The IBBA Process in Detail
Step 1: Committee Formation and Criteria Development
Committees play a crucial role in coalescing the many state agencies, conservation groups and tourism associations around the IBBA Program and ensuring the greatest impact. The Bird Areas Technical Committee consists of the top ornithologists and conservation experts in the state. This committee developed the state Important Bird Area (IBA) selection criteria, assisted in collecting data on sites and reviewed the data on nominated sites to determine which ones qualify to be designated as IBAs. The Bird Areas Criteria are based on the goals of large-scale bird conservation planning efforts including the Partners in Flight landbird species assessment process (and similar processes for waterbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl). The Birding Areas Technical Committee, comprised of expert birders, conservation agencies and ecotourism professionals, will select and promote sites that are great for birdwatching (Important Birding Areas). The Birding Areas Committee will seek to tie birding sites to opportunities for local, regional and state economic growth.
Step 2: Public IBBA Site Nominations
Grassroots participation and local stakeholder involvement are key to the success of the IBBA Program. Local residents and other volunteers engaged in the process of identifying and collecting data on potential sites through the public site nomination process. We conducted outreach to municipalities, counties, public and private conservation agencies and civic associations to solicit nominations for sites. All nomination forms and ancillary materials are available on the IBBA website. See the Get Involved page for information on how to nominate your favorite site.
Step 3: Review and Selection of Sites
After receiving nominations, the Technical Committees extensively reviewed the data and recommended qualifying sites. To ensure that this inventory is as complete as possible, we also drew upon available data from our Breeding Bird Atlas, the state's Heritage Database, Christmas Bird Count data and other sources.
Step 4: Site Boundary Delineation and Mapping
Along with Rutgers University's Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, NJ Landscape Project staff and other GIS professionals, we developed GIS mapping criteria. After review by our GIS committee, we used these criteria to delineate meaningful ecological boundaries for our IBAs. This mapping process will have profound, positive long-term conservation benefits because our spotlight is based upon biological habitat needs rather than land ownership patterns. This also allows our IBA sites to be seamlessly incorporated in the NJ DEP's Landscape Project, the map of critical wildlife habitat used extensively for planning purposes at the state and local levels. NJ's IBAs will be incorporated into Version 3 of the the Landscape Project which is scheduled for a 2010 release.
Step 5: Production and Dissemination of IBBA Site Reports
Site reports for all of New Jersey's non-provisional IBAs are available on-line through NJ Audubon's IBA Site Guide or through the national Audubon Society's searchable IBA database. Detailed habitat and boundary maps for each site are currently being developed and will be available on NJ Audubon's on-line IBA Site Guide. In addition, these site descriptions serve as the basis for a new publication, The Important Bird Areas of New Jersey, due out Spring 2010. This book includes maps, photos, overall analysis and a set of conservation recommendations for each site. This book will be helpful to land-use planners, decision-makers, conservationists, agency personnel, community groups and other stakeholders throughout NJ for use as a blueprint for conserving and promoting vital habitats for birds and other wildlife.
|
|