After a year-long process involving our chapters in PA, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, and over 1800 volunteers, Audubon has completed the first thorough statewide inventory of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in PA and in the U.S., naming 72 sites as IBAs. Here's an example of the IBA Program at work in PA:

Signs call public attention to the sensitive nature of the Flats. In kayak: Debbie Peterman, NAS-PA State Office intern.

South of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where the Susquehanna River courses below Safe Harbor Dam, an area of scrubby islands and seasonal mud flats provides shorebirds with one of their few resting stops in the state during spring migration. At this area, known locally as Conejohela Flats, thousands of sandpipers, plovers, dowitchers, and other shorebirds of more than a dozen species can be seen at the height of migration. For this reason, Conejohela Flats was identified this year as one of 72 Important Bird Areas (IBA) in Pennsylvania.

Water levels along the Flats are controlled by the dam operator, Safe Harbor Power Corporation, which has applied to raise the water levels in order to increase the dam's power output. Local activists, led by the Lancaster County Bird Club (an NAS affiliate) and including the Audubon Council of PA, the NAS-PA State Office, and the NAS-PA/IBA Program, have voiced concern that permanent flooding of the islands and mud flats would eliminate the important shorebird habitat.

In June, the Lancaster Co. Planning Commission approved a request by the Lancaster Co. Bird Club to recommend to the state Fish and Boat Commission that the area be designated as a "Slow, Minimum-Height Swell Speed" zone for boats and other river traffic, and that access restrictions be placed on sensitive islands. The Planning Commission's letter of approval cited Audubon's IBA designation for the Flats as one of the key reasons for its support of the measure. The measure is expected to reduce disturbance to both migratory and breeding birds, as well as allow the mud flats to better recover from any rise in water levels. In addition, negotiations with the power company will likely allow for intensive monitoring of the habitat by local scientists to ensure that it does recover adequately. (The full tale is not yet told -- the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission have also expressed concerns and are reviewing the situation.)*

The influence of the Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program is clearly demonstrated in such a case. Audubon's state-based IBA Program was established in 1995 to identify a network of sites in each state to be protected or managed for the benefit of birds and their habitats. Ten states currently have IBA Programs** underway: Alaska, California, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee. A number of additional states are in various stages of exploring IBA Program development.

Your Turn

Audubon chapters, state councils, and state field offices all share a critical role in identifying IBAs and implementing conservation strategies for them. Why not find out how you and your chapter can participate in the IBA Program? Or, if your chapter has an IBA-related story to share with our readers, please send it in to the Networker. Photos also welcome.

For More Info, Contact: Your state field office or state council, OR Fred Baumgarten, IBA Program Coordinator;NAS-NY HQ.

Editor's Notes:

* see complete coverage of this story in the "Inside Audubon" section of the Sept. issue of AUDUBON magazine!

** Although some of these states may operate independent or partially-independent IBA programs, all are receiving input from NAS and operate in like manner.