Conservation and Management

Broad-scale conservation actions include formation of an International Piping Plover Recovery Group consisting of U.S. and Canadian representatives from breeding and winter grounds. Individual recovery teams exist in Prairie Canada, Atlantic Canada and the U.S., and the U.S. Great Lakes. To track changes in distribution and abundance and to evaluate recovery efforts, recovery coordinators from different regions have organized three international breeding and winter censuses, conducted every five years since 1991 (Haig et al. in press). Local conservation efforts on breeding sites include closing portions of beaches where birds are nesting, construction of predator exclosures around nests, excluding mammalian predators with fences (sometimes electric) and nesting gulls with string, avian and mammalian predator control, implementing appropriate water level regulation policies, a variety of techniques to control vegetation, addition of gravel, and in some cases, nest translocation to prevent flooding, captive-rearing, and creation of artificial habitat (Haig et al. 1988, Mayer and Ryan 1991a, b, Melvin et al. 1991, Melvin et al. 1992, Powell and Cuthbert 1993, Smith et al. 1993, Prellwitz et al. 1995, Maxson et al. 1996, Powell et al. 1997, Jung et al. 1998). Intensive management at breeding sites is not ideal in that methods are temporary, and the success of certain methods is uncertain and controversial (Mabee and Estelle 2000). Adult birds may be more vulnerable to predation within exclosures (Murphy et al. 2003a) depending on local predators, exclosure size and materials used. Adults may also abandon exclosed nests more frequently (A. Hecht pers. comm.). Nonetheless, management techniques are being assessed and refined and in some cases, activities aimed at increasing nest success have been successful (Murphy et al. 2003a, 2003b). Disturbance factors for wintering birds are poorly known, hence additional techniques may need to be developed and implemented. Development and beach stabilization projects continue despite species threatened and endangered status; however, during planning phase of one recent project in Maryland, Piping Plover habitat was addressed through inter-agency consultation in compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (Hecht and Moser 1998).

Broad-scale conservation actions include formation of inland and Atlantic Piping Plover recovery teams in the U.S. and Canada that set conservation priorities for restoring populations. Local conservation effortson breeding sites include closing portions of beaches where birds are nesting, construction of predator exclosures around nests, avian and mammalian predator control, mitigation of water level regulation policies, vegetation control, and, in some cases, creation of artificial habitat (Haig et al. 1988, Mayer and Ryan 1991a, b, Melvin et al. 1991). Disturbance factors for wintering birds are poorly known, hence additional techniques may need to be developed and implemented.