**North American Wetlands Conservation Act Technical Question #3**

**Identification of Shorebird Wetland Focal Areas in the U.S.A.**

U. S. Shorebird Conservation Plan Council

19 November 2004

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel who administer the North
American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) have asked the U.S. Shorebird
Conservation Plan Council (Council) to help develop shorebird focus
areas that would assist development and evaluation of projects pertinent
to the criteria outlined in Technical Question #3. As specified in the
Act, the shorebird focal areas identified in this document pertain to
wetland ecosystems and their associated habitats. The Council realizes
that a more comprehensive development of all important shorebird
habitats would be useful for conservation planning purposes. Text of the
Act's purpose and Technical Question #3 follow.

The Council agreed that an approach that identified focal polygons was
probably more useful than one that listed specific sites. This approach
would include large concentration sites and areas where breeding or
migrant shorebirds are more dispersed. For project development, a list
of specific stopover sites that support \>4,000 shorebirds, sorted by
state or BCR, is available at
\<http://shorebirdplan.fws.gov/RegionalShorebird.htm\>. Instead of
building a new map for shorebird focal areas, the Council reviewed and
modified the "Areas of Continental Significance to North American Ducks,
Geese, and Swans" produced for the update of the North American
Waterfowl Management Plan. The altered map is attached to this report in
conjunction with a table that modifies or expands the 67 listed areas.
In addition to delineating areas, the Council believed that providing
some coarse indication of shorebird habitat use, by season, would
increase the usefulness of this tool. Therefore, seasonal shorebird
habitat use is provided, by focal area, in Table 1, and a summary of
coarse shorebird-habitat associations are provided in Table 2.

For questions or comments on the shorebird wetland focus areas, contact
Brad Andres at brad_andres@fws.gov or 303/275-2324.

> Table 1. Identification of shorebird focal areas for Technical
> Question #3 of the NAWCA proposal criteria. Areas are based on the
> "Areas of Continental Significance to North American Ducks, Geese, and
> Swans" in the 2004 update of the North American Waterfowl Management
> Plan. Use refers to breeding (B), migration (M), or wintering (W).
> Areas entirely contained within Canada and Mexico were not considered.

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Area   Area Name                Use    Coarse Habitats
  ------ ------------------------ ------ ----------------------------------
  1      Prairie Pothole          B      grassland-wetlands, alkali lake
                                         edges, riverine sandbars

                                  M      shallow wetlands, lake edges,
                                         flooded fields

  4      Northern Great Plains    B      grassland-wetlands

                                  M      shallow wetlands, lake edges

  5      Sandhills                B      grassland-wetlands

                                  M      shallow wetlands, lake edges

  6      Rainwater Basin          B      riverine sandbars

                                  M      shallow wetlands, flooded fields

  7      Central Kansas Marshes   B      alkali lake/pond edges

                                  M      shallow wetlands, lake edges

  8      Playa Lakes              B      alkali lake/pond edges, riverine
                                         sandbars

                                  M      shallow wetlands, flooded fields

  9      Central                  M      shallow wetlands, lake and river
         Mississippi/Illinois            edges
         River                           

  10     Lower Mississippi        M      shallow wetlands, lake and river
         Alluvial Valley                 edges

  11     Gulf Coast Prairie       B      saltmarshes, sandy beaches

                                  M/W    saltmarshes, tidal flats, sandy
                                         beaches

  12     East Gulf Coast          B      saltmarshes, sandy beaches

                                  M/W    saltmarshes, tidal flats, beaches

  13     St. John's River         B      saltmarshes, sandy beaches

                                  M/W    shallow wetlands, tidal flats,
                                         sandy beaches

  14     Central Valley           B      shallow wetlands

                                  M/W    shallow wetlands, flooded fields

  15     San Francisco Bay        B      shallow wetlands, saltmarshes

                                  M/W    shallow wetlands, tidal flats,
                                         saltmarshes

  ADD    Southern California      B      shallow wetlands, saltmarshes,
         Coast                           sandy beaches

                                  M/W    shallow wetlands, saltmarsh, sandy
                                         beaches, tidal flats

  22     Pacific Coast            B      sandy beaches, rocky shores

                                  M/W    tidal flats, rocky shores,
                                         saltmarsh, sandy beaches

  23     Klamath Basin            B      shallow wetlands, alkali lake
                                         edges, grassland-wetlands

                                  M      shallow wetlands, flooded fields,
                                         lake edges

  24     Malheur Basin            B      shallow wetlands, alkali lake
                                         edges, grassland-wetlands

                                  M      shallow wetlands, flooded fields,
                                         lake edges

  25     Carson Sink              B      shallow wetlands, alkali
                                         lakes/edges, grassland-wetlands

                                  M      shallow wetlands, lake edges

  ADD    Mono Lake                B      alkali lake edges

                                  M      alkali lake/edges

  ADD    Salton Sea               B      alkali lake edges, shallow
                                         wetlands

                                  M/W    lake edges, saltmarshes, shallow
                                         wetlands

  27     Great Salt Lake/Bear     B      shallow wetlands, alkali lake
         River marshes                   edges, marshes

                                  M      shallow wetlands, lake/edges,
                                         marshes

  32     Mid-Atlantic Coast       B      saltmarshes, sandy beaches

                                  M/W    tidal flats, shallow wetlands,
                                         saltmarshes, sandy beaches

  33     Northeast Atlantic Coast B      saltmarshes, sandy beaches

                                  M/W    tidal flats, shallow wetlands,
                                         saltmarshes, sandy beaches, rocky
                                         shores

  40     Lower Great Lakes        M      shallow wetlands

  41     Saginaw Bay              M      shallow wetlands

  57     North Slope- Beaufort    B      coastal tundra
         Sea                             

                                  M      tidal flats, lagoons, saltmarshes

  58     Yukon Flats              B      boreal wetlands

  59     Selawik NWR              B      boreal wetlands, tundra

                                  M      tidal flats, lagoons, saltmarshes

  61     Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta    B      coastal tundra

                                  M      tidal flats, saltmarshes

  62     Innoko NWR               B      boreal wetlands

  63     Copper River Delta       B      boreal wetlands, rocky shores

                                  M/W    tidal flats, saltmarshes, rocky
                                         shores

  64     Upper Cook Inlet         M/W    tidal flats

  ADD    Kachemak Bay             M/W    tidal flats

  65     Bristol Bay-Kvichak Bay  M      tidal flats

  66     Izembek-Alaska Peninsula M      tidal flats, saltmarshes
         Lagoons                         

  ADD    Hawaiian Island Coastal  B      marshes, associated uplands
         Playas and Tidal Flats          

                                  M/W    marshes, tidal flats
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 2. Shorebird-habitat associations (minor use)

*Tundra Breeders*

Black-bellied Plover

American Golden-Plover

Pacific Golden-Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Wandering Tattler

Whimbrel

Bristle-thighed Curlew

Hudsonian Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Marbled Godwit

Ruddy Turnstone

Black Turnstone

Surfbird

Red Knot

Sanderling

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

Baird\'s Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Rock Sandpiper

Dunlin

Stilt Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Long-billed Dowitcher

Red-necked Phalarope

Red Phalarope

*Boreal Wetland Breeders*

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Solitary Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Short-billed Dowitcher

Wilson's Snipe

Red-necked Phalarope

*Inland Grassland-Wetland Breeders*

(Mountain Plover)

Black-necked Stilt

American Avocet

Willet

(Upland Sandpiper)

Marbled Godwit

(Long-billed Curlew)

Wilson's Snipe

Wilson\'s Phalarope

*Riverine Sandbar/Lake Edge Breeders*

Snowy Plover

Piping Plover

Spotted Sandpiper

*Sandy Beach Breeders*

Snowy Plover

Wilson\'s Plover

Piping Plover

American Oystercatcher

*Coastal Saltmarsh Breeders*

American Oystercatcher

Willet

*Rocky Shoreline Breeders/ Migrants*

Black Oystercatcher

Wandering Tattler

Black Turnstone

Surfbird

Purple Sandpiper

*Mudflats/Shallow-water/Open water/ Saltmarsh/ Sandy Beach Migrants*

Black-bellied Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Black-necked Stilt

American Avocet

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Solitary Sandpiper

Willet

Spotted Sandpiper

Whimbrel

Long-billed Curlew

Hudsonian Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Marbled Godwit

Ruddy Turnstone

Red Knot

Sanderling

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

Baird\'s Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Rock Sandpiper

Dunlin

Stilt Sandpiper

(Buff-breasted Sandpiper)

Short-billed Dowitcher

Long-billed Dowitcher

Wilson\'s Snipe

Wilson\'s Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope