WHSRN Template

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) was established in 1985 as biologists became increasingly aware of the critical role of migratory staging and stopover sites for shorebirds. Today the Network comprises 57 sites in 7 countries. Nonetheless there have been continued widespread declines in shorebird populations, and conservation action is urgently required. In fact, some birds such as the new world race of Red Knots will become extinct within our lifetimes if current population trends continue. On the positive side, completion of shorebird conservation plans in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico add new resources to shorebird conservation.

To invigorate WHSRN and elaborate a 5-year strategy for making it as powerful as possible, a thorough review of the Network’s mission, conservation vision, structure, was undertaken. The document that follows is the result of that study.

WHSRN’s mission is to conserve shorebird species and their habitats across the Americas through a network of key sites. The vision is that sites in sufficient number, quality, and location are designated and managed to sustain all native shorebird species and their current populations throughout the Americas.

WHSRN’s goals are to:

1). ensure that the Network’s conservation actions are the effective and appropriate application of the best available information;

2). implement shorebird conservation action at Network sites throughout the Americas;

3). create and maintain informed, involved, empowered and interconnected human communities at Network sites; and

4) become the strongest network of sites possible.

Within each of these goals, specific objectives for 2004-2008 are described. The work programs for the Network derive from these objectives.

Three groups are the primary implementers of the Network’s mission. These are Site Partners, the people on the ground at each WHSRN site; Network Partners, the organizations that support the Network overall; and the Technical Committees, providing support to both Members and Partners. The detailed roles and responsibilities of these groups are described in detail in Appendix I.

Leadership for the Network occurs at a variety of scales, as appropriate to the needs and wishes of the Site and Network partners. The Hemispheric Council is the body ultimately responsible for the entire network and matters affecting the WHSRN program as a whole. Geographically dispersed International Councils, and in many cases, National Councils, design and implement pertinent activities that contribute to the achievement of the Network’s mission. The roles and responsibilities of these councils are also described in detail in Appendix I, and an organizational chart is shown in Appendix II. The existing WHSRN Council will serve as an interim body as the several councils are organized.

The Network’s Coordinating Office is a function of the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences (hereafter: Manomet) and provides core services supporting the Network’s constituents. Financial responsibility for funding the Coordinating Office is shared among the Manomet and the Network Partners. Membership on the Hemispheric Council generally carries a direct obligation to support the Network’s core functions financially though no otherwise qualified Hemispheric Council candidate will be rejected because of an inability to make a financial contribution.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) was established almost 20 years ago. Biologists were becoming increasingly aware of the critical role of both stopover sites and wintering areas for shorebirds. These are the en route places where shorebirds gain the fuel needed for migration and where significant numbers spend the non-breeding season.. Many are irreplaceable; losing them will decrease the viability of the species that use them. WHSRN was created to identify these areas and promote their conservation through recognition of an international network of sites.

Since its inception, 57 sites in 7 countries have been enrolled in the Network. “Sites” may differ in scale: they may be a single basin or section of shoreline, a series of wetlands, or a large piece of a landscape. No matter, each must meet WHSRN’s scientifically based criteria and qualify as “hemispheric” (used by over 500,000 shorebirds/yr or greater than 30% of a flyway population), “international” (>100,000/yr or >10%) or “regional” (>20,000/yr, or at least 5%) significance. Enrollment in the Network also requires that the site’s stakeholders be in agreement with this action. New sites meeting these criteria are actively encouraged to become part of the Network.

Over time, the WHSRN designation has come to be recognized internationally as a symbol of a site’s critical conservation importance for shorebirds. In addition to the international attention brought to sites, belonging to the Network also expands the capacity of the sites, including their neighboring communities and conservation partners, to achieve tangible conservation results.

In more recent years concern over shorebird populations has been even more broadly expressed than at the time of the Network’s founding. For example, the 2003 International Wader Study Group Conference held in Cádiz, Spain, reported that the majority of the world’s shorebird species of known population trends are in decline. Twenty-two of North Americas 74 shorebird species are in significant decline. Population trends for species such as Red Knot and American Golden-Plover are sharply downward. Indeed it is suggested that unless the current trend is reversed, the New World race of Red Knots will be extinct within our lifetimes.

On the positive side, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have completed national shorebird conservation plans. To benefit shorebirds, these plans must result in improved management on the ground, and WHSRN serves an important role in this.

A thorough reexamination of the Network’s purpose, and structure, was initiated in May, 2003 to ensure that the Network was well-adapted to changes since its creation and to craft a strategy for the ensuing five years. This document is the result of discussions among many individuals who have been close to WHSRN and to shorebird conservation over a number of years, and has benefited by the review and comments of many people, listed in the Acknowledgments. The document outlines WHSRN’s mission, vision, goals, and operating strategy in the context of the current state of shorebird conservation, including that for individual species as well as conservation programs that may have overlapping goals.

II. A BRIEF HISTORY OF WHSRN

The idea for an international “series of protected areas linking key sites” for shorebirds throughout their range was first proposed Guy Morrison of the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) in 1982 at an International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau (IWRB) symposium. The original concept, for totally protected “sister parks,” was intimately connected with the CWS atlas work done by Morrison and Ken Ross, quantifying the use of the South American “wintering” grounds by shorebirds breeding in Canada, as well as with work of the International Shorebird Surveys operated out of Manomet Observatory [now Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences]. The idea was developed by J.P Myers, then at National Audubon Society, with Morrison and other researchers.

From the first, WHSRN’s governance has consistently been through a voluntary, representative Council. The first Council meeting included representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), CWS, the Suriname Forest Service, Manomet, the University of Córdoba, Argentina, and IAFWA. Many of these have been key institutional partners and leaders throughout WHSRN’s history. Many other organizations have also made important contributions, especially at the regional level, both in recruiting and supporting site nominations and in expanded shorebird conservation actions. WHSRN’s Coordinating Office, under a variety of names, has been variously housed over the years at the following organizations and locations: Wildlife Habitat Canada (Ottawa); Wetlands International (Buenos Aires, Argentina); National Audubon Society (New York City, USA); and Manomet (Massachusetts, USA).

As a result, WHSRN sponsored the launching of Wetlands for the Americas (WA). It was incorporated in July 1993. WA’s mission was broader than WHSRN’s, focusing on wetlands not only as habitats of importance to waterbirds (broadly defined), but especially as crucial for human societies. Geographically, WA concentrated on South America. In 1995, WA joined with IWRB in Europe and the Asian Wetland Bureau in Asia to create the global Wetlands International (WI) organization. WHSRN was maintained as a program within the WI structure. Unfortunately, this step coincided with an economic downturn that meant supporting both shorebird conservation and the greatly broadened mission became untenable. This, and the recognition of continued declines in shorebird populations, required a return to the concept of a network of crucially important shorebird sites. In 2000, WHSRN and WI separated, with WHSRN returning in its entirety to Manomet. Today, the two organizations retain a collaborative relationship.

Three key documents were created in the 1990s to identify sites meeting WHSRN’s criteria as a first step toward expanding and strengthening the Network. In 1991 Morrison et al. published a CWS Technical Report entitled “Potential Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network sites for migrant shorebirds in Canada,” updated with a second edition in 1995. Also in 1995, Harrington and Perry published “Important Shorebird Staging Sites Meeting Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Criteria in the United States” with support from the USFWS and Wildlife Habitat Canada. In 1998, Blanco and Canevari published a report to CWS entitled “Identifying Wetlands of Critical Value to Shorebirds in South America.” These publications, along with Morrison and Ross’s 1989 “Atlas of Nearctic shorebirds on the Coast of South America,” though rapidly becoming dated, are still the most thorough summaries of the sites that deserve inclusion in WHSRN.

In 1995, representatives of the Network’s sites and partners met in Ottawa, Canada to outline strategic issues and develop forward action plans. One of the most important outcomes of that meeting was the recognition that national shorebird conservation plans were needed to provide a broad foundation for shorebird action. In 1998, Manomet, as WHSRN’s Coordinating Office, received a grant from the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s Division of Federal Aid to develop the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan It was completed through a broad-based process and published in 2000, with a slightly revised 2nd edition in 2001. The Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan was developed and completed in 2000, and the Mexican Shorebird Plan is in draft form as of this writing. With the completion of these plans, WHSRN no longer had to be “all-things-shorebird,” but could again focus on the power of its original conception.

III. WHSRN MISSION AND VISION

Mission: to conserve shorebird species and their habitats across the Americas through a network of key sites.

Two critical words in this mission statement are “network” and “sites.” WHSRN seeks to accomplish shorebird conservation by engaging in actions collaboratively, actions that no one site could undertake on its own, but where a collection of sites—a network—can achieve results. Similarly, WHSRN emphasizes activities that are site-based rather than trying to be involved in all aspects of shorebird conservation.

Vision: Sites in sufficient number, quality, and location are designated and managed to sustain all native shorebird species and their current populations throughout the Americas.

IV. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

WHSRN site designation and conservation action are based on the appropriate application of the best available information.

Site-based conservation is the centerpiece for accomplishing WHSRN’S mission within the larger ecological context of each site.

Traditional and local ecological knowledge and cultural practices are recognized, valued and respected.

Integration and collaboration at local, national and international scales with other conservation groups and programs enhances WHSRN’s capacity to achieve its vision.

Communication and voluntary partnerships are key to an effective network and achieving common conservation goals.

Shorebirds, as a group, are extraordinarily migratory and frequently highly concentrated at a relatively small number of places. Their vast breeding grounds and the remote areas where they spend their non-breeding season also face severe threats. The underpinning of WHSRN’s conservation strategy is two-fold. First, shorebird conservation requires site-based action at a grand, indeed, hemispheric, scale. Second, the power of WHSRN is the power of cooperation: to be able to accomplish goals as an interconnected group of places and groups that could not be accomplished by the sum of the separate efforts of these people and organizations. Thus, the goals and objectives presented in this document were selected for being site-based, and best accomplished through a network of partners acting in concert.

A. Conservation Planning

Goal: Ensure that the Network’s conservation actions are the effective and appropriate application of the best available information.

Objectives

1) develop a ranking of shorebird species of greatest conservation concern that can be applied uniformly across the Hemisphere, including for resident species as well as Nearctic and austral migrants;

2) identify and rank threats, and sources of threats, to Network sites with special attention to multi-site threats that have the greatest potential to dramatically degrade shorebird habitats or reduce shorebird populations;

3) prioritize new and existing sites based on declining and at-risk species, threats, and feasibility of action;

4) identify knowledge gaps hindering conservation action and approaches for filling them;

5) develop approaches for timely, anticipatory mitigating conservation action in cases where potential irreversible losses outpace completion of scientific studies; and

6) evaluate benefits to shorebirds and habitats from projects undertaken at Network sites.

C. Shorebird Conservation Communities

Goal: Create and maintain informed, involved, empowered and interconnected human communities at Network sites.

Objectives

1) create linkages between/among sites to leverage conservation resources and action around shared species, threats, or other themes;

2) increase conservation capacity at Network sites as needed;

3) provide Network communities with needed tools for promoting conservation and addressing threats (e.g. education and outreach; staff training; equipment; monitoring protocols);

4) enhance and facilitate regional and hemispheric cooperation for shorebird conservation;

5) disseminate information about current and emergent threats to shorebird populations and habitat;

6) provide a hemispheric context to inform and motivate local, state/provincial, and national governments;

7) help Network sites integrate shorebird research and monitoring with other monitoring and conservation research programs; and

8) create a template or guide for a site-management plan that explicitly includes stakeholder input from indigenous peoples and others with local ecological knowledge and cultural values.

D. Strengthening the Network

Goal: Become the strongest network of sites possible to meet the challenges and threats to shorebirds.

Objectives:

1) review Network site criteria including development of categories for dispersed species and breeding areas;

2) identify new sites meeting WHSRN criteria;

3) expand the network of member sites to include all staging and stopover sites meeting the criteria;

4) expand the Network to include areas of breeding and “wintering”;

5) expand the Network to include areas important for species with dispersed migrations
6) provide all communications in Spanish as well as English.

VI. IMPLEMENTATION

While the sites are the backbone of WHSRN, three groups are critical for the implementation of this five-year strategy, as well as future plans. These are Site Partners, the people on the ground at each WHSRN site, Network Partners, the organizations that support the Site Partners and the Network overall, and the Advisory Committees. In this last category is the Scientific Advisory Committee, providing scientific support to both Members and Partners. The detailed roles and responsibilities of these groups are described in detail in Appendix I. Each will develop its own annual work program that will be approved by the appropriate governing body described in the following section.

Site Partners are the grassroots, site-based component of the network where on-the-ground work occurs. Sites may have multiple public and/or private owners and may or may not receive some level of legal protection. Community-based organizations, including local conservation and “Friends groups,” often support and enhance the site’s conservation work.

Network Partners are organizations that play a key role in the operational aspects of the Network throughout its entirety, or at least on a broad geographic basis, through one or more of the work program components. Partners from throughout the hemisphere and for all aspects of the work program are essential to WHSRN’s effectiveness.

Partner organizations provide connections, services and/or support to a number of sites on either a geographic (i.e. a large region) or thematic (e.g. training, education programs) basis. Partners include government agencies, non-profit organizations, governing bodies for indigenous peoples, academic centers, businesses and related conservation consortia.

The Advisory Committees are created by the Hemispheric Council to address specific needs, in areas such as science, and education and outreach. To date only one has been created: the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). This committee provides the scientific foundation and support for WHSRN’s goals and operation. It includes leading shorebird and conservation scientists from throughout the Americas and is chaired by one its members, nominated by the SAC and confirmed by the Hemispheric Council.

VII. LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Leadership of WHSRN is implemented at several scales. The WHSRN Hemispheric Council is the body ultimately responsible for the entire Network and matters affecting the WHSRN program as a whole. Geographically dispersed International Councils, and in many cases, National Councils, design and implement pertinent activities that contribute to the achievement of the Network’s mission. Communication among the several components and levels of WHSRN’s structure is a shared responsibility of all participants. The detailed roles and responsibilities of these councils are described in Appendix I, and schematized in Appendix II in the form of an organizational chart. The structure is designed to serve the conservation needs of the Site Partners, and that service is the test of the structure.

The Hemispheric Council acts as “the keeper of the program.” The Hemispheric Council is responsible for the overall direction and well-being of WHSRN and its progress in achieving its mission and vision. As a result, the Hemispheric Council oversees the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans. The Council is broadly representative of each of the major geographic regions in which the Network operates, and may include representation from groups elsewhere, such as the East Asian-Australasian Shorebird Site Network, with shared interests and shorebirds. The Council is chaired by one of its own members, elected by the Council, and it may establish other offices, such as Vice-Chair and Corresponding Secretary. The Hemispheric Council may create an Executive Committee and/or other committees as needed.

To ensure the effectiveness of the Network, most members of the Hemispheric Council are drawn from the highest levels of governments and influential bodies of their respective regions. Members of the Hemispheric Council ensure that funds are available for core WHSRN activities as well as those associated with the strategic plan. Thus, membership on the Hemispheric Council generally carries a direct obligation to support the Network’s core functions financially. Nonetheless, no otherwise qualified Hemispheric Council candidate will be rejected because of an inability to make a financial contribution.

The Hemispheric Council conducts its routine business through electronic communication (e-mail, fax, and teleconferencing, for instance) whenever possible to avoid the great expense of travel to meetings across such an enormous geography. Face-to-face meetings remain irreplaceable, however, and are scheduled at least biennially, coinciding with related international meetings whenever possible.

International Councils are formed when needed by Site Partners and Network Partners. International Councils act at an intermediate scale: larger than countries but smaller than the entire hemisphere. The regions may be nearly continental in scale (e.g. North America), or may comprise a group of countries with a shared sense of place, history or culture (e.g. Mesoamerica, the Andean Southern Cone). In either case, the composition and specific geography of these councils are designed and led by the relevant Site Members and Network Partners to meet their needs.

Each International Council is represented on the Hemispheric Council. Communication about vision, objectives, goals, needs, and successes at the International level, therefore, is a shared responsibility of the International Council and its representative to the Hemispheric Council. International Councils select their own chairs and set meeting schedules and structures that best meet their own needs. The International Councils may also create Executive Committees and/or other committees as needed.

National Councils and potentially even finer scale groups may be established to support shorebird conservation, support Site Partners, suggest new WHSRN sites, design and direct works programs and/or promote the Network where deemed necessary or desirable. This decision is based in the given country, considering its particular needs and opportunities. The National Councils, in turn, may be represented on an appropriate International Council if such exists, and again, share responsibility for communication with their representative. National Councils for some large and active nations may chose to participate directly with the Hemispheric Council, either instead of, or in addition to, an International Council. An example of how a WHSRN National Council might operate is given for Canada in Appendix III.

The Coordinating Office provides core staff and services to the Network’s Members, Partners, governing Councils, and the Scientific Advisory Committee, for the implementation of the Strategic Plan and work programs. For most of the Network’s history, Manomet has been WHSRN’s Coordinating Office, in whole or in part. A more detailed list of responsibilities is found in Appendix I.

The Coordinating Office staff minimally consists of two positions: a Director and an Outreach Coordinator. These individuals are employed by, or under contract to, Manomet, and are supervised by Manomet, with input from the Hemispheric Council.

The Director focuses on ensuring that the priority items in the conservation action objectives are met, which means s/he works closely with implementing agencies to solve problems and support delivery. The Director also is responsible for maintaining close communications with the Hemispheric, International and National councils, the Scientific and other Advisory committees, and a variety of partners including national wildlife agencies, and related joint ventures and conservation initiatives. The Director ensures that all core services of the Coordinating Office meet WHSRN needs, with special attention to Network fundraising and visibility campaigns.

The Outreach Coordinator is responsible for Network communications and visibility. Two key components of the communications system are the website and WHSRNews, a newsletter that keeps the various Councils, and Partners up-to-date on developments and Network site accomplishments in shorebird and habitat conservation. In addition, s/he supports the sites’ educational and outreach programs by working with Partners to provide materials and publications, support dedications, festivals and other events, and assist local organizations in developing and reporting community activities. S/he provides support to WHSRN for relevant conservation action objectives.

All-WHSRN meeting. With so many people involved at so many levels, it is important to bring all participants together from time to time to ensure consistency and cohesion toward achieving the Network’s Mission. Every five years, all WHSRN Partners, and Hemispheric, International and National councils will gather for a Network meeting to assess progress towards goals, stimulate new initiatives and adopt the strategic plan for the coming five years.

VIII. BUDGETS

Funds for the Network’s operations come from Network Partners, including government agencies in the states, provinces, and countries where the Network operates. WHSRN leverages these funds and others through new revenue sources, including from individual donors, foundations, and corporations. WHSRN itself, however, is not fundamentally a source of project funding. In the past, the costs of operating the Coordinating Office have been borne largely by Manomet, supplemented with general operating grants for WHSRN and project-specific grants and contracts. It is now expressly agreed that funding of the coordinating office is a shared responsibility of Manomet, the Hemispheric Council, and other key Network Partners.

IX. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This document has been the work of many people, listed below, through their ideas, writing, and careful reviews. Many others also shared their thoughts in a variety of ways. We are grateful to them all.

Samuel Amorós Kohn (Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, Perú)
Robert Anderson (United States Army)
Brad Andres (United States Fish & Wildlife Service)
Stephen Brown (Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, United States)
Joseph Buchanan (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)
Jack Capp (United States Forest Service)
Luis Fernando Castillo (Asociación Calidris, Colombia)
Gil Cintron (United States Fish & Wildlife Service)
Rob Clay (Guyra Paraguay)
James Corven (Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, United States)
Garry Donaldson (Canadian Wildlife Service)
Loney Dickson (Canadian Wildlife Service)
Charles Duncan (Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, United States)
Guillermo Fernández (Simon Fraser University, Canada)
George Finney (Canadian Wildlife Service)
Robert Gill (United States Geological Survey)
Patricia González (Fundación Inalafquen, Argentina)
Catherine Hickey (Point Reyes Bird Observatory, United States)
Linda Leddy (Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, United States)
Carol Lively (United States Fish & Wildlife Service)
Heidi Luquer (Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, United States)
R. I. G. Morrison (Canadian Wildlife Service)
Brian Millsap (United States Fish & Wildlife Service)
Herb Raffaele (United States Fish & Wildlife Service)
Terrell D. Rich (Partners in Flight, United States)
Paul Schmidt (United States Fish & Wildlife Service)
David Smith (United States Fish & Wildlife Service)
Bryan Swift (New York State Dept of Environmental Conservation, United States)
Xicotencatl Vega (Pronatura Noroeste, México)
Francisco Rilla (Universidad Católica, Uruguay)\
Len Ugarenko (International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, United States)
Steve Wendt (Canadian Wildlife Service)

Monica Abril (Universidad Nacional Patagónica San Juan Bosco, Argentina)
Alexandra Aparicio (Asociación Calidris, Colombia)
Daniel Blanco (Wetlands Internacional, Argentina)
Pedro Blanco (Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Cuba)
Kerem Ali Boyla (Birdlife International, Ecuador)
Susan Davis (Museo Noel Kempff M., Bolivia)
Joni Ellis (Optics for the Tropics, United States)
Aurea Estrada (DUMAC México)
Adrian Farmer (USGS, United States)
Silvia Ferrari (Universidad Nac. Patagónica Austral, Argentina)
Oscar González (Grupo Aves del Perú)
Gladys Guerrero (Asociación Patagónica Ornitológica, Argentina)
Mario Guerrero (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México)
Maria de los Ángeles Hernández (Centro Nacional Patagónica, Argentina)
Ricardo Ibarra P. (Environmental Ministry, El Salvador)
Alina Olalla Kerstupp (FCB/UANL – Pronatura NE, México)
Rick Lanctot (USFWS, United States)
Miguel Lentino (Sociedad Audubon de Venezuela)
Marchal Lingaard (Suriname Forest Service)
Rob McCall (BBC-- Planet Earth Series, UK)
Claudia Macías (Pronatura Chiapas, México)
Juan Carlos Martínez (Alianza por las Aves, Nicaragua)
David Mehlman (The Nature Conservancy, United States)
Raye Nilius (National Wildlife Refuge System, United States)
Otte Ottema (Stinasu, Suriname)
Clemencia Rodner (Sociedad Audubon de Venezuela)
Dana Roth (United States Department of State)
Zonia Sawicki (Fundación Inalafquen, Argentina)
Roberto Schlatter (Universidad Austral de Chile)
Maria Paula Schneider (Universidad Federal Do Pará, Brazil)
Iván Darió Valencia (Ramsar Convention)
George Wallace (American Bird Conservancy, United States)

Site Partners are responsible for:
• making shorebird conservation among the highest priorities at the site;
• protecting and managing habitat to benefit shorebirds;
• updating contact and other information for the WHSRN website and database annually on request.

Additional responsibilities may include:

A. Local/ Site Based Activities
• cooperating among multiple land-owners;
• encouraging and expanding community stakeholder participation;
• monitoring shorebird population and habitat (using standard protocols);
• maintaining communication with appropriate existing shorebird conservation efforts at various spatial scales or levels of organization;
• participating in and supporting research projects; and
• providing community education/outreach/support.

B. Participating in local implementation of Network-wide programs:
• keeping their page on WHSRN’s website current through annual updates;
• linking any appropriate webpages of their own to WHSRN’s;
• awareness campaigns;
• fundraising; and
• training and conservation education courses.

C. Participating in site-linking initiatives:
• communication with appropriate national and/or international Councils, and the Coordinating office;
• collaborative fundraising and outreach;
• joint approaches to threat abatement; and
• personnel exchanges: staff, local community members, friends groups.

NETWORK PARTNERS

Network Partners are responsible for:

• facilitating working partnerships between their organization and WHSRN;
• assisting in identification of new Network sites
• representing WHSRN within their organization;
• supporting Site Partners;
• assisting in identifying sites qualifying/needed for inclusion in the Network;
• maintaining communication with appropriate existing shorebird conservation efforts at various spatial scales or levels of organization
• delivering WHSRN services to their constituency; and
• collaborating with other partners on WHSRN programs and fundraising.

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE (TO THE HEMISPHERIC COUNCIL)

The roles of the SAC include:
• making recommendations about the appropriate role of the Network relative to conservation of shorebirds using dispersed areas, be they for breeding, stopover, staging or post-breeding;
• developing and maintaining scientific criteria for shorebird sites to qualify for inclusion in the Network;
• reviewing site nominations against the scientific criteria and making recommendations for nomination action;
• providing a conceptual framework for analysis of threats to Network sites and shorebird species and prioritization of conservation actions;
• assisting in identification of new Network sites;
• providing scientific information for sites requiring advocacy or requesting support from WHSRN;
• linking monitoring at WHSRN sites with standardized national and international programs (e.g. Program for Regional &International Shorebird Monitoring and Committee for Holarctic Shorebird Monitoring);
• linking shorebird science information to other relevant information;
• evaluating identified information needs and making recommendations to the International and Hemispheric Councils;
• linking of research at WHSRN sites to complementary science programs; and
• nominating its own members and chair for Hemispheric Council action.

HEMISPHERIC COUNCIL

The Hemispheric Council has:

A. Programmatic responsibilities including

• identifying hemispheric challenges to shorebird conservation;
• developing and approving the WHSRN strategic plan and keeping it current;
• collaborating with the Network and Coordinating Office to establish work programs appropriate to implementing the Network’s strategic plan;
• maintaining communication with appropriate existing shorebird conservation efforts at various spatial scales or levels of organization
• coordinating with the International Councils and integration of their work programs;
• ensuring communication,, coordination, and sharing of accomplishments among Members and Partners;
• identifying opportunities for collaboration within the Network and with related groups, including other NGOs, Important Bird Area programs, and Conventions such as Ramsar and the Convention on Migratory Species; and
• assessing the status and effectiveness of the Network.

B. Financial and fiduciary responsibilities including

• approving the operating budget for the WHSRN Coordinating Office in collaboration with Manomet;
• identifying both financial needs and potential sources for the Network;
• providing significant direct contribution to Network core operations; and
• raising additional funds for Network’s core operations and conservation activities;

C. Administrative responsibilities including

• acting on new site nominations based on recommendations of SAC and appropriate Network Councils;
• recognizing the WHSRN International and National Councils for each region/country;
• confirming appointments to the Scientific Advisory Committee including chair of that body, based on National/International Council recommendations; and
• organizing Hemispheric Council meetings with support of the Coordinating Office.

INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL COUNCILS

Within their geographic area; the International and National councils are responsible for:

• identifying challenges to shorebird conservation; especially those specific to their geographic area;
• designing and implementing annual Council work consistent with the overall WSHRN strategic plan;
• supporting and implementing appropriate implementation activities in collaboration with site managers;
• coordinating the establishment of councils at a finer geographic scale and integration of their work programs;
• identifying and pursuing funding sources for accomplishing the several work programs;
• ensuring communication and coordination among Member Sites and Partners within the Council’s geographic area;
• identifying opportunities for collaboration within the Network and with related groups within the Council’s geographic area;
• nominating representatives for the Hemispheric Council;
• identifying shorebird conservation priorities and nominating new Network sites in their geographic area;
• nominating members for the Scientific Advisory Committee and any other advisory or ad hoc committees created by the Hemispheric Council;
• supporting Member sites and their conservation actions within the Council’s geographic area; and
• approving membership in their own Council.

COORDINATING OFFICE

The Coordinating Office is a program of Manomet, consistent with the roles and responsibilities described in this document.

The Coordinating Office
• maintains close contact with the Hemispheric Council through its chairperson;
• supports development and implementation of work programs among all network participants, Site & Network Partners, the Scientific Advisory Committee, and the Councils;
• develops its own annual work programs and budget in conjunction with the Hemispheric Council;
• proactively seeks qualified new sites for inclusion in the Network;
• coordinates planning of actions designed to meet objectives in the WHSRN Strategy;
• evaluates progress in achieving the Network’s vision, mission, and objectives;
• maintains Network communications systems; including website;
• attracts financial support for the Network in general, for its sites, projects, and Partners;
• may provide support to the Advisory Committees and the Hemispheric Council for their possible book-keeping and financial reporting needs;
• builds and maintains the Network’s public profile; and
• represents the Network at appropriate events.

MANOMET CENTER FOR CONSERVATION SCIENCES

Manomet is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to conserve natural resources for the benefit of wildlife and human populations. Through research and collaboration, Manomet builds science-based, cooperative solutions to environmental problems.

Manomet
• has served as the “home” of the Coordinating Office in various ways virtually since WHSRN’s inception;
• has a commitment to WHSRN’s Coordinating Office and renews that commitment annually with the Hemispheric Council;
• has fiduciary responsibility for the Coordinating Office;
• supervises the Coordinating Office staff with input from the Hemispheric Council;
• shares responsibility with the Hemispheric Council for funding the Coordinating Office;
• has raised an endowment to support the Coordinating Office in part, and seeks to increase that endowment

APPENDIX II. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

Notes:

1. International and National councils are involved when the Site Partners and/or Network Partners within a nation or group of nations choose to create them.
2. Some Site Partners may work directly with an International Council (lower left branch), others with their respective National Councils (lower right).
3. National Councils for large and active nations may work directly with the Hemispheric Council. They may also choose to be affiliated with an International Council.
4. The Coordinating Office is a program of, and supervised by, Manomet, with input from the Hemispheric Council. It serves to support all elements of the Network.

APPENDIX III

AN EXAMPLE OF A NATIONAL WHSRN COUNCIL: CANADA

In Canada, the framework for shorebird conservation is described in the Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan. WHSRN is seen as a key delivery mechanism for recognizing important shorebird habitats and is an integral part of this framework. The Canadian Shorebird National Working Group (CNSWG) is the body that oversees the implementation of the plan which includes championing the development of WHSRN in Canada. As such, CSNWG is like a national chapter of WHSRN and is called WHSRN-Canada when filling this role. To ensure that the CSNWG and the WHSRN Hemispheric Council are formally connected and in direct communication, there is overlapping membership where the CSNWG Chair is also a member of the Hemispheric Council.

The following is taken from the Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan and describes the role of the Canadian Shorebird National Working Group including its role as promoter of WHSRN in Canada:

The CSCP national working group will support and facilitate coordinated planning and implementation of shorebird conservation at international, national, regional and local levels. Actions will be based on a foundation of science that originates at regional, national and international levels.
As conservation actions must reflect needs across birds’ ranges, the national working group will oversee the development of WHSRN in Canada and will eventually form a Canadian component of a multi-national plan that is hemispheric in scope.

In the Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan, the roles of the CSNWG with respect to WHSRN are listed as:

• representing Canada on the Hemispheric Council including participation in the setting of international biological and management priorities; and,
• encouraging and supporting new Canadian WHSRN site nominations in accordance with established criteria and providing recommendations for action to the WHSRN Advisory Council. (in this role, WHSRN – Canada receives and coordinates nominations in cooperation with the WHSRN SAC and coordinates all activities with the WHSRN Council.)

In Canada, bird conservation is integrated and facilitated through the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI); more specifically, through the Canadian component or NABCI-Canada. Input from shorebird conservation into NABCI is achieved through overlapping membership where a member of the NABCI-Canada Council is represented on CSNWG and the Chair of CSNWG sits on the NABCI-Canada Council.