'SPECIES OF CONSERVATION CONCERN ' AND THEIR ROLE IN LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT ON THE CENTRAL NIAGARA ESCARPMENT

Credit Valley Conservation has created a list of ‘bird species of conservation concern ’ that were targeted for long-term monitoring to obtain a better understanding of their status and life histories within the watershed. This list of regional bird species was developed through a series of public workshops that combined local and expert knowledge of watershed species. Consideration for inclusion on the list was based on a set of criteria including rarity, habitat stress, population trends and seasonal status. These bird species were used to assess the importance of natural areas as ‘avian hotspots ’ on the Niagara Escarpment. This assessment utilized long-term records of bird populations for a number of sites located in the central region of the Escarpment from Hockley Valley to Georgetown. The relative importance of protected areas within this section of the Escarpment and the Credit Valley watershed will be discussed with respect to bird conservation and the designation of ‘hotspots’. The ‘species of conservation concern ’ procedure will be reviewed, including an explanation and evaluation of the criteria used in the selection process, and the implications of this for wildlife management strategies. The value of developing regional lists of important species and the applications to landscape planning will also be discussed