Great Salt Lake Watershed were primarily identified for their value to a a tremendous variety and number of waterbirds. The Upper Strawberry Watershed and Lyle Preserve highlight the variety in habitats important to birds in Utah, from a mountain valley and reservoir dominated by sagebrush steppe, mountain riparian, aspen forest and conifer forest, to Mojave Desert lowland riparian and desert scrub. Additional IBAs will be announced in future months and years.

VERMONT'S IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS PROGRAM
For the past four years, Audubon Vermont has worked with its eight chapters, NGOs, local birders and other conservation minded volunteers in identifying and nominating Important Bird Areas (IBA) throughout the state. The nomination and designation phase (Phase 1) proved to be a successful collaboration of people and resources that has resulted in 16 IBAs and four IBA Complex's (IBAs focusing on individual species at multiple sites). These IBAs now form the basis of Audubon Vermont's conservation efforts designed to protect birds and the habitats critical to their survival.

Vermont's Important Bird Area Program has begun Phase II which focuses on completing the Vermont IBA Technical Report along with supporting and developing monitoring projects at Vermont's IBAs. By creating a sense of ownership between IBAs and chapters, NGO's, and the birding community, Audubon looks to make the Vermont IBA Program a key component of avian conservation in the state. To this end, Audubon Vermont and the Otter Creek Audubon Society hosted the Vermont IBA Monitoring Workshop in June of 2001. This workshop introduced chapter representatives and the general public to a variety of monitoring techniques that volunteers can use to collect critical information at IBAs.

FEATURED IMPORTANT BIRD AREA
Name: Common Tern Island IBA Complex
State: Vermont
County: Grand Isle County
Nearest Communities: Swanton

Site Description: One of Vermont's most significant IBAs is the Common Tern Island IBA Complex. Consisting of four islands located in the northeastern portion of Lake Champlain, this IBA Complex is home to Vermont's endangered breeding population of Common Terns. Popasquash Island, one of the most important islands in the complex, was one of the first IBAs nominated and identified in the state.

Audubon Vermont coordinates the Vermont Common Tern Recovery Project and oversees and conducts Common Tern monitoring and management efforts on Lake Champlain and the Common Tern Island IBA Complex. One of the successes of the project has been the partnerships that have been created to protect the terns and their nesting islands. Vermont's Nongame and Natural Heritage Program provides financial and logistical support while the local chapter, the Green Mountain Audubon Society, has worked with the Lake Champlain Land Trust to purchase three of the four nesting islands. The fourth island is owned by The Nature Conservancy.

Ornithological Summary: Over the past two decades the population of Common Terns using the Common Tern Island IBA Complex has been monitored and the islands protected and managed to enhance breeding success. During this time the number of breeding pairs has increased more than 300 percent and reproductive success has risen dramatically.

Conservation Issues: Although Common Tern numbers have steadily increased over the past fifteen years, the status of this species in Vermont is in no way secure. Human disturbance, over-crowding by gulls and cormorants and predation continue to threaten the viability of this population. Long-term management efforts that protect the terns and their nesting islands will need to continue if this population is to reach its recovery goal and be removed from the state endangered and threatened species list. The designation of these islands as IBAs will no doubt contribute to the current and future success of this project.

VIRGINIA’S IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS PROGRAM
The Virginia Important Bird Areas Program was initiated in 2002, through the efforts and partnerships of the Virginia Audubon Council , the Virginia Society Of Ornithology, the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, and the guidance of the National Audubon Society. An IBA Coordinator was recruited and groundwork was laid for the initial stages of Virginia's IBA Program.

The Virginia Important Bird Areas Program is looking forward to engaging the 16,000 members and six chapters of the Virginia Audubon Council as well as members of the Virginia Society Of Ornithology and the general public. Specifically, new web pages introducing the Virginia IBA Program have been developed and a meeting of the Technical Committee is slated for the fall of 2003. The Technical Committee will be finalizing decisions about criteria and the nomination form, and developing a preliminary list of sites likely to satisfy IBA criteria. Nomination forms will be available from the Virginia IBA web site along with additional information about the program. The public is invited to nominate sites and contribute their bird observations to the program.

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