Special Report No. 06-05: Synthesis of Large-Scale Bird Conservation Plans in Canada: A Resource for Forest Managers

 There are four major bird management plans in effect in Canada: the North American Landbird Management Plan, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, the Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan, and Wings Over Water (the Canadian waterbird conservation plan). These plans cover almost all native bird species that occur regularly in Canada. All of these plans operate under the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI).

The intent of this report is to increase awareness of the four major Federal bird plans among the forest industry, to provide forest managers a common reference point relative to the Federal government’s perspective on managing various types of birds in Canada, and to synthesize information on birds that is most relevant to forest management planning.

About 634 species of birds occur in Canada. We reviewed all of those bird species and identified species which may be affected by forestry operations. Effects of forestry on birds may be positive, negative, or mixed depending on the species, specific management practices, spatial scale, and time scale.

We also reviewed the Bird Conservation Region (BCR) concept, a tool developed for the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. BCRs are ecologically defined units that share similar avifaunas and provide a consistent spatial framework for bird conservation across North American landscapes. The BCR concept is very relevant to the forest industry because most of the forest bird conservation planning processes currently underway in Canada are related to BCRs and the priority forest bird species within each.

The plan most relevant to the forest industry is the Partners in Flight North American Landbird Conservation Plan (NALCP).