The MAPS Program in the Pacific Northwest: Current Status and Future Direction
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The MAPS Program in the Pacific Northwest: Current Status and Future Direction Report Submitted to the Bureau of Land Management Oregon State Office for Order HAP044166 Peter Pyle, David F. DeSante, M. Philip Nott, and Danielle R. Kaschube The Institute for Bird Populations P.O. Box 1346 Point Reyes Station, CA 94956-1346 Voice: 415-663-2050 Fax: 415-663-9482 [email protected] [email protected] October 7, 2005 The MAPS Program in the Pacific Northwest - i TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations............................................................................................................................. 4 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 6 METHODS ........................................................................................................................................... 10 Adult Capture Rates and Station Longevity at MAPS Stations in the Pacific Northwest Region .............................................................................................................................................. 10 Identifying Priority Habitats ......................................................................................................... 11 Great Basin Bioregional Boundary Issue ..................................................................................... 12 Identifying Federal Lands for the Operation of MAPS Stations in the Pacific Region........... 15 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION........................................................................................................... 16 Description of Stations in the Pacific Northwest ......................................................................... 16 Capture Rates of Adult Birds at MAPS Stations in the Pacific Northwest............................... 16 Species Captured and Selection of Target Species ...................................................................... 17 MAPS Coverage of Priority Habitats and Target Landbird Species Within Each Bird Conservation Region ...................................................................................................................... 18 A. Bird Conservation Region 5, Northern Pacific Rainforest ...................................................... 18 B. Bird Conservation Region 9, Great Basin................................................................................ 20 C. Bird Conservation Region 10, Northern Rocky Mountains..................................................... 21 D. Bird Conservation Region 15, Sierra Nevada.......................................................................... 22 MAPS Coverage of Target Species Within Each Habitat Category.......................................... 24 A. MAPS Coverage in Coniferous Forests................................................................................... 24 B. MAPS Coverage in Riparian Habitats ..................................................................................... 30 C. MAPS Coverage in Broadleaf Habitats ................................................................................... 34 D. MAPS Coverage in Scrub and Shrub-Steppe Habitats............................................................ 36 Gaps in the Coverage of MAPS Stations in the Pacific Northwest ............................................ 39 Recommended Changes in MAPS Coverage, by Landholder and Station ............................... 39 A. Analysis of individual stations on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands..................... 41 B. Analysis of individual stations on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Lands.................................... 43 C. Analysis of individual stations on National Park Service (NPS) Lands .................................. 45 D. Analysis of individual stations on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Lands................... 47 E. Analysis of individual stations on Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Lands .............................. 48 F. Analysis of individual stations on Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DoE) Lands.................................................................................................................................. 51 G. Analysis of individual stations on State, County, Private, and Canadian Lands..................... 52 Problems on the Wintering Grounds of Migratory Species ....................................................... 52 ii - The MAPS Program in the Pacific Northwest SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................. 54 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................... 58 LITERATURE CITED ...................................................................................................................... 59 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Stations operated in the Pacific Northwest between 1989 and 2005..................................... 62 Table 2. Breeding species captured at the 224 MAPS stations combined, that were operated in the Pacific Northwest during 1989-2003 which are effectively monitored by MAPS1; and criteria on which the selection of target species was based. .......................................................................... 74 Table 3. Target species within Bird Conservation Region 5, Northern Pacific Rainforest. ............... 84 Table 4. Target Species within Bird Conservation Region 9, Great Basin.......................................... 87 Table 5. Target Species within Bird Conservation Region 10, Northern Rocky Mountains............... 90 Table 6. Target Species within Bird Conservation Region 15, Sierra Nevada.................................... 93 LIST OF FIGURES Maps and Map Legends..................................................................................................................... 95 Figure 1. MAPS Stations Located in Bird Conservation Regions of the Northwest United States…. 98 Figure 2. MAPS Stations Located on Federal Lands of the Northwest United States………………. 99 Figure 3. MAPS Stations Located in Bird Conservation Regions of the Northwest United States 100 Figure 4. Cassin’s Vireo Breeding Range and Federal Lands of the Pacific Northewest States… 101 Figure 5. Varies Thrush Breeding Range and Federal Lands of the Pacific Northewest States…. 102 Figure 6. Black Throated Gray Warbler Breeding Range and Federal Lands of the Pacific Northewest States…………………………………………………………………………………………... 103 Figure 7. Willow FlyCatcher Breeding Range and Federal Lands of the Pacific Northewest States…………………………………………………………………………………………... 104 Figure 8. Brewer’s Sparrow Breeding Range and Federal Lands of the Pacific Northewest States.. 105 Figure 9. Vesper Sparrow Breeding Range and Federal Lands of the Pacific Northewest States.. 106 Figure 10. Sage Sparrow Breeding Range and Federal Lands of the Pacific Northewest States… 107 The MAPS Program in the Pacific Northwest - 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since 1989, The Institute for Bird Populations has been coordinating the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program, a cooperative effort among public and private agencies and individual bird banders in North America, to annually operate a continent-wide network of nearly 500 constant-effort mist-netting and banding stations. MAPS was designed to provide information on the vital rates (productivity or birth rate, and survivorship or death rate) of landbirds crucial for efforts to identify demographic causes of the severe and sometimes accelerating population declines documented for many North American species. Data on vital rates are also critically needed in efforts to identify management strategies to reverse such population declines. The goals of MAPS are in agreement with the strategies of the Partners In Flight (PIF) programs as conscribed to by Federal land-holding agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), USDA Forest Service (USFS), US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Department of Defense (DoD). Moreover, because bird populations are excellent indicators of the health of ecological systems, they can serve as sensitive barometers of the effectiveness of management efforts to maintain the biodiversity and ecological integrity of Federal lands. Accordingly, the MAPS program has been implemented on many of these Federal lands and has become one of the focus projects of the Partners In Flight program. A total of 238 MAPS stations were operated for at least one year during the period 1989-2005 in the Pacific Northwest (defined as Bird Conservation Regions 5, 9, 10, and 15 except for the portions of BCRs 9 and 10 located in central and southern Nevada, western Utah, and extreme northwestern Colorado), of which 138 were active in 2005. Most of these MAPS stations were established opportunistically, with little coordination at the regional or landscape level. We believe that the usefulness of MAPS data can be enhanced by the thoughtful selection of target species and the critical siting of stations with respect to 1) habitats of special concern, 2) species of special concern, 3) geographic areas where gaps exist in MAPS data, and 4) Federal lands where substantial numbers of individuals of the target species can be captured in appropriate