Historic destruction or alteration of western riparian habitats has resulted in highly fragmented and discontinuous habitat patches of adequate breeding habitat for a great number of nongame bird species. These species and many others have reached the critical stage where suitable breeding habitat has become so fragmented and isolated that genetic bottlenecks may have been created. Single individuals cannot locate mates within the remaining suitable fragments of riparian habitat. Patches of habitats that are close together are more valuable than patches that are isolated. Riparian corridors are beneficial to migrating or dispersing animals.
Avian species are less likely to become extinct if they are common across large ranges.
Conversely, species with extremely limited ranges are more likely to become extinct through habitat loss or other catastrophic events. He feels that to maintain or improve ecosystem integrity, humanity must shift its anthropocentric thinking from believing that we are above natural processes to believing that we are a part of nature. While this belief is noble, in reality, it may never be adopted by humanity. Humans are an integral part of the landscape, and to ignore their continued use of riparian habitats is to ignore not only potential impacts, but also the possibility of successful habitat management. Conservation Develop a conservation strategy for which the status of riparian habitats is assessed, and management practices and other conservation actions are identified.