Management Guides

Best Management Practice (BMPs) guides lay out the ideal management approaches, based on known science. If followed, they should allow a land trust to effectively create or maintain appropriate habitat for a suite of bird species and, often, other wildlife. This list was originally generated by Partners in Flight, a cooperative partnership dedicated to achieving greater success in conserving bird populations.

Resources are categorized by ecosystem type and some are dated, but still might be useful for land trusts and management of private lands. Many of these guides address the needs of multiple species; we included a separate tab for miscellaneous guides that could not be categorized by our habitat types. We will update the list with new information as it becomes available.

Forestland Ecosystems: A landscape or natural woodland system dominated by tress and other woody plants where tree cover typically ranges from 25% – 100% cover.

Shrubland Ecosystems: A landscape that is dominated by mostly woody shrub species, often mixed with forbs and grasses.

Grassland Ecosystems: A landscape that is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous species. Tree and shrub cover is typically less than 10%.

Riparian Ecosystems: A landscape that consists of plant communities contiguous to waterways or bodies of water with visible vegetation or physical characteristics that reflect permanent water. They are typically transitional zones between wetland and upland habitats.

Multiple Species, Habitats and Miscellaneous BMPs: This section represents miscellaneous guides, such as managing for farmland or multiple species, that could not be categorized by our chosen habitat types.