Site Assessment

To become a WHSRN site, landowners commit to conservation of shorebirds. But what does that mean, and how can you track your success?

The Site Assessment Tool enables WHSRN sites to review their existing shorebird and habitat status, current and potential threats, effectiveness of current site management, and priority actions and next steps.

Main Goals of the Site Assessment Tool:

  • Review the state of conservation at WHSRN sites
  • Identify the critical threats at the sites
  • Assess the effectiveness of current site management and conservation efforts
  • Help sites engage in adaptive management by identifying priorities for action, information gaps, and monitoring needs
  • Provide information for education, awareness, management, fundraising and advocacy
  • Provide standardized information for a network-wide analysis of the status of sites, for use in priority setting and conservation action planning
  • Engage stakeholders in a participatory process for long-term planning at the site.

We recognize that although shorebird conservation is a priority for sites in the Network, it is not the only objective for the lands included at your site. For that reason, the Site Assessment Tool goes beyond evaluating shorebirds at the site and delves into many other topics relevant to protected areas.

Site Assessments have four main components:

1

Management Effectiveness

Measures elements of site management, resources, relationships with community and other stakeholders, and any changes since designation as a WHSRN site.

2

State of the Site

Evaluates the site’s ecological integrity using conservation targets and examining key ecological attributes.

3

Threats at the Site

Discusses current and potential threats and how likely they are to affect the ecological integrity of the site in general. Gives special consideration to possible impacts on shorebirds, especially when more than 1% of a species’ regional or global population is present at the site.

4

Conservation Action

Assesses conservation measures currently in place and determines what priority actions are needed.

Assessment with Consensus

The assessments are built on the principle that site management is participatory and should involve stakeholders interested in the conservation of the site – including scientists, managers, local authorities, and community members. The end goal is to build consensus based on the results of the Site Assessment.

The assessment can be completed in two ways, depending on the needs of your site:

  • A one-day workshop with a facilitator from the WHSRN Executive Office and all stakeholders present. This is a useful format for sites that do not have a wealth of information about the site’s conservation history and current standing. In these cases, the Site Assessment can also serve as a helpful inventory of collective knowledge about the site.
  • An independent initial review followed by a large stakeholder workshop facilitated by the WHSRN Executive Office. Several local experts conduct an information review and complete Site Assessment independently. These assessments are compiled and the results are discussed and expanded on with a larger group of stakeholders during a facilitated workshop. This is a useful format for sites that already have a large amount of information, when it is more effective for a small group of people to review the existing information first.

For more information about the Site Assessment Tool, contact whsrn@manomet.org.

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