The Short-billed Dowitcher is listed as a species of
high conservation concern in the U. S. Shorebird Conservation Plan (Brown
et al. 2001). The eastern Canadian race (Limnodromus griseus griseus)
has declined significantly, and the central Canadian race (L. g. hendersoni)
has probably declined (Brown et al. 2001, Donaldson et al. 2001). Although formal
trend data for the Alaskan form (L. g. caurinus) are lacking, several researchers
are concerned that numbers have declined, especially over the past decade (J.
Jehl, R. Gill, and G. Page, pers. obs.). Morrison et al. (2001)
estimated the population size of L. g. caurinus at about 150,000, but Jehl
et al.’s (2001) subsequent re-analysis
of the same data sets suggests a population of only about 75,000. This revised
estimate yields a conservation priority score of 4 (i.e., high conservation concern)
for the caurinus race.
