Colorado

The Colorado IBA program began in 1999. During the first year, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (formerly known as Colorado Bird Observatory), with help from Audubon-Colorado (the Colorado state office of National Audubon Society), worked to facilitate a first round of site nominations and reviews. Coordinators formed a Technical Review Committee, consisting of seven respected volunteers form the Colorado birding community. The committee then determined state-specific criteria for decision-making. A site must meet only one of the criteria to qualify as an IBA, though most will meet several. In the spring of 2000, sole responsibility for coordinating Colorado's program shifted to Audubon-Colorado. Colorado now has 54 IBA's that have been accepted by the Colorado IBA committee. These 54 sites consist of over 1,200,000 acres (485,640 hectares) of protected land and water throughout Colorado. Some of the more common sites that are nationally recognized as popular tourist destinations are Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park and the Pawnee National Grasslands to name a few. All of the IBA's in Colorado are monitored closely with the help of state parks, conservation organizations, fellow Auduboners, volunteers, avid birders and the general public with an interest in conserving these precious areas.