1. Management Indicator Species
Birds of Conservation Concern
Focal Species
Management Indicator Species
Sensitive
Species
What
Strategy
Species
Priority
SPECIES
Surrogate
Species
In a perfect world we would have one list that everyone would agree on. But we don’t live in a perfect world, agencies and organizations have different mandates and missions or different interpretations of the same or very similar mandates or missions, so we end up with lots of lists and lots of confusion
Target Species
Species of Greatest Conservation Need

2. Species Lists: At-Risk/Vulnerable
Species of Greatest Conservation Need (Strategy Species)
IDFG, NRCS
Birds of Conservation Concern
USFWS
Sensitive Species
USFS
BLM
Watch List Species
ABC/Audubon
Target Species
TNC Ecoregional Plans
You can lump all the different bird species lists into two basic types. The majority of the species list and the ones most in use and you are most familiar with are those that the emphasis is on species that are at risk or vulnerable for any number of reasons. This includes most of the lists you are familiar with. For our purposes here today I am going to call all these types of lists Priority Species lists
Priority Species

3. Species Lists: Representative
Focal
OR-WA PIF
Surrogate
USFWS
Management Indicator
USFS (old)
Umbrella
The second type of list is based on a species representativeness of some ecological characteristic such as habitat type condition or attribute. This is what is used in the OR WA PIF plans using the term focal species. The same basic concept is what the FWS is using for a new initiative that they are calling surrogate species. For those of you with the FS you probably remember the term management Indicator species which I don’t think is in use now but it was the same idea. Another term that you may have seen used for this is umbrella species . For our purposes here today I am going to use the term focal species.
Focal Species

4. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Birds of Conservation Concern (BCC)
Uses Species Assessment Databases that score/rank species
Uses Ecological Boundaries (BCRs)
PIF Scores (1-5) on several factors
population size & trend, threats (breeding & non), distribution, density (relative), % of pop.
Set Score Thresholds for inclusion on list
Allows for Adjustments (add or subtract species) with rationale/documentation (e.g., subspecies)
The approach that we think works best for Priority Species is the FWS BCC list.

5. Thanks to Bob Altman (ABC) for sharing the original version of this talk