The following five topics and their action items are the conservation pillars to the Alaska Shorebird Conservation Plan, Version III. For more information on these priority objectives, see pages 21-27 of the Alaska Shorebird Conservation Plan, Version III.

Research Objectives

• Identify and determine the magnitude of factors limiting shorebird populations during breeding and nonbreeding periods of the annual cycle.
• Determine migratory timing, routes, and site use of shorebirds.
• Assess the effects of climate change on shorebird demography.
• Conduct breeding ecology studies on species occupying alpine, boreal, or other rare or difficult-to-access habitats.
• Obtain better estimates of illegal and legal harvest levels for Alaska-breeding shorebirds within Alaska and when outside Alaska.
• Identify effects associated with energy production, mining, disturbance, and other anthropogenic activities on shorebirds.
• Identify and delineate potentially distinct populations of shorebirds breeding in Alaska.
• Develop habitat-based models to predict the abundance and distribution of shorebirds and assess the adaptability of shorebirds to habitat changes.

Inventory and Monitoring Objectives

• Inventory alpine, boreal, and other poorly studied shorebird species.
• Conduct long-term population monitoring efforts (e.g., PRISM).
• Evaluate the efficacy of existing programs (e.g., the Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey [ALMS], Breeding Bird Survey [BBS] program) to monitor shorebird populations.
• Assess the utility of new technologies (e.g., Automated Recording Units, aerial drones, eBird) to determine shorebird presence and abundance.

Habitat Management and Protection Objectives

• Apply abundance and distribution information to identify key shorebird habitats and sites.
• Support land acquisitions, easements, restoration efforts, and conservation designations (e.g., the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, East Asian– Australasian Shorebird Reserve Network, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and Important Bird Areas Programs) for key shorebird sites.
• Minimize loss and degradation of critical shorebird habitats by participating in natural resource planning and management.
• Model the potential effects of climate change on shorebird habitats and identify future potential regions of habitat refugia.

Environmental Education and Public Outreach Objectives

• Raise the profile of shorebirds through public presentations, media outreach, support of shorebird festivals, and collaboration with education programs.
• Develop shorebird-related outreach and media materials.
• Host workshops and outreach events to engage the diverse communities of Alaska in shorebird conservation.
• Encourage the synthesis and reporting of results of Alaskan shorebird studies to scientific and general audiences.
• Promote shorebird education to youth via the Shorebird Sister Schools Program.
• Identify and support ways to involve citizen scientists in shorebird monitoring programs.
• Incorporate principles of good governance in research and outreach efforts.

International Collaboration Objectives

• Foster and participate in cooperative research and monitoring efforts throughout species’ ranges (e.g., Arctic Shorebird Demographics Network, PRISM, Migratory Shorebird Project, and Arctic Birds Breeding Conditions Survey).
• Participate in partnerships to conserve migratory shorebirds and their habitats in the circumpolar Arctic (e.g., the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna working group and initiatives therein), North America (e.g., landscape conservation cooperatives, joint ventures, flyway councils), Western Hemisphere (e.g., Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group), Asia (e.g., East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership), and other partnerships as they arise.
• Coordinate and participate in international, national, and other regional shorebird conservation planning efforts (e.g., Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy, Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative; see other groups listed in Appendix 4).