Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) is a breeding landbird monitoring program led by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies that spans the Great Plains to the Intermountain West. A nested, probabilistic sampling design allows us to make inference about bird populations at multiple scales across public and private lands. Click here for more information about the program including the IMBCR vision and mission statement.

That's a wrap! We recently completed surveys and had a successful field season overall. Crews had fewer issues with fire this year compared to 2022, but snowpack and runoff made survey access difficult in several regions. We also detected at least two new species for the IMBCR effort--Elf Owl in Arizona and Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Kansas. Hiring and retaining field technicians throughout the season continue to be challenges especially with larger field efforts in several states (Bird Conservancy and implementation partners hire around 70 people to complete the work). Most of the data have been entered and we have begun the proofing process for data quality. We owe a huge "THANKS" to everyone who helped complete surveys this year--we couldn't do it without you!!

Check out this video that Tara Walker created from field footage the Colorado crew filmed throughout the season - click on the thumbnail to the left or click here. Enjoy additional pictures from the 2023 season below.

Save the date! The 2024 IMBCR Partners meeting is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 22 & 23. We'll have an afternoon session on Monday the 22nd from 1:30-4:30p MST, and a morning session from 9-noon on Tuesday the 23rd. The meeting will be held at Bird Conservancy's office in Fort Collins with a virtual option for those who cannot attend in person. If you have any IMBCR-related applications you'd like to share or any topics you'd like to discuss, please let Jen know! Additional details to follow.

Bird Conservancy hired Quresh in March 2018, and he's been working with IMBCR data for various projects since then. Quresh took over managing the annual IMBCR analysis in 2019, and he is currently working to revise this analysis to improve efficiency, long term integrity, and product quality.

One project Quresh has worked on, the Front Range forest mapping work, is attracting a lot of interest. The main product are maps depicting where forest management has the greatest potential to improve bird diversity and other ecosystem services (e.g., fire behavior), which can inform management planning. Multiple stakeholders are interested in expanding this work to all of Colorado, and for similar work in other states. Given the attention and funding from multiple directions this mapping work is receiving, it will hopefully make its way into actual workflows for management planning.

Quresh published recent papers describing application of IMBCR to monitor the effects or effectiveness of management activities on bird communities, such as forest restoration treatments and natural gas extraction.

Revision of the annual IMBCR analysis for population estimates is also going well, and Quresh expects the new analysis to substantially expand the data products we can offer from IMBCR, such as flexible derivation of population trend for any time span.

The BLM is interested in using IMBCR trend estimates to help identify which bird species have statistically supported decreasing populations on land they manage. This information can provide rationale for state-specific BLM Sensitive Species list updates and as a basis to promote habitat conservation actions for migratory birds. For example, identifying declining trends within individual field offices can help biologists prioritize species for NEPA effects analyses and mitigation, habitat restoration projects, and/or consideration in Resource Management Plan revisions, to reduce negative impacts on migratory birds. See a report summarizing decreasing trends for the Idaho BLM here. Let Jen know if you'd like help compiling trends for a specific purpose or region!

Check out the IMBCR Applications webpage for IMBCR-related resources. You can access publications, annual reports & field protocols, trend estimates, past IMBCR meeting notes, and one-pagers. For example, read a one-pager about estimating potential population-level impacts on migratory birds for project planning here.

We have an IMBCR Story Map! Learn about the IMBCR program including its objectives, the sampling design, field methods, and how the results are used to inform management and conservation decisions. You can pan in and out of the IMBCR footprint to view various strata within each state. Please share the Story Map with anyone who might be interested in learning about the program!

Contact Jen Timmer (jennifer.timmer@birdconservancy.org) with questions, example applications of IMBCR data, pictures, or any other contributing material for future IMBCR e-newsletters.