About ISS and PRISM
In 1974 the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences organized the International Shorebird Surveys (ISS) to gather information on shorebirds and the wetlands they use. Almost 80,000 census counts have been completed at 1200 locations in 47 states of the U.S., with additional counts from Central and South America too. PRISM is a complementary project aimed to better track population change in shorebirds. The take-home message now is clear; many species of shorebirds depend on strategic migration staging sites.
Information gathered by ISS cooperators over the last 30 years show some disturbing trends. The data have long suggested that several shorebird species were declining rapidly, but until recently the design of the ISS did not allow for a sensitive statistical analysis. A new initiative called the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) is underway to coordinate and expand on existing shorebird survey efforts, including the ISS, the Western Shorebird Survey and the Canadian Maritimes Shorebird Survey. The closer coordination and expanded survey effort will increase the power of statistical analyses and more clearly define shorebird conservation issues on a continental scale. More background information can be found here.
To participate, review the detailed protocol instructions and get in touch with Stephanie Schmidt sschmidt@manomet.org or Brad Winn bwinn@manomet.org
Volunteerism and the Surveys An important goal of our surveys is to have an operational monitoring program that will be sustained for decades on end. Crucial to this goal are low costs, operations on a broad geographic scale, and competent personnel. We think the ISS is meeting these goals, and has proven itself to be sustainable. Clearly our project depends largely on the work of volunteers. As we consider refinements needed for improved population monitoring, we also must consider the project?s ability to keep stimulated volunteers engaged in helping to gather the factual information so badly needed for sound conservation planning. Help us with your comments and continued participation!
The information we have developed has proven pivotal to shorebird conservation planning in the United States. The U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan draws heavily on our information in setting regional and national priorities. We provide basic information on migration times of shorebirds throughout the Western Hemisphere, information heavily used by management agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service. ISS data also have been extensively used to document major shorebird migration staging areas throughout the Western Hemisphere, and are used in identifying and processing site nominations for the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. These are but a few uses being made of our work.
In each newsletter we try to provide some ISS-based perspectives of shorebirds? lives that illustrate the importance of our information. In this issue we again note our changing shorebird populations. As always, we welcome suggestions and feedback from our Cooperators. We hope this brief summary reminds you of the contributions that we are making to better conservation planning and to the understanding of shorebirds for the remarkable animals they are. Thanks to all for a great effort in 2007!
