Metrics for conservation success: Using the “Bird‐Friendliness Index” to evaluate grassland and aridland bird community resilience across the Northern Great Plains ecosystem

Abstract

Aim Evaluating conservation effectiveness is essential to protect at‐risk species and to maximize the limited resources available to land managers. Over 60% of North American grassland and aridlands have been lost since the 1800s. Birds in these habitats are among the most imperilled in North America, yet most remaining habitats are unprotected. Despite the need to measure impact, conservation efforts on private and working lands are rarely evaluated, due in part to limited availability of suitable methods. Location Northern Great Plains of North America. Methods We developed a novel metric to evaluate grassland and aridland bird community response to habitat management, the Bird‐Friendliness Index (BFI), consisting of density estimates of grassland and aridland birds weighted by conservation need and a functional diversity metric to incorporate resiliency. We used the BFI to identify ecologically significant areas for grassland and aridland birds and compared them with other prioritizations. Then, we used the BFI to evaluate the effects of simulated habitat management on grassland and aridland bird communities. Results The most resilient bird communities were found in the Prairie Potholes region of Alberta, Saskatchewan and North Dakota and the lowest BFI values in the southern and western regions of the Northern Great Plains. BFI values were significantly greater in areas included in one or more prioritization, and increased with the number of prioritizations an area was included within. BFI values increased in response to simulated bird‐friendly habitat management. Main conclusions Our findings suggest that practices recommended for use in bird‐friendly grassland habitat management plans will increase the abundance and resilience of the grassland and aridland bird community and that bird community responses to management will be detected using the BFI. The BFI is a tool by which conservationists and managers can carry out adaptive management and accountable conservation now and into the future.

Where, who, and what counts under area-based conservation targets: A framework for identifying opportunities that benefit biodiversity, climate mitigation, and human communities

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Assessment of Landbird Population Change in the Southeastern United States

“…Collaborative, multi-partner efforts such as the Central Grasslands Roadmap (https://www.grasslandsroad map.org/) are urgently needed in the Southeast and continentally to conserve these highly vulnerable species. Initiatives such as Audubon's Conservation Ranching program that partner with private landowners to manage habitat for grassland birds (Michel et al 2020) are particularly relevant, as the vast majority (84%) of remaining grasslands are in private ownership (North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee 2011).…”

A framework for linking hemispheric, full annual cycle prioritizations to local conservation actions for migratory birds

“…The National Audubon Society's conservation efforts include both broad-scale national and international, as well as local, site-based conservation programs. To ensure that its conservation programs are informed by science, Audubon has invested in spatial analyses across multiple scales (e.g., Audubon Alaska 2019, Grand et al 2019Saunders et al 2019;Bateman et al 2020b;Michel et al 2020;DeLuca et al 2021;Michel et al 2021). The utility of these investments is measured by the degree to which they can support state and regional efforts throughout the hemisphere to advance on-theground conservation and policy.…”