Population monitoring is the backbone of avian conservation. Without current monitoring data, conservation efforts are likely to be misguided and inefficient. Monitoring is required under federal and state legislative and resource management agency mandates as well as a host of long-range plans, Forest plans, ecoregional plans, preserve management plans, etc. From a global biodiversity perspective, the West hosts many species of birds at or near their greatest regional abundances and therefore has a high, long-term responsibility for conserving these species.