INFORMING LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT DECISIONS WITHIN AN IMPERILED NETWORK OF FRESHWATER WETLANDS AND SALINE LAKES USING 30-YEAR TRENDS IN DISTRIBUTIONS OF WATER AND MIGRATORY SHOREBIRDS

Wetlands and saline lakes of the Intermountain West, a predominantly xeric landscape, form a vital network of stopovers for migrating waterbirds that is undergoing a functional decline in recent decades. This decline has coincided with a multidecadal drought across the region, increasing human populations, and alarming declines in shorebird populations across North America. Trends remain unknown across the Intermountain West, and land and water managers across the region need decision support to effectively respond to reduced water availability and aquatic community breakdown. For example, the Great Salt Lake (GSL) in Utah is on the brink of hypersalinity and collapse of the food web as water levels continue to decline. Numerous other key sites have food webs in various stages of collapse creating an imminent threat to shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway. In response, a conservation science and communications program has been created to inform and inspire stakeholders to make decisions in support of migratory shorebirds and other aquatic species. The program aims to identify 30-year trends in shorebird populations by revisiting and expanding surveys of the Intermountain West from 1989-95. Coordinated surveys will occur simultaneously during spring and fall migration for at least three years at 212 sites. Data analyses will characterize 30-year trends and the current distribution of at least 26 shorebirds, in addition to identifying drivers of trends that will be used to identify targets for conservation action at the site, state, and regional levels. Science delivery will include project briefs, publications, and a web-based tool to interact with shorebird data and remotely-sensed surface water distributions. The program has a six-year workplan, and in August 2022 a pilot survey included 110 sites, more than 200 participants and over 350,000 shorebirds counted.