Planning for a coordinated 2023 SCAW-WG wide breeding survey:

 

Decisions at different scales:

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• Population level

  • Rangewide status & trends and distribution, by species

  • Population structure across the range

  • Decisions that need to made based on the data collected (e.g., take permits, siting energy development projects, listing decisions)

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• State (and local) level

  • Within state status & trends and distribution, by species

  • Productivity

  • Banding for assessing survival and other demographic parameters (banding can also inform management at the rangewide scale)

  • Decisions that can be made based on the data collected (e.g., habitat protection, restoration or creation, predator management)

  • Tim Keyes: another management decision that need to be considered are con-specific impacts (e.g. gulls eating tern chicks) at the local scale. How to effectively manage for both?

 

Frequency of coordinated surveys:

• Coordinated survey frequency:  Every five years for SCAW-wide surveys. Some states may need annual surveys because of drought/flood impacts.

• Research question that needs to be explored: Can surveys from a variety of years be combined to provide the same information as one survey every 5 years?

 

Develop a framework for planning coordinated surveys that yield meaningful, defensible data:

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At each scale (e.g., SCAW, State, Local) identify:

1. What decision(s) need to be made (e.g., amount of sustainable take allowed) →

2. What information is needed to make each decision (e.g., abundance, population trends) →

3. What methods are needed for collecting the necessary information at the correct scale and timeframe?

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SCAW-WG CHALLENGE:

• At the SCAW scale, what decisions are being made at this scale?

• What data required?

• How should the data be collected?

 

ACTION: Complete a contemporary trend analysis of SCAW focal species to enhance awareness and justification for 2023 coordinated survey project. 

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ACTION: Draft survey for each regional subgroup to complete that will identify regional (and state) management decisions; data needs, and to a lesser extent, data collection methods (these can be better identified once we have strong sense of key management decisions and data needs). 

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