We’re excited to welcome the Boreal Avian Modelling Project (BAM) to Biodiversity Pathways!
BAM is an international scientific collaboration that develops and disseminates reliable, data-driven and model-based science and products to support migratory bird management and conservation across the boreal region of North America. For over 20 years, BAM has been managed as a collaborative, multi-institutional academic project through the University of Alberta and l’Université Laval. As of April 1, 2025, BAM has become the fourth initiative under Biodiversity Pathways.
With this migration comes a new organizational structure for BAM. We are pleased to announce that Elly Knight will take on the new role of Operational Director for this next chapter. Erin Bayne will move from his role as Steering Committee Lead to Academic Director. The other existing Steering Committee members—Steve Cumming, Diana Stralberg, and Jeff Ball—will form the inaugural members of an Advisory Committee that will provide strategic guidance for BAM.
After 20 years as an extremely successful collaborative project, BAM is excited to enter a new phase of its contributions to boreal bird conservation and we can’t think of a better way to facilitate and deepen those contributions than as part of the Biodiversity Pathways family — Elly Knight, Operational Director
In recognition of its new home, BAM is tweaking its name to the Boreal Avian Modelling Centre. The migration of BAM will bring many efficiencies and new opportunities, including a deepening of existing synergies with Biodiversity Pathways and our affiliate, the ABMI. This move will maintain and improve BAM’s ability to provide long-term science and products to support migratory bird management and conservation across the boreal region of North America.
BAM’s flagship product, their boreal landbird models, are the realization of BAM’s original vision to develop spatially explicit, predictive models of boreal bird habitat associations to support land use planning and avian conservation across the nearctic boreal forest. Over the last two decades, BAM has developed the tools and methodology to harmonize bird survey datasets from across the continent to build boreal-wide abundance models for 143 landbird species. Those landbird models and methods are used for a variety of conservation applications including:
- Estimation of population sizes and habitat associations
- Identification of critical habitat for wide-ranging species at risk
- Supporting sustainable forest management practices
- Protected area prioritization
Visit borealbirds.ca to learn all about BAM.