Verifying a decision support tool for reducing the risk of incidental take of birds by forestry operations in Alberta, Canada

In Canada, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 prohibits the unauthorized destruction or disturbance of active migratory bird nests. Such harm occurring unintentionally from activities like forestry operations is referred to as incidental take. As forestry companies have the potential to disturb bird nests as part of their operations, they could benefit from tools for use during operational planning to reduce risk of incidental take. We describe the Breeding Bird Habitat Assessment Tool (BBHAT), an expert-opinion based decision support tool that assigns risk of incidental take based on estimates of total densities of nesting migratory birds within various forest stand types within Alberta as described by forest resource inventories. BBHAT was then improved by using data-driven models derived from collated point count surveys of birds. Strong correlations between expert-based and statistically modelled bird densities were observed, giving confidence to forestry professionals using the tool to avoid harm to nesting birds. In stands where there is greater disagreement, a modified hybrid risk rating that incorporated the uncertainty in expert-opinion and data-driven models was integrated into the tool. BBHAT enables forestry professionals to make more informed decisions about how to reduce their risk of incidental take when conducting their operations.