Planning Activities: Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, late February or early March, 1994

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9310860 Bildstein, K. Established in 1934, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the world's oldest refuge for migratory raptors. The Sanctuary straddles the eastern most ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Pennsylvania, along an important migration corridor for 16 species of raptors. Hawk Mountain's 56-year monitoring program for migratory birds of prey has produced the longest and most complete record of raptor migration in the world. The Sanctuary's annual counts of migrating hawks and eagles have proved to be a critical resource in assessing long-term trends in raptor populations in North America. This extensive data base played a key role in exposing organochlorine pesticides as causative agents of declines in several species of predatory birds earlier this century. The Sanctuary's 890 hectares represent the largest preserve of privately-owned and protected secondary growth forest in the central Appalachians. To date, Sanctuary staff and collaborators have contributed more than 75 publications to the scientific literature. Even so, limited housing, laboratory space, and equipment have restricted use of the Sanctuary's long-term record of raptor migration, and its biotic resources by both resident staff and visiting scientists. This project will provide for site visit by consulting scientists to assist Sanctuary staff in developing plans to: (1) improve the management of the site's unique long-term data base; (2) establish a Geographic Information System (GIS); and (3) increase use of the site as a field laboratory for Appalachian ecology. ***