Suggestions for Site Coordinators

  If you are a professional biologist or land manager acting as site coordinator for BFL participants, the following suggestions may be helpful:

  • Be sure that the person at your office who has primary contact with the public (for example, the front-desk receptionist) is aware of your involvement in the project. Some volunteers may contact your office but not know your name.

  • Locate forest patches on orthophoto quads, aerial photos, or other maps that allow you to determine the size and characteristics of a particular patch, such as the percentage of forest in the surrounding landscape.

  • Select sites that are easily accessible, but don’t let distance keep you from suggesting an appropriate site you’d like to have studied.

  • Make copies of aerial photos, maps, or orthophotos to give to volunteers. You may need to explain how to use aerial photos if the volunteers are not familiar with them.

  • If your office has a GIS system, you may be able to use it to evaluate patch size and landscape variables.

  • Try to locate sites in areas that aren’t likely to be affected by timber harvest or other disturbances during the next two to three years.

  • Invite your volunteers to be involved in other agency projects.

  • Network with others in your agency through a biologist’s network, your regional Neotropical Migratory Bird Coordinator, or Partners in Flight representatives.

  We know that you are busy and we appreciate your assistance.