Audubon Alaska The map depicts 145 IBAs in Alaska including 69 that are of global significance Zoom In

IBAs of the Last Frontier

21-07-2008

With more than 75,000 kilometres of marine shoreline, 100,000 glaciers, more than three million lakes and rivers, and a diversity of habitats that range from temperate rainforest to Arctic tundra, Alaska is a place of superlatives. With the world’s largest population of nesting Red-legged Kittiwakes Rissa brevirostris (Vulnerable) and Critically Endangered Kittlitz's Murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostris, Alaska has more globally significant Important Bird Areas (IBAs) than any other state in the United States.

Over the last seven years, Audubon Alaska has combed Alaska for areas essential to the survival of bird populations. There are currently 145 sites statewide that are officially identified as IBAs. The majority of them are also recognized as globally or continentally significant. In fact, Alaska has almost half of all globally significant IBAs identified in the United States.

To publicise this important work, Audubon Alaska has produced a poster-sized map that highlights the 145 identified sites, plus a handful of potential sites that are likely to meet listing criteria in the near future. This beautifully illustrated map is a great awareness-raising tool that highlights the need for site protection.

“The IBA program gives us the opportunity, structure, and science to highlight the significance of these sites and to take responsibility for their conservation” —Stan Senner, Executive Director of Audubon Alaska

The number of globally significant IBAs identified in Alaska should come as no surprise when one considers the diversity and quality of habitat found in this 148 million hectares state. Alaska’s IBAs include coastal nesting grounds for about 90% of the world population of Emperor Geese Chen canagica, staging areas for tens of thousands of Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica, and at-sea wintering grounds for many of the world's Spectacled Eiders Somateria fischeri.

“The IBA program gives us the opportunity, structure, and science to highlight the significance of these sites and to take responsibility for their conservation”, says Stan Senner, Executive Director of Audubon Alaska.

Audubon Alaska hopes to continue to add new IBAs to the list, but focusing on protection and management of existing IBAs is a priority for Audubon Alaska.

IBAs form a worldwide network of sites for the conservation of birds. When complete, this global network is likely to comprise around 15,000 IBAs covering some 10 million km² (c.7% of the world’s land surface) identified on the basis of about 40% of the world’s bird species. The effective conservation of these sites will contribute substantially to the protection of the world's biological diversity.