GET INVOLVED BY ADOPTING AN IMPORTANT BIRD AREA!

Local community members play a vital role in furthering the goals of the Important Bird Areas (IBA) program. Through the Adopt an IBA initiative, a local group (such as an Audubon chapter, local land trust, bird club, school group, etc.) adopts an IBA and energizes a collaborative effort to get others involved at the site in an environmentally sensitive way. Involvement can include organizing an education program, monitoring effort, clean-up day, or habitat improvement project. Adopting an IBA helps conserve, restore and protect the site and helps raise awareness of the importance of the IBA effort at at local level.

BENEFITS

• Participate in and assist an international bird conservation program
• Promote a community-based program that adds to a region's quality of life
• Participate in bird and habitat conservation through meaningful citizen science efforts
• Implement exciting projects that combine science, education, and birding
• Create new public outreach opportunities

EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES

• An education program that engages people in learning about birds and their conservation.
• A monitoring program that collects data to document the occurrence, breeding status, or long-term changes in bird populations and habitat at the site.
• A resource management program such as a trash clean-up day, birdhouse construction/installation, or recycling program.
• A habitat restoration project such as an invasive plant control effort or native planting.
• An outreach program to foster community support for the IBA site such as an annual birding festival, bird walk, or other event. 

TO ADOPT AN IBA OR TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT:
Laura McCarthy, Manager of Conservation Engagement
Audubon New York
2 3rd St, Suite 480
Troy, NY 12180
518-869-9731 (phone)
518-869-0737 (fax)