Tennessee

Initiated in 1997, the Tennessee Important Bird Areas Program, through the support of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, has recognized 29 IBAs, three of which are complexes encompassing 27 specific sites. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will be working with local Audubon chapters and birding organizations, including the Tennessee Ornithological Society, to develop conservation plans for some IBAs. Conservation plans are a critical component of the IBA program, providing Audubon, landowners, land managers and other stakeholders with a strategic approach for future conservation and habitat management activities. In addition to conservation plans, the program will work to actively engage the public in collecting standardized bird data at IBAs to better quantify the value of the sites. We hope to improve access to IBAs, through better trails and signs and to conduct small locally managed projects at these IBAs, which include establishing and monitoring bluebird and owl box trails. This proactive and science-based approach will allow much more effective use of resources to ensure that IBAs will remain important for birds not only for our generation, but for many generations to come