Important Bird Areas (IBAs), are sites that provide essential habitat to one or more species of birds during some portion of the year (nesting areas, crucial migration stop-over sites, or wintering grounds). IBAs may be a few or even thousands of acres, but usually are discrete sites that stand out from the surrounding landscape. IBAs may include public or private lands, or both, and they may be already protected or not. IBA Protection Although the IBA program has no regulatory authority, it protects birds by making more people aware of the importance of essential habitat areas, and by promoting public and private commitment to bird-friendly land and resource management.
