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TECHNICAL COMMITTEES
(click here to view Committee Members)

We established A TECHNICAL COMMITTEE  to work on identification and conservation of IBAs. We attempted to have good representation from around the state, with committee members from Audubon chapters, the birding community, state and federal agencies, and educational institutions.


Ohio IBA Technical Committee Guidelines

Purpose
The Ohio IBA Technical Committee provides technical guidance to the Audubon Ohio IBA Program on ornithological issues and the identification of Important Bird Areas.

Member Composition
  • The committee will consist of qualified persons familiar with the birdlife, geography, and habitats of Ohio.
  • The committee will be a reasonable size (10-15 people) to ensure broad representation across Ohio while allowing committee business to proceed smoothly.
  • The committee will have a varied geographic representation from across Ohio.
  • Members of the committee must be supportive of the IBA process and its potential efficacy for bird-habitat conservation.

Committee Functions
  • Establish appropriate state-level criteria for Ohio for the identification of IBAs (within the broadly accepted framework of IBA criteria across levels).
  • Assist in soliciting and collecting data that will be necessary for the identification of IBAs.
  • Review proposed IBA sites and determine their eligibility for IBA status according to the established criteria.
  • Assist in determining where gaps in IBA data exist and soliciting further information on those areas.
  • Review and approve a list of IBAs for Ohio, ensuring that this list is credible, as complete as possible, and representative of the entire state.
  • Review and comment on drafts of the Ohio IBA report.

Member Requirements
  • A minimum of two meetings a year to perform the functions listed above, with the possibility of phone conference calls when necessary.
  • Commitment to spend sufficient time for conducting a thorough review of proposed criteria and nominated sites (exact time is difficult to estimate, but could involve approximately six hours per month).
  • Commitment of additional time, as available, to help collect data, solicit nominations, etc.

Guidelines
  • For both setting the criteria and reviewing nominated sites, the operative question should be, "Is this area important for sustaining populations of one or more bird species in Ohio?"
  • When reviewing areas, the complete, printed IBA Criteria should be followed as closely as possible. However, numerical thresholds are not absolute, and a certain amount of subjective judgment is appropriate.
  • It is important to have adequate documentation of an area, particularly its bird numbers relevant to the criteria, but an area well known to qualify as an IBA should not be dismissed on the basis of inadequate documentation, and every effort should be made to secure the necessary documentation.
  • To the maximum extent, political or other non-ornithological considerations should not factor into judgments about IBA qualifications.
  • Every committee member, including the state IBA coordinator, has one equal vote on all relevant matters.