By Maureen Kelly

The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences began in 1969 as a bird observatory on the south shore of Massachusetts. Today, Manomet’s avian conservation work spans the Americas, with a significant focus around the Gulf of Maine watershed, and the organization is committed to helping communities develop long lasting conservation solutions.

Not long after its founding, Manomet scientists began making an important contribution to understanding bird migrations when they started running the International Shorebird Surveys (ISS) in 1974. At the time of ISS’s inception, scientists lacked information about where birds congregate on their seasonal journeys. Concerned that shorebirds would soon be under pressures from growing human populations in coastal areas, the founders organized a volunteer-based program to identify sites where birds congregate and to determine where and when bird-human conflicts might occur.

The ISS data revealed that there are “huge bottlenecks” for some migrating species where 60 to 80 percent of a population could be in one spot at a time, said Linda Leddy, president of Manomet.

To protect these critical migration sites, Manomet started the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) in 1985. With over 240 organizations involved, WHSRN now also works to protect wintering sites and breeding grounds from Argentina to Alaska for over 70 species of shorebirds.

“There are some very precipitous declines going on right now among shorebirds,” Leddy said.

The ISS and other bird surveys, including the Canadian Maritimes Shorebird Survey, show that about 22 of approximately 70 species that migrate through North America are in trouble. Some could be gone in 40 to 60 years, Leddy added.

Disturbance issues are a major problem for shorebirds, particularly since birds tend to flock to the beach during the summer months along with beach-going humans. Increased coastal development and off-road vehicles are also a threat.

To address the rapid decline of these species, Manomet is coordinating a national monitoring effort to pinpoint the problem areas for certain species. An update to the ISS called the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) will be implemented in the Northeast this year.

In addition to its shorebird conservation work, Manomet runs one of the largest land bird banding programs in North America, as well as programs focused on waterbird conservation, reducing bycatch in marine fisheries, addressing the biological impacts of sprawl, studying the effects of pesticides on wildlife, and preserving biodiversity in northern temperate forests.

Since 1993, Manomet has also had a lower profile mission that aims to promote solutions to environmental problems by bringing together stakeholders—such as town officials, conservation groups, businesspeople, fishermen, government agency personnel and academics—and helping them apply scientific information to best address conservation problems.

Manomet provides a “middle ground, a meeting place for stakeholders who sometimes have some tensions among themselves or see things differently,” Leddy said. It is a “safe place” where stakeholders can air their concerns and differences in a confidential setting.

While Manomet’s staff will help steer stakeholders through the mediation process, the organization’s philosophy is to let stakeholders solve their own problems. To help them negotiate toward mutually agreeable solutions, Manomet brings science to the table. The staff can help put conservation issues into context—for instance, by showing what is happening to a particular species nationwide—and can provide information relating to conservation ideas, management or planning suggestions.

Science is often what’s missing in these debates, Leddy said. For all parties involved to come to an agreement and develop sound solutions, they must have trustworthy science that is not seen as serving any one stakeholder’s needs, she explained. For that reason, Manomet works hard to maintain its neutrality in these discussions.

“People have to first trust us and then trust each other,” she said.

More information about Manomet and its PRISM project is available at www.manomet.org.