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

Science-based management of horseshoe crabs and shorebirds bears directly on national and regional conservation priorities, specifically the USFWS Strategic Habitat Conservation Initiative, the DOI Adaptive Management Initiative, and proactive species conservation to preclude listing under the Endangered Species Act. This project contributes to meeting high-priority needs in the National Shorebird Plan, BCR 30 Draft Plan, DE State Wildlife Action Plan, and NJ State Wildlife Action Plan. Objectives: (1) develop multi-species predictive models that link horseshoe crab and shorebird dynamics to management alternatives; (2) evaluate the models by comparing to historic data and evaluating the underlying assumptions; (3) predict consequences of a set of management alternatives that are relevant to current management decisions; (4) use these models to identify state-dependent management action that are optimal with respect to specified objectives; and (5) report and interact with a working group of horseshoe crab and shorebird experts and stakeholders who are collaborating on adapive management.