The PIF International Science Committee meets once a year. The picture was taken during the 2023 meeting.
The PIF International Science Committee is an open forum of scientists from universities, NGOs, and agencies in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Central America dedicated to advancing scientific concepts and approaches for landbird conservation at range-wide and regional scales. The PIF Science Committee develops and maintains all aspects of the PIF Avian Conservation Assessment Database (ACAD) and the Population Estimates Database (PED) and is responsible for the writing and updating of all continental and regional PIF Bird Conservation Plans, as well as Handbooks for the PIF Databases and other technical documents (see Key Resources list at right).
The Science Committee is open to anyone considering landbird conservation issues across large spatial scales. We have 2-hour calls on the 2nd Thursday of every month and usually have a 3-day in-person working meeting once a year. The Science Committee has three active subcommittees that focus on maintaining and updating the Avian Conservation Assessment Database and Population Estimates Database, respectively, and a Migration Ecology Subcommittee (new in 2024). Other significant topics of interest to the Science Committee include full annual-cycle bird conservation and population modeling, landscape conservation design, regional-level species assessment score revisions for the U.S. and Canada for breeding and nonbreeding seasons, and population estimation. The Science Committee is recruiting new members, so please get in touch with the Chairs if you are interested in participating.
Current Science Committee Co-chairs:
Dr. Alaine Camfield, Manager, Priority Places Initiative, Canadian Wildlife Service (Right)
Sarah Kendrick, Migratory Bird Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Left)
A primary activity of the PIF Science Committee is maintaining and updating the Avian Species Conservation Assessment database, including tracking the taxonomy and conservation status of recently split species, such as this California Scrub-Jay. © Brian Sullivan © Brian Sullivan