Background information

Waterfowl Breeding Population Survey of the Central Interior Plateau of B.C.

Breeding waterfowl populations in the central interior of British Columbia (Waterfowl Breeding Population Survey of the Central Interior Plateau of B.C.) have been monitored annually since 2006, cooperatively by the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service Branch (CWS), Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, through a helicopter survey. The survey takes place over eight eco-sections covering a total of 11 million hectares. The survey is accomplished by helicopter using a technique similar to that of the continental Waterfowl breeding population and habitat survey, except that all waterfowl sightings are geo-referenced and associated with a unique habitat type (i.e., stream, wetland, river, lake, agricultural field) to subsequently allow for the determination of habitat-species relationships and the development of landscape habitat-use models.