eBird data developed to inform State Wildlife Action Plans

[Laura Bies]

The team of scientists behind the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird platform has developed and packaged data summaries that will help state wildlife planners across the country to assess the status of bird populations that live in or migrate through their state. Covering every bird in every state, the data will help the states prepare their federally required 2025 updates to State Wildlife Action Plans.

The eBird Status and Trends Project collects and analyzes data on the occurrence, abundance, distribution, and trends of North American birds. The state-specific summaries of this data will allow state wildlife agencies to use this data in updating their Wildlife Action Plans, without having to collect and manage all the underlying data themselves.  

 

State Wildlife Action Plans are critical to proactively conserving fish and wildlife to prevent species from becoming endangered. The plans, which must be updated every 10 years and approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, allow states to receive funding through the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program, which is used to proactively conserve birds and other species that make up the biodiversity of each state.

Learn more in a press release from Cornell and in a series of videos prepared by the Lab.