{"id":1312,"date":"2016-01-25T15:12:21","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T15:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stagbcelandtru.wpengine.com\/?p=1312"},"modified":"2023-10-17T20:19:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T20:19:20","slug":"the-nature-trust-of-british-columbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birds.cornell.edu\/landtrust\/the-nature-trust-of-british-columbia\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nature Trust of British Columbia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Name:<\/strong> The Nature Trust of British Columbia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location:<\/strong> British Columbia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff Members:<\/strong> 16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bird Conservation Resource:<\/strong> eBird<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact: <\/strong>Peter Arcese, Conservation Biologist, University of British Columbia (peter.arcese@ubc.ca<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website:<\/strong> www.naturetrust.bc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"OldForest_1hex\"
Map of old forest birds in BC\u2019s critically endangered Coastal Douglas Fir Zone. Darker areas are those most likely to host rich old forest bird communities. (Schuster & Arcese 2013. Ecography 36: 499)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spotlight Resource: eBird<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Nature Trust of British Columbia<\/a> (TNTBC) is one of Canada\u2019s largest regional land trusts, having secured over 170,000 acres of critical plant and animal habitat in British Columbia (BC) since 1971. TNTBC\u2019s board has focused most recently on maximizing conservation investments by prioritizing land parcels based on their biodiversity in the province\u2019s critically endangered Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystems. To do so, TNTBC worked with conservation biologists Peter Arcese and Richard Schuster of the University of British Columbia\u2019s Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences to develop and apply a strategic conservation planning tool (Marxan<\/a>) that maximize conservation values while minimizing acquisition and management costs. Doing so is critically important in this heavily populated region of BC, where land prices are high and over 120 rare and endangered species now rely on relict and regenerating old forest and oak savanna habitats for their persistence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An essential first step in achieving these goals required a reliable method of identifying plant and animal communities of interest. Because birds are outstanding indicators of habitat type and quality, Arcese and Schuster used data from the Cornell Lab\u2019s eBird<\/a> program and data they collected in the field to create distribution maps for over 90 bird species. They then used expert opinion to combine the most informative indicator species into maps representing \u2018old forest\u2019, \u2018savanna\u2019, \u2018wetland\u2019, \u2018shrub\u2019 and \u2018human-dominated\u2019 habitats (Fig. 1). The resulting maps represent areas in the planning region most likely to host the full suite of desired species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By developing strategic land conservation and prioritization tools using birds as indicators, TNTBC has facilitated planning, prioritization, and acquisition efforts by the Coastal Douglas Fir Partnership<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"NPLCC<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Arcese, Schuster and TNTBC are working with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology<\/a> to create regional models of bird distribution throughout the Georgia Basin from British Columbia to central Oregon. A key goal of this work is to prioritize dry Douglas fir and Garry oak habitats for conservation and management in collaboration with the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative<\/a>. They hope this will facilitate cross-boundary planning and maximize the persistence of endangered plant and animal communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sign up to receive our eNews and stay connected<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative will send you updates about funding opportunities and ways to work with partners to protect birds and further your land conservation goals. We\u2019ll highlight resources to assist with bird conservation on private lands, showcase tools and data visualizations to assist with planning and stewardship, and share success stories from the field.<\/p>\n\n\n