Integrated Bird Conservation in the U.S.

The U.S. NABCI Committee recognizes that the map of Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) is not and was not intended to be a static document. Steps used in the original creation of the map, errors, experience working with BCRs, and new information obtained since 1999 all could potentially contribute to the need for adjusting BCR boundaries. However, at this point in time, a great quantity of planning documents, population goals, and numerous other products have been built around the existing BCR boundaries.To modify these boundaries would potentially cause a ripple effect of other revision work, which would be counterproductive.

Therefore, while the Committee understands the need for occasional changes to BCR boundaries, these changes should be infrequent and must be justified by the proponents by showing that the benefits gained for bird conservation outweigh the costs of potentially having to re-do existing work.

The Committee is generally pre-disposed not to make changes to BCR boundaries, except in the cases of very obvious errors or very compelling reasons that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Given the purpose, scope, and scale of BCRs (see www.nabci-us.org/bcrs.html), minor changes or cosmetic adjustments are not appropriate nor do they affect any biological reality relating to birds and landscapes.

Requests for BCR boundary changes will be accepted every five years according to the following process:

The first such “window” for accepting changes will be from September 1 to December 31, 2009.
Proponents of a change or changes must complete a detailed information form describing the proposed change. E-mail this form to Deb Hahn, U.S.NABCI Coordinator, dhahn@fishwildlife.org by December 31, 2009.
The ad-hoc BCR Boundary Change Committee will review all proposed boundary change submissions. It will make a decision within two months of the acceptance deadline (i.e., by February 28, 2010, for the first window). Committee acceptance will be by majority vote after reviewing the information form.
Changes that are accepted by the Committee will be incorporated into the master BCR boundary map, maintained electronically by Bird Studies Canada, and will be available to all users through their web site (www.bsc-eoc.org/international/bcrmain.html).