North American Bird Conservation

Initiative

What NABCI is

A vision —

an approach to bird conservation

A Forum —

for working together to make conservation happen

What NABCI is not

• A decision-making authority

• Competitor for conservation funding

• A conservation delivery mechanism

NABCI is a Vision

“Populations and habitats of North America's birds protected, restored, and enhanced through coordinated efforts at international, national, regional, state, and local levels, guided by sound science and effective management.”

U.S. NABCI Committee, September 2000

NABCI Vision grew from realization that: Despite our best efforts, bird populations still

face tremendous threats to long-term health Only through a coordinated, integrated approach

can these large-scale threats be overcome

The proactive, partnership-based bird conservation initiatives of the past 20 years are the framework to build upon

Waterbird Conservation forthe Americas

North American Waterfowl Management Plan

Partners in Flight

United States Shorebird Conservation Plan Resident Game

Bird Working Group

NABCI is a forum for: Initiating and broadening partnerships for bird

conservation Increasing funding for conserving birds in North

America Making partnerships and resources more effective

by fostering integrated bird conservation Building on existing structures such as Joint

Ventures, and stimulating new JV-like structures and mechanisms as appropriate

Developing a common ecological framework for conservation planning and delivery on a landscape scale

What NABCI is

NOT

NABCI Authority and Decision-Making The U.S. NABCI Committee has no legal

authority No single individual or entity has top-down

authority over NABCI and its participants To the degree that there is a NABCI

“organization,” it is designed to serve as a forum to exchange ideas, discuss issues, and help move integrated bird conservation forward

NABCI “Organization” in U.S. U.S. NABCI Committee

Steve Williams, ChairU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Tom Bennet Intl. Assoc. of Fish and Wildlife AgenciesKentucky Fish and Wildlife Agency

David PashleyAmerican Bird ConservancyRepresenting the NGO Subcommittee

Gary MyersTN Wildlife Resources AgencyRepresenting Partners in Flight

Richard BishopIA Department of Natural ResourcesRepresenting the North American

Waterfowl Management Plan

Ellie CohenPoint Reyes Bird ObservatoryRepresenting the U.S. Shorebird

Conservation Plan

Ron GeorgeTexas Parks and WildlifeRepresenting the Migratory Shore and

Upland Game Bird Working Group

Kathy ParsonsManomet Center for Conservation SciencesRepresenting the North American Waterbird

Conservation Plan

Rollie SparroweWildlife Management Institute

Bob EllisVA Dept. of Game and Inland FisheriesRepresenting the National Flyway Council

Val MezainisUSDA Forest Service, Intl. ProgramsRepresenting the Federal Agency

Subcomm.

Rebecca FrankRepresenting the Joint Venture Management

Board Chairs

John FramptonSC Department of Natural ResourcesRepresenting the Resident Game Bird

Working Group

Scott YaichDucks Unlimited

NABCI Subcommittees/Working Groups• Staff Committee

• Federal Agency Subcommittee

• NGO Subcommittee

• State Subcommittee

• Monitoring Working Group

• Communications Working Group

• National Coordinator, Bob Ford

NABCI “Organization” at regional, state, and local levelsNone is needed!

Partners work through existing organizations and coalitions

Joint Ventures undertaking all-bird conservation

NABCI “Organization” Tri-nationally

Tri-national NABCI Committee

3 representatives each from Mexico, Canada, and United States

United States Representatives:

Paul Schmidt – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

George Fenwick – American Bird Conservancy

Gary Myers – Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

NABCI in Canada and Mexico Both countries have national

committees NABCI and integrated bird

conservation have evolved differently from U.S.

NABCI in Central and South America NABCI currently focused on U.S., Canada,

and Mexico However, more than 330 species spend two-

thirds of year migrating through and wintering in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean

Some bird conservation initiatives and many partner organizations work there already

NABCI has the flexibility to expand in future

Bird conservation funding: Very limited funding dedicated to NABCI

itself: NABCI Coordinator position Communications Partner organization staff time and in-kind

contributions Partners are not bound by funding directives Increasing conservation funding is a priority However, on-the-ground funding will NOT

go “through” NABCI

Conservation delivery mechanism NABCI as an “organization” does

not deliver conservation on the ground

This is done through the agencies, organizations, and partnerships that are best suited to deliver it

Examples

What NABCI is doing to further bird conservation Bird Conservation Regions Action Plan

Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) Ecologically distinct regions in North America

with similar bird communities, habitats, and resource management issues

Developed in 1998 to: facilitate communication among the bird conservation

initiatives systematically and ecologically apportion Canada, the

U.S., and Mexico into conservation units facilitate a regional approach to bird conservation promote new, expanded, or restructured partnerships identify overlapping or conflicting conservation priorities

NABCI Action Plan

Developed by U.S. NABCI Committee

Priority focus of efforts at national level

Action: Secure a source of funding for upland bird conservation projects

• Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act

• State Wildlife Grants Program

• Farm Bill Conservation Programs

• Landowner Incentive Program

• Others

Action: Increase appropriations to federal agencies to allow them to achieve their bird conservation objectives

• Increase of $215 million being sought

• Will allow federal agencies to deliver their bird conservation responsibilities

Action: Assure that state wildlife agencies have the capacity to allow them to appropriately contribute to achieving bird conservation objectives

• State wildlife grants/CARA

• State all-bird conservation workshops

• Others

Action: Achieve comprehensive national coverage by effective bird conservation partnerships such as Joint Ventures

Joint Venture Partnerships

Regionally based coalitions of public and private orgs developed under the NAWMP

Accepting challenge of being the mechanism for carrying out multiple bird conservation plans using an integrated approach

Staff hired in several BCR’s to work closely with JVs to develop technical capacity and collaborative planning needed

Staff also hired to work in some regions not covered by existing JVs to develop similar partnerships and capabilities

Waterfowl Habitat Areas

of Major ConcernNAWMP

1986

Joint Ventures(in green)NAWMP

1996

Joint Ventures and Other Bird Conservation Partnerships

2002

Action: Maintain the health and vitality of the bird conservation initiatives

• Funding for adequate staffing and assurance of continued broad participation

• Serve as perennial source of best biological information

Action: Increase the capacity of U.S.-based organizations to contribute to effective bird conservation internationally

• Completion of Tri-national MOU

• Broaden awareness within U.S. Bird conservation community of obligations outside U.S.

Action: Develop and implement a communication strategy

• Strategy completed• Products

1. Web site: www.nabci-us.org2. Q&A3. This presentation4. Case studies

• Help secure continued increases in bird conservation funding

• Develop collaborative conservation communications efforts

Action: Nurture a system capable of adequately monitoring all of the birds of the country

• Increase capacity for assessing population status

• Improve understanding of population responses to management activities

• Use monitoring results in an adaptive context

Action: Work toward an agricultural policy that provides significant benefits for bird populations

• Improve accessibility to existing programs

• Develop tools and information for delivering bird conservation through private lands programs

• Continue to tie programs to bird conservation plans

www.nabci-us.orgBob Ford, U.S. NABCI Coordinator

US Fish and Wildlife Service4401 North Fairfax Drive

MBSP-4075Arlington, VA 22203

Phone: 703-358-1784

Fax: 703-358-2282

Robert_P_Ford@fws.gov

Canvasback

Snowy Egret

Prothonotary WarblerNorthern Saw-whet Owl

Marbled Godwit

Blue Grouse