Birds of Conservation Concern 2002

The 1988 amendment to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act mandates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to “identify species, subspecies, and populations of all migratory nongame birds that, without additional conservation actions, are likely to become candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.” Birds of Conservation Concern 2002 (BCC 2002) is the most recent effort to carry out this mandate. The overall... more

The 1988 amendment to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act mandates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to “identify species, subspecies, and populations of all migratory nongame birds that, without additional conservation actions, are likely to become candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.” Birds of Conservation Concern 2002 (BCC 2002) is the most recent effort to carry out this mandate. The overall goal of this report is to accurately identify the migratory and non-migratory bird species (beyond those already designated as Federally threatened or endangered) that represent our highest conservation priorities and draw attention to species in need of conservation action. The geographic scope of this endeavor is the United States in its entirety, including island "territories" in the Pacific and Caribbean. It is more comprehensive than previous versions. BCC 2002 encompasses three distinct geographic scales–North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs), USFWS Regions, and National–and is primarily derived from assessment scores from three major bird conservation plans: Partners in Flight, the United States Shorebird Conservation Plan, and the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan. less