The Important Bird Area designation does not guarantee conservation of the sites. Rather, it is used to focus limited conservation resources towards the most important sites and conservation issues, and to leverage funding for conservation action where it matters most. Audubon spearheads the formation of IBA Support Groups in order to achieve these goals.

IBA Support Groups are composed of interested landowners, stakeholders, volunteers, and other citizens in order to promote and protect specific IBAs and their birds. IBA Support Group actions are guided by the state coordinator and the Important Bird Areas Assessment process developed by Audubon's National Science Office. Audubon IBA Support Groups operate through an adaptive management process outlined by the Conservation Measures Partnership's Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (Conservation Measures Partnership 2007). This process mandates the collection of and application of data on threats to each IBA, and helps participants to devise and implement successful conservation strategies to counteract these threats. It then measures the success of the group's efforts and helps the group adapt its actions as needed to correct for ineffective actions.

Michigan currently has two support groups in development. The first, spearheaded by Detroit Audubon, is focused on assessing the viability of breeding colonies of Black Terns and Forster's Terns on the St. Clair Flats and Harsen's Island IBA. This group is also working with the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge to develop and implement a bird survey to determine the success of shoreline and wetland restoration projects at several areas within the Globally Significant Detroit River IBA. The second group is working to promote the creation of Henslow's Sparrow habitat on private lands within the Hillsdale County Henslow's Sparrow IBA, currently one of the state's top sites for this rare Michigan breeding bird. Interested individuals or organizations who would like to explore the formation of other Support Groups are encouraged to contact the Michigan IBA Program Coordinator.

Caleb Putnam
Michigan IBA Coordinator
23448 Stanton Rd
Sand Lake, MI 49343
616-774-3000
cputnam@audubon.org