Mind the GAP: Avian responses to conservation investments in California

California’s first-in-flight 30 x 30 initiative aims to support biodiversity by effectively conserving 30% of terrestrial areas and waters by 2030. Given the limitations of land acquisition and management, state decision makers need guidance on the effectiveness of their conservation policies. We are interested in using avian observations from within areas defined by the United States Geological Service Gap Analysis Project to inform resource investment decisions within the state. A lack of accessible data synthesizing biodiversity and conservation makes determining optimal conservation strategy over large landscapes, like California, difficult. Point Blue Conservation Science hosts millions of avian observations on their platform Avian Knowledge Network (AKN) which can be used to fill the gap in high quality data, enabling analysis of where biodiversity and conservation efforts intersect. We will deliver a technical memo detailing differences in bird population trends between protected and unprotected areas, along with a reproducible Github repository and an interactive storymap. This will support Point Blue’s 5 year plan and support land acquisition decisions in relation to California’s conservation goals.