Report: Assessing Public Lands and Survival of Birds

Public lands are highly variable in their success at supporting US bird species, according to the third annual State of the Birds report released May 3, 2011. The report is the first national assessment of birds on the nation's 850 million acres of public lands and 3.5 million square miles of public marine habitat, according to the US Dept. of Interior.

Among the habitat types that are home to the highest percentages of species at risk are aridlands, grasslands, and oceans. Other habitat types assessed in the report — each with its own issues — include forest, wetland, Arctic and alpine, island, and coast.

• The State of the Birds 2011: Report on Public Lands and Waters, United States of America; press release; Alicia King, 571-214-3117.

The report was prepared by a large coalition of government agencies and NGOs, including the American Bird Conservancy, the Bureau of Land Management, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Department of Defense, the National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Geological Survey.

The report generally focuses on the condition of bird species in each of the broad habitat types, as well as the roles of various federal and state agencies and the relationships of species survival on public vs. private lands.

If you want to investigate the fate of specific species in relation to the habitat types they frequent, some of those can be evaluated via the links at:

• Distribution Maps.

Much more information for many bird species is available at sites such as:

• All About Birds.
• Birds of North America.

For additional information on many bird issues, see the TipSheets of May 26, 2010, and March 17, 2010.