Winter 2024

Welcome to the IMBCR e-newsletter! With this outlet, we will showcase IMBCR data applications for management and conservation efforts, highlight the many partners and faces that make IMBCR possible, and provide updates and outreach materials. Please forward the newsletter to any interested colleagues who might find the material useful. If you have examples you would like to share using IMBCR data or would like to get involved in this monitoring effort, please contact Jen.

Rock Wren by Joseph Webber

Mark your calendars for Jan. 22 & 23 for the annual IMBCR Partners meeting! The meeting will be held from 1:30-4:30 p.m. MST on the 22nd and from 9-noon on the 23rd in Fort Collins at Bird Conservancy's office. This will be a hybrid meeting with the option to join remotely if you cannot attend in person. Please let Jen know if you plan to attend in person so we have enough refreshments. We'll have a session on IMBCR trend estimates the first day--how to interpret & access them from the updated Rocky Mountain Avian Data Center, and how several partners use trends to inform their priority species lists. On the second day, we'll hear several presentations that were included in the IMBCR symposium at the AOS conference in October.

The analysis for 2024 estimates is underway! We hope to have the density, occupancy, and trend estimates available on the RMADC by the end of the year or early 2025. We will email the listserv as soon as they are ready.

Have you visited the updated Rocky Mountain Avian Data Center? We currently have estimates for hundreds species through 2023. On the "Explore the Data" page, use filters to select your species and geographic region ("Superstratum") or management unit ("Stratum") of interest. Click on the "Density", Occupancy", and "Trend Estimates" tab to view and download tables of estimates. Let Jen know if you have any questions.

Ron Torretta

Wildlife Biologist, US Forest Service

Cabinet Ranger District, Kootenai National Forest

Ron has been using IMBCR data for several years to track population trends and estimates of bird populations in Forests of Region 2, and more recently, Region 1 of the US Forest Service. Recently, he has been using IMBCR data for conducting wildlife analyses on proposed forest management activities, with an emphasis on Birds of Conservation Concern (BCC). From Ron: "It has been a privilege and exciting to have long-term, high sample size, local Forest-level data, that are scientifically robust, to use for identifying the existing conditions and population trends and estimates of BCC. Having this quality of data enables me to conduct a more accurate analysis/assessment of potential effects of proposed activities on BCC and their breeding habitats. Having this kind of quantitative data to work with versus making qualitative assessments based on limited information is a biologist’s dream."

Two species that Ron is tracking on the Kootenai National Forest are the Evening Grosbeak and the Rufous Hummingbird, both Road to Recovery Tipping Point species. The Evening Grosbeak population is decreasing 18.6%/year in the roaded/managed portion of the Kootenai NF in Montana, while the Rufous Hummingbird population is decreasing about 10%/year.

Above: Evening Grosbeak density estimates and 95% credible interval bars in the roaded/managed portion of the Kootenai National Forest in Montana. Left: Rufous Hummingbird density estimates and 95% credible interval bars in the same stratum.

State wildlife agencies are currently revising their wildlife action plans for 2025. These plans identify Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) that are threatened, endangered, rare, or declining, as well as the habitats and threats associated with these species. IMBCR trend estimates can help an agency update their SGCN list by identifying avian species that are declining with certainty within a state or region and should be added to a SGCN list. Conversely, previous SGCN birds could be removed or down-listed if they have increasing trends. Read a one-

pager on this application here.

For birds of conservation concern, it's helpful to know which management units have declining populations and might be driving decreasing trends. On the RMADC, if you select a "Superstratum" filter, such as the state of Wyoming or USFS Region 2, trends for individual strata or management units within the superstratum will automatically display in the top trend table. It's also helpful to see if any common birds are in decline that may not be on the radar. Select your "Stratum" or "Superstratum" of interest and sort species by decreasing trend.

See a one-pager on checking the status of birds of concern and common birds in decline here.

Top left: Lark Bunting (Flickr), the state bird of Colorado, and above: Savannah Sparrow (Flickr), a common bird declining in several western states.

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. We also have an IMBCR Communication Strategy to help partners convey important aspects of the program.