The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) began in 1966 in response to concerns raised by Rachel Carson in her book Silent Spring (published four years earlier) regarding the overuse of pesticides. Carson’s emphasis on the effects DDT had on birds led Dr. Chandler Robbins at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to begin the long-term songbird monitoring program.
The National Park Service is not a formal partner in this large-scale effort, but Indiana Dunes National Park has participated in the surveys since 1993. The route known as “Indiana Dune (35901)" is one of more than 4,100 survey routes across the continental U.S. and Canada (www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/about/). NPS and USGS staff and volunteers have worked together over the past 28 years to document 121 species during these annual surveys.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
