Alaska’s Important Bird Areas

Our Goals
Conserving birds by identifying, monitoring, and protecting critical bird habitats.
What We’re Doing
Working to conserve areas in Alaska that are vital to breeding, migrating, and wintering birds through community-supported efforts.
River valley with snowy mountains and trees

Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are exactly what their name implies: places or habitats that are essential for bird populations. A global initiative of BirdLife International, implemented by ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ and local partners in the United States, IBAs are an effort to identify and conserve areas that are vital to breeding, migrating, and wintering birds. Because habitat loss is the most serious threat facing bird species across North America and around the world, ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡â€™s IBA program is a site-based initiative to address habitat loss through community-supported conservation. 

To date, ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ has identified 2,758 IBAs (more than 150 of them from Alaska) covering 417 million acres of public and private lands in the United States. Due to the vast, intact habitats in Alaska, there are more globally significant IBAs in this state than in any other.  

They include Teshekpuk Lake/Dease Inlet in the Western Arctic, Bristol Bay (a collection of 27 IBAs that hosts the world’s greatest concentration of seabirds), the globally significant Izembek-Moffet-Kinzarof Lagoons, Safety Sound near Nome, and Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve—home to the largest gathering of Bald Eagles in the world. 

IBAs in Alaska
Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve
Eagle in tree
Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

This area of Southeast Alaska is home to the largest gathering of Bald Eagles in the world.

Bristol Bay
Red salmon school in clear river water
Bristol Bay

Home to dozens of globally significant Important Bird Areas and one of the world’s greatest concentrations of seabird colonies.

Safety Sound
Aleutian Tern.
Safety Sound

This special place is a state-level Important Bird Area with huge significance for people and birds in Western Alaska near Nome.

Mendenhall Wetlands
Mendenhall Wetlands

Taashuyee-Chookan.aani is of outstanding value to waterbirds, songbirds, and raptors, and is a key migratory waterfowl and shorebird stopover location.

Meet Our Project Team:
Man standing in front of cut wood

David Krause

Vice President, ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Alaska

Woman with dog

Lauren Cusimano

Communications Manager, ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Alaska

Woman smiling holding binoculars

Liliana Naves

Director of Conservation

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