Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: South Carolina
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The coastal zone of the northern Gulf also supports a diverse array of breeding nearshore seabirds most of which are colonial and nest on islands, marshes, mainland beaches, or human-made structures. Although nest-site fidelity is common among seabirds, the dynamic nature of the coastal zone in the northern Gulf can result in inter-annual shifts in the locations of colonies and in the existence, size, or stability of the islands or habitats that support them.

Overlaid on this dynamic system is a stakeholder network responsible for management of these species and their breeding habitats that includes natural resource agencies from five states, multiple federal agencies (e.g., USFWS, NPS, BLM, DOD, ACOE), and numerous private organizations (e.g., National Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy).

In an effort to coordinate and facilitate the management and conservation of avian taxa throughout this wide range of habitats and across this complex network of stakeholders in the northern Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network (GoMAMN) recently released strategic monitoring guidelines that highlighted the need for a spatial inventory of breeding sites of seabirds in the region.

The development of this Atlas will build from efforts by the Gulf Coast Joint Venture’s Bird Nesting Island Cooperative, and it’s “Atlas” Team. Stakeholders from each Gulf state and from regional NGOs will also be participating.

The Atlas will support inventory, monitoring, management, disaster response, and research. The atlas and register also will be valuable for marine spatial planning issues, including but not limited to sighting wind turbines, scheduling and siting sand-dredging and beach nourishment operations, managing recreation and access, and land/marine conservation planning.