Project Goals

The goals of the project are fairly simple. We will determine, as far as is possible, the effect of the proposed land exchange on the Marbled Murrelet population. The tools of the analysis may be complex (see explanation of analysis), but our objective is to provide the best possible, and clearest advice for decision-makers.
Another goal is discussion of a wide range of alternatives. The Marbled Murrelet is widely acknowledged as a difficult animal to study. We lack firm information on important issues, such as the numbers of birds, their exact habitat requirements and so on. This means that our analyses of the effects of the proposed land exchange cannot be as precise as we might wish. We have decided to deal with this uncertainty by including all plausible alternatives when considering the biology of the bird.
Finally we intend to make the results of these studies readily available. Data on these pages will be regularly updated as new results are obtained.

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