Creating a Decision Support Tool for Setting Sustainable Raptor Take Limits in a Changing Climate

Raptor populations are already seeing the effects of climate change through impacts on migration biology and vital rates (i.e. changes in the size and composition of a population). However, the decision framework used by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to estimate population trends and set allowable take limits from commercial and recreational activities does not take into account how birds of prey are affected by climate variability. Given that climate change is already impacting raptors, assumptions of unchanging population rates are increasingly unrealistic and cast doubt on predictions of flyway-scale allowable take derived from existing frameworks. Flyway-scale allowable take refers to take limits set for larger-scale population [...]