NABCI Partner Responses to the 5 Game Changing Paradigms
Examples of how American Bird Conservancy is contributing to bringing back 3 Billion Birds through 5 Game Changing Paradigms
1. Unprecedented Coalition to address the Bird Crisis
Since our inception in 1994, ABC has worked through partnerships and remains committed to supporting and developing partnerships throughout the Americas and the Caribbean that will contribute to this coalition. Highlights include: - Decades of support for expanding and sustaining the Migratory Bird Joint Venture (JV) network
to conserve all birds with highlights such as hosting 19 JV employees in seven JVs including the
new Central California Coast JV coordinator, serving on the Management Boards of 11 JVs,
substantial investment in lobbying and advocacy on behalf of funding for JVs, and helping lead
multi-JV efforts to conserve grassland birds.
- For many years, ABC has helped lead, support, and engage with the major bird initiatives
including Partners in Flight (PIF), U.S. Shorebird, and Waterbird Conservation for the Americas.
ABC will participate in upcoming efforts to revitalize the waterbirds initiative.
- ABC has a substantial, long-term commitment to partners in Latin America and the Caribbean
essential to full life cycle conservation. For example, our Latin America Reserve Stewardship
Initiative provides training and grants to partners throughout Latin America and the Caribbean
to help strengthen and sustain those organizations.
- ABC strongly believes in innovative approaches that bring new partners to the coalition. For
example, we recently joined forces with BirdLife International as a U.S. partner. ABC is also Chair
of the Alliance for Zero Extinction allowing us to engage governments across the hemisphere to
allocate Global Environmental Facility funding to the conservation of species on the edge of
extinction and establish relationships that can further conservation of migratory birds and
implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to benefit migratory birds.
ABC is actively working with the NABCI International Committee to mainstream bird
conservation in government policy, sustainable development initiatives, and private investment.
- ABC believes private investors and businesses can be part of this unprecedented coalition. We
are working to develop effective impact investing opportunities across a wide range of
industries including cattle, agroforestry, spices, carbon offsets, charcoal alternatives, cacao and
ecotourism. We will also actively participate in the Bird Friendly Products Coalition led by
Smithsonian. Through our Managed Forest for Birds partnership, ABC brings Sustainable
Forestry Initiative certified organizations to the conservation table representing over 350 million
acres of working forests in the United States and Canada.
- ABC will also expand the coalition by helping make people part of the solution. For example,
ABC is partnering with EPA, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory and others to launch a new initiative on
the Texas Coast focused on educating and engaging beach goers, recreationists, and citizens in
reducing plastic pollution. We will elevate plastic as a major threat to seabirds and shorebirds
and seek expanded opportunities to reduce this threat.
- ABC is committed to bringing birders, photographers and communities to the bird conservation
coalition through our Bird Cities program and webinar series targeting how these groups can
contribute to conservation.
2. Advanced science to identify the “Smoking Guns” of bird declines
- With substantial leadership from ABC staff in the Central Hardwoods JV, we play an active
leadership and research role in the multi-JV Eastern Grassland Bird Murmuration initiative that
will integrate demographic and habitat data into models (comparable to “Smoking Guns”
Science) that inform full annual cycle conservation through understanding cause and effect of
habitat delivery and bird population response.
- As the results of the recent Smoking Guns workshop become more widely available, we will
incorporate species of interest and resulting science into our BirdScapes approach to
conservation (see below).
3. Road Maps for Population Recovery and full life cycle conservation
- Through our BirdScapes focal landscape approach, ABC is working with partners to implement
conservation in priority breeding, wintering and stopover areas at the scale needed to lead to
recovery and to provide linkages for full life cycle conservation. In BirdScapes, we address
habitat needs through protection, improved management, and restoration; implement policies
to support habitat conservation and reduce threats; educate and engage stakeholders; and
bring impact investment dollars to working conservation lands. With partners, ABC has
identified 100 BirdScapes in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean and is currently active in
over 25.
- ABC helped secure funding for and is contributing to leadership and organization of Central and
Mississippi Grassland Bird Summits and will support development and implementation of
resulting conservation road maps. We will Integrate our work in BirdScapes with the road maps
to contribute to large scale conservation.
- ABC is currently working through the PIF Eastern Working Group to advance business plans for
the Caribbean Slope and Highlands PIFV regions, which can contribute to full life cycle
conservation road maps.
- ABC is engaged in a substantial amount of grassland bird conservation throughout the central
and eastern grasslands with many full life cycle connections such as between our work with
ranchers in the Northern Plains and ranchers and ejidos in Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands.
Additionally, ABC is helping lead the JV8 multi-national grassland effort that will span central
grasslands from Canada to Mexico for an unprecedented collaborative approach to recovering
grassland birds.
- ABC will continue to support and expand the very successful Grassland Restoration Incentive
Program (GRIP) with partners in the Oaks and Prairies JV where the concept originated and has
improved over 90,000 acres of grasslands since 2014, and in the Rio Grande, Gulf Coast, and
Northern Great Plains JVs.
- ABC has worked with US State wildlife agencies and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
(AFWA) to develop and implement the Southern Wings program, facilitating support for
wintering grounds conservation for priority migrants identified in state wildlife action plans. To
date, ABC has helped to implement $1M in state funds in seven countries. We will work with
AFWA to help expand Southern Wings to all state agencies.
4. Bold, new legislative agenda (Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, North American Grasslands Conservation Act)
- ABC is advocating for Recovering America’s Wildlife Act and helping to develop a North
American Grasslands Conservation Act.
- ABC is working to pass the Migratory Bird Protection Act to restore the necessary protections for
migratory birds lost through the M-opinion of the existing Migratory Bird Treaty Act and to
establish regulatory contributions to bird conservation through incidental take permits to apply
available best management practices.
- Reducing the major threats to birds must be a part of the recovery effort, and ABC is working
diligently to reduce losses from collisions by passing bird safe building legislation at local, state
and national levels. We will work to implement effective policies related to other major threats
including free-roaming cats, plastics and pesticides that kill billions of birds each year.
- New funding mechanisms will be required, and we will work to create a coalition that can
promote legislation needed to create a Songbird Stamp that can provide funding for
conservation of birds in steepest decline and complement conservation achieved through the
Duck Stamp. We will advocate for expanding the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act to
provide more support for wintering grounds conservation and maintaining robust funding for
the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.
5. Unified messaging to bring back 3 Billion Birds
- ABC will remain an active part of the coalition of bird organizations that came together around
communication related to the Science publication documenting the loss of nearly 3 billion birds.
- ABC will work with this coalition to increase effective marketing for birds, inspiring people to
take action to help reverse bird declines.
- ABC is partnering with Project Learning Tree to develop a curriculum about birds and forests,
and take advantage of novel partnerships such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative to reach the
next generation. Messaging from 3 billion birds will be incorporated.
Audubon’s Commitment to Bringing Back
Grassland Birds and Their Habitats
North American birds are in crisis, with nearly three billion birds lost since 1970. Nowhere are these losses worse
than in the grasslands, where >60% of grassland habitat has been lost and bird populations have declined by over
53%. Losses at this scale require an unprecedented response. National Audubon Society has joined a diverse suite of
organizations, agencies, and scientists working together to Bring Back 3 Billion Birds, with a focus on vulnerable
grassland birds.
Audubon has long been committed to conservation of grassland birds and their habitats. Our 2019 North American
Grasslands and Birds Report (https://www.audubon.org/conservation/working-lands/grasslands-report) presents the
science we have undertaken to evaluate threats, identify priority places for conservation across the full annual cycle,
and assess the success of our conservation efforts. Our grassland conservation efforts have three main pillars:
Using Market-based Strategies to Conserve Grasslands: the Conservation Ranching Initiative National Audubon Society developed the Conservation Ranching Initiative to create a market-based solution to
grassland bird conservation. Through this initiative, Audubon partners with private landowners and land managers
to develop and implement bird-friendly Habitat Management Plans (HMPs) on their ranches. In return, ranches are
certified as bird-friendly, and beef may then be sold into premium markets. Moreover, Audubon Science developed
the Bird-Friendliness Index, an accountability metric that quantifies the impact of bird-friendly management on
grassland birds so that consumers and funders can be confident of the impact of their choices. The Conservation
Ranching Initiative enhances habitat management on more than 2.3 million acres via the implementation of
Audubon-approved HMPs fully verified by third party certification.
Producing advanced science to assess grassland bird climate change vulnerability Audubon compiled over 4 million grassland bird observations to assess their climate change vulnerability under
three scenarios: 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0° C. We found that over 70% of grassland birds are vulnerable to climate change.
Nearly half (42%) are highly vulnerable to climate change under a 3.0° C temperature increase, but that reducing
emissions to 1.5° C would leave only 8% of species highly vulnerable. These findings highlight the need to consider
climate change when identifying grassland conservation areas.
Identifying Priority Grassland Conservation Areas under Climate and Land-use Change Audubon mapped conservation priorities for grassland birds across North America throughout their full annual
cycle. We identified both continental and regional (Northern and Southern Great Plains) priorities based on
vulnerability to climate and land-use change on both summer and winter ranges. Climate Strongholds represent
areas that are currently climatically suitable for grassland birds and are predicted to remain suitable in the future,
while Vulnerable Climate Strongholds represent Climate Strongholds that are threatened by predicted land-use
change. We also identified Consensus Priorities defined as areas where Strongholds overlap priority areas
independently identified by other organizations working to protect grasslands based on non-avian targets such as
grassland types and threats. Consensus priority areas were located mainly in the Prairie Potholes Region, the
Shortgrass Prairies of the western Great Plains, the Gulf Coast Prairie, and Chihuahuan Grasslands.
This report sounded the alarm, and provided a roadmap for Audubon’s grassland conservation efforts. We are now
mobilizing our network across the United States on behalf of policies such as the Farm Bill that benefit farmers and
ranchers, as well as grassland habitats and birds. Through our partnership with NABCI and the Bring Back 3 Billion
Birds team, we will redouble our efforts to conserve grassland birds and their habitats.
Biodiversity Research Institute
BRI is something of an outlier in the NABCI community. As an independent research body, we
do not have a membership to draw on or to disseminate information to. And, in order to maintain
our scientific integrity, we have to avoid anything resembling lobbying or advocacy. All of
which leaves us in a very different place than other NGOs on the committee, like Audubon or
TNC, for example.
At BRI, our mission is to "assess emerging threats to wildlife and ecosystems through
collaborative research, and to use scientific findings to advance environmental awareness and
inform decision makers." We fit neatly and completely within paradigm no. 2. Everyday we are
working to identify priority species, understand threats across annual cycles, and inform bird
conservation discussions and decision-making, and we will continue to do so.
Currently, our focal areas of research include:
- providing regulatory agencies and developers with broadscale baseline ecological information
via offshore digital aerial and boat-based surveys,
- working with regulatory agencies to track the movements and migrations of vulnerable offshore
species,
- working with a broad range of stakeholders to establish best management practices in the
energy sector in the U.S.,
- developing practices for the restoration of avian species to former breeding areas across North
America,
- working with the UN and other countries to reduce mercury pollution globally, in support of
the Minimata Convention, and
- providing regulatory agencies and developers with an important understanding of how
grassland birds respond to solar farms.
At every opportunity, we also put effort into identifying major ecological and avian data gaps,
and in advising federal and state agencies on the need for studies to fill those gaps. In doing so,
we may also already contribute to paradigm no. 5, and will certainly continue to do so.
BRI (perhaps unlike any of the other NGOs involved) is subject to the shifts and swings of a
fickle funding environment, which makes it difficult for us to commit to anything particularly
long-term. We have a few long-running pet projects, of course, that we pursue no matter what,
but they must always be balanced with enough funded projects to keep the lights on. Which
means we have to be nimble enough to go where the money is at times, and, obviously, that not
only changes but can change quickly. Thus, we have a necessary hesitancy when it comes to
committing our time or any other BRI resources to anything NABCI-related, especially long-
term or broadscale projects, because that reality is always at the forefront of any consideration.
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and NABCI Game Changing Paradigms
Building an Unprecedented Coalition to address the Bird Crisis
The Grassland Roadmap Summit brings together diverse stakeholders (indigenous communities,
industry, state and federal agencies, producers, NGOs, academia, and foundations), to develop a
roadmap that identifies and mitigates the threats facing grasslands including birds across their
full annual cycle. Over the next year, we envision gathering additional input from more
stakeholders including a broader sector of industry, multi-national partners as well as
government leaders to garner more support and buy-in for the roadmap. We anticipate a
Grassland Branding Campaign targeting the 8-sectors as well as urban centers throughout the
grasslands. An in-person meeting in summer 2021 will occur to build on the roadmap, make
adaptations, and formal commitments/declarations from the 8-sectors for advancing the roadmap.
Our ultimate goal is to preserve natural and cultural heritage across the Central Flyway for
generations to come. This will be a long-term process that is adaptable, iterative, and inclusive.
Our Integrated Bird Monitoring of Conservation Regions (IMBCR) programs brings together 23
state, federal and NGO partners across 15 U.S. states to collect essential data for identifying
trends in bird populations and leverages these data to understand the causes of decline and
develop proactive conservation and management solutions. Our Stewardship program builds on
this collaborative conservation model by connecting Bird Conservancy biologists with hundreds
of private landowners across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains and Chihuahuan Desert to
implement habitat conservation practices on their lands, including Natural Resource
Conservation Service Farm Bill programs. These partnerships facilitate management and
restoration practices on private lands where many declining bird species are facing threats. Our
education programs have established a coalition of educators focused on disseminating
information from our science and stewardship program to diverse audiences. Finally, our work
also takes a full-annual cycle approach and we have developed long-term partnerships with
dozens of organizations, agencies, communities, and individuals in Mexico to address non-
breeding and resident populations through science, education and land stewardship.
Advance science to identify the “Smoking Guns” of bird declines
Using IMBCR data, we aim to examine the interactions between land use change and climate to
quantify spatial and temporal patterns of decline, and develop spatial prioritizations to maximize
conservation ROI. We are also actively working with partners internationally (i.e., Canadian
Wildlife Service, CWS) to develop range-wide avian density models that integrate the best
available data sources including BBS, IMBCR and CWS count data. In addition, we are actively
involved with and developing integrated population models (IPM) for a number of key species of
conservation concern. These IPMs can inform when and where in the annual cycle populations
are limited by examining the contribution of different vital rates to population growth. Covariates
are introduced into these models to understand how ecological variables (habitat, climate and
even management action) affect vital rates. By identifying the specific factors that are driving
population declines, and by incorporating simulations of various conservation investment
scenarios, IPMs can be used to develop and target conservation actions to where they will have
the greatest impact on population recovery. Lastly, Bird Conservancy is working with diverse
partners to build the western Motus network. By pairing automated Motus towers and tagging
efforts on species of concern, we hope to understand essential components of migration ecology
(phenology, stop-over and site fidelity). These movement data are essential for informing local,
regional and national conservation and can provide spatial prioritizations for habitat protection.
Developing Road Maps for Population Recovery and full life cycle conservation
Bird Conservancy is playing a convening role in the Central Grasslands Roadmap Summit. The
initial phase of the Central Grassland Roadmap Summit is aimed at developing shared
conservation priorities and organizing resources across a diverse suite of stakeholders,
represented by nearly 300 delegates, 150 unique organizations. We expect to complete the first
draft of the Roadmap by early fall, after which it will be ‘road tested’ over the next year to
further improve upon the draft so that by the end of 2021 we have strong unifying guidance for
collaborative multinational grassland conservation efforts over the next decade.
We have multiple active effectiveness monitoring projects that measure avian responses to
diverse management practices and then provide adaptive feedback to resource managers to
ensure practices benefit populations. These projects span the full annual cycle to ensure that
management practices on the breeding and non-breeding grounds have maximum conservation
impact.
Contribute to Bold, new legislative agenda (Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, North
American Grasslands Conservation Act)
Bird Conservancy’s involvement in the Grassland Roadmap Summit aims to help identify key
policy actions that will support conservation and recovery of grasslands. We envision a team of
collaborators advancing policies that the 8-sectors have elevated as priorities and ensuring
engagement at the state, region, national and multinational levels.
Crafting a Unified messaging to bring back 3 billion birds
Bird Conservancy was a partner and key contributor to the 3 Billion Birds Science paper, as well
as the 3BB campaign in coordination with Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Bird
Conservancy, and others. We have been incorporating the messages and other resources from
the 3billionbirds.org site into our own communications to draw relevancy to our ongoing work.
We are also continuing to work on development and dissemination of the unified messaging
from these efforts to expanded audiences. Co-author Arvind Panjabi recently gave a virtual
presentation on the article and campaign to over 700 viewers across the country through the
Denver Museum of Nature and Science, which included the ‘7 Simple Ways to Help Birds’ and
an overview of pending legislation like Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. Arvind will be
giving a similar presentation to the Mexican ornithological community later this year, which will
include academics, students, and government and NGO representatives. Bird Conservancy is
engaged in ongoing discussions within Partners in Flight regarding ‘What Next?’ after
publication of the Science article, which will likely involve significant communication needs. As
discussed above, a lot of energy is developing from the summit that complements the actions of
the 3 billion birds campaign and unified messaging that targets grasslands. We envision an 8-
sector, multinational strategy for a Grassland Branding Campaign that elevates the why of
grasslands and what they mean to our natural and cultural heritage, our way of life and the health
of our communities.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Response to 3 Billion Birds and 5 Game Changer Paradigms,
6 August 2020
1. Unprecedented coalition: As the lead-author organization on the Science paper, The
Cornell Lab helped build and lead the coalition of author and partner institutions that
came together to analyze 50 years of bird-monitoring data, publish the results, and
develop unified messaging that defined and sounded the alarm about the bird crisis.
a. Primarily through its Applied Conservation Scientist position (Ken Rosenberg),
Cornell Lab continues to play a lead role in coordinating the partnership response
within NABCI, PIF, and the 3BB coalition—which continues to meet on a weekly
basis.
b. The Lab’s Coastal Solutions Fellows Program is a partnership with the David and
Lucile Packard Foundation to conserve coastal habitats and shorebird populations
through international and multidisciplinary community-based solutions. The
program supports six young professionals per year to implement a project at a
priority shorebird site in Latin America along the Pacific Americas Flyway.
2. Advanced Science: Science directed at conservation action is at the core of the Cornell
Lab’s mission. Among the many ongoing research initiatives that contribute directly to
advancing recovery of declining birds, highlights include:
• Follow-up analysis of long-term bird-monitoring datasets (surveys and radar) to
identify more detailed spatial and temporal patterns of bird declines and
demographic factors.
• Co-leading (with Pete Marra and Tom Will) the “smoking guns” approach to
identifying causes of declines and advancing species along a “road-to-recovery”
process to keep the most steeply declining species off T&E lists.
• Advancing eBird as the world’s largest biodiversity data enterprise, including:
engagement of thousands of birders and citizen-scientists; structured protocols
(ProAlas) to monitor bird populations (including migrants) in Latin America;
cutting-edge quantitative analysis to track short-term, spatially explicit population
trends in near real-time throughout the annual cycle; a monitoring and evaluation
platform for large-scale programmatic investments from agencies and
Foundations (e.g. forest restoration), market-based sustainability incentives (e.g.
coffee certification), and federal/private sector investments and initiatives (e.g.,
CRP) in agricultural lands.
• Integrated population modeling of priority species, including development of new
methodologies and partnerships with federal and state agencies (e.g. FWS) to
integrate eBird status and trends data products into existing Integrated Population
Models.
• Co-lead (with SELVA, Colombia) the Neotropical Flyways Project to discover
and assess critical migration stopover sites in Central and South America through
extensive surveys, intensive banding, tracking technologies, and in-country
capacity building.
4. Bold, new legislative agenda: Although the Cornell Lab does not engage in direct
advocacy, we advocate strongly through our science and our science-based expertise.
Examples of the Lab’s recent policy-directed activities include leading in the production
of the 2017 and 2019 State of the Birds reports focused on the U.S. Farm Bill and
Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, testimony to Congress on detrimental effects of
MBTA rule and gutting of Clean Water Act and EPA, and Op-Eds in major media about
3 billion birds lost, MBTA, ESA, Sage Grouse, and lead poisoning.
5. Unified messaging: Cornell Lab’s communications and conservation media programs
continue to lead the coalition of organizations that developed and implemented the highly
successful media and outreach campaign following the 3BB publication, including
hosting the 3billionbirds.org web site. In particular, Cornell provides unique expertise in
producing and sharing digital and print media in support of 7 simple actions, NABCI’s
Relevancy Toolkit, State of the Birds, Grassland bird conservation, migratory
connections, and other shared topics.
3 Billion Birds Communications Group (lead by Cornell)
• The 3 Billion Birds Communications Group includes science and outreach partners, most
of them representing institutions of the coauthors of last year’s Science paper, including
the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Bird Conservancy, Smithsonian Migratory
Bird Center, Audubon, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Georgetown University,
Environment and Climate Change Canada, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and NABCI.
The group includes scientists and communicators.
o This team led publicity for the 3 Billion Birds campaign, including media
outreach, website development (3billionbirds.org), editorial and multimedia
content, and social media campaign.
o The Science paper ranked #209 out of more than 14 million research outputs for
the quantity and quality of online coverage, equivalent to the top 0.001%
according to Altmetric.
o More than 1,750 outlets covered the news, with a combined circulation of 3.8
billion, and the social media campaign generated more than 3 million
impressions.
• This team will help shape external communications aimed at their constituents and
supporters, as well as the broader public, to advance game changing paradigm #5:
Unified messaging to bring back 3 billion birds. The group and its collaborations with
additional communications and outreach partners in the future, can also be considered
part of game changing paradigm #1: unprecedented coalition to address the Bird Crisis.
• The team is currently scoping potential initiatives for the coming year including the
following:
o Science communications: Readiness for media outreach to amplify awareness
and understanding of science breakthroughs and data-driven tools, including
publications arising from the Road to Recovery collaborations and the launch and
promotion of eBird Status & Trends, Migratory Bird Initiative, Atlas of Migratory
Connectivity for the Birds of North America, State of the Birds, etc.
o Policy communications: Communications in support of the Legislative Bird
Agenda and other initiatives, e.g.,
▪ Migratory Bird Treaty Act; Migratory Bird Protection Act
▪ Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act
▪ National Environmental Policy Act
▪ North American Grasslands Conservation Act
▪ North American Wetlands Conservation Act
▪ Recovering America’s Wildlife Act
▪ Waters of the United States
▪ Bird-Safe Buildings Act
▪ Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels
▪ Songbird Stamp
o Engagement campaigns: Development of content and engagement campaigns
aimed at inspiring individual, influencer, and community actions under the
umbrella of the emerging coalition for “Live Bird Friendly”
The NABCI Communications representatives on this team are Miyoko Chu, Scott Anderson, and
Christopher Deets.
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited response on how our organization is playing or can play a role in grassland
conservation efforts and the 5 Game Changing Paradigms identified by NABCI to address the 3
billion bird decline in North America.
1) Science and Business Planning (relates to Paradigms 1 & 2)
Ducks Unlimited Inc., and its sister organizations Ducks Unlimited Canada and Ducks Unlimited
de Mexico completed a revision to our International Conservation Plan (ICP) in Spring 2019.
We used a return-on-investment (ROI) model that combined the most recent applicable
waterfowl science with proprietary data on cost of conservation. Our model is continental in
scale but developed using landscape (essentially JV) level science and planning information, and
proprietary data on cost of conservation within each landscape.
Our ICP revision incorporated a first generation ROI model approach that included the following
variables: 1) Estimated waterfowl abundance across North America for breeding and
migration/winter periods of the annual cycle; 2) estimates of landscape capacity to support
desired populations of breeding waterfowl based on USFWS BPOP, or energy requirements of
migrant/wintering populations based on NAWMP Joint Ventures; 3) most recent available
estimates of habitat loss/gain by landscape (JVs essentially) for wetlands, and where appropriate
uplands (PPR grasslands mainly); 4) proprietary data on cost/acre (USD) of conservation
programs within landscapes, including direct costs, staff cost, and indirect costs. We then
applied a weighting factor based on peer-reviewed, published integration population models that
reflect where/when limiting factors act on waterfowl – simplified in the first-generation model to
an application of 0.72 multiplier for breeding landscapes, and 0.28 for migration/winter
landscapes.
The results clearly indicate that PPR grassland/wetland complexes are the landscape the provides
the most significant ROI (waterfowl) conservation funding. Consequently, DUI and DUC place
highest conservation priority on the PPR – and that landscape is where we will seek to focus our
allocable investments in the foreseeable future. Many species of waterfowl are best described as
grassland facultative specialists during the breeding season, which is also the period where
factors affecting population limitations are most influential. If it would be helpful, and given
the third statement in the NABCI Paradigms, DU is willing to present and or share our
experiences in developing our ROI model, and/or participate with NABCI members and other
partners in crafting ROI models as part of business plans to drive prioritized, effective and
urgent grassland conservation.
2) Direct Conservation Programs for Grassland Conservation (relates to Paradigms 1 and
3)
DUC and DUI, since our founding in 1937, have always placed a high priority on prairie
grassland landscapes embedded with high densities of wetlands that attract breeding waterfowl.
Over decades, and in collaboration with many, many governmental, NGO, and private landowner
partners, we have worked to protect via fee title purchase, or via perpetual conservation
easements, over 1.62M acres of grassland-wetland complexes. Tens of thousands of additional
acres of working grasslands, agricultural lands, and other areas are under shorter-term
agreements or have been influenced towards sustainable use by DU conservation programs.
Nearly all of these accomplishments have resulted from collaboration with conservation partners
that provide funding, science, policy, and important access to privately-owned grasslands on
which waterfowl and many other species of grassland obligate and facultative birds depend.
While most of our collaborative accomplishments have focused on the PPR, we remain
interested and seek opportunities to conserve wetlands embedded in other grassland dominated
landscapes like the PLJV and GCJV that provide important waterfowl migration and winter
habitat. DUMAC has also conserved wetland complexes that occur in Chihuahuan and Sonoran
JV landscapes, though our work in those areas is limited in scale and focused on a handful of
isolated wetland areas. All three DU organizations remain willing and able to collaborate
through existing conservation programs, or development of new conservation programs that
drive grassland conservation. While our mission focus requires our prioritization of grasslands
with embedded wetlands, if we can be helpful, we are willing to participate in discussion or
design of programs, and share our experiences, to facilitate conservation of more arid
grassland landscapes where wetlands are rarer or absent.
3) Public Policy for Grassland Conservation (relates to Paradigms 1 and 4)
NABCI has identified the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, a potential North American
Grasslands Conservation Act, and elements of the Farm Bill as policy that may support a stated
national grassland policy of “no net loss of grasslands”. DUI, along with many other
conservation partners, has worked on Farm Bill conservation titles and disincentive programs
(Swampbuster, Sodbuster) from the earliest days of Farm Bill(s) development. We remain
supportive of successful passage of RAWA and wish to learn more about a conceptual North
American Grassland Conservation Act. Our public policy staff, with support from our science
and conservation staff, remain willing to coordinate and/or collaborate to advance public policy
on behalf of waterfowl, other grassland birds, and the habitat on which they depend. We also
welcome continued support of NABCI partners that can perform advocacy work for programs
that have important grassland conservation elements, especially NAWCA and the Migratory Bird
Habitat and Hunting Stamp (Duck Stamp). We also believe state-level policy and funding for
state waterfowl, migratory bird, or wildlife habitat stamps, and state-level dedicated
conservation funding policy can dramatically help support grassland conservation in states
with grassland habitat.
4) Communications (relates to Paradigm 5)
DUI and DUC both have messaged about the 3B Bird Crisis on our social media platforms,
website, and our printed magazines. Examples attached. Our social media posts have the
potential to reach hundreds of thousands of followers, and our magazine has potential to reach
~750,000 people. Our new magazine, slated for its first publication this fall, will also reach a
more diverse audience focused more on conservation – the feature article for that first edition
magazine relates to loss of 3B birds, and seeks to inform readers how our conservation programs
for waterfowl contribute to conservation of other bird species, and provides other ecosystem
services – ultimately aimed at attracting a larger and more diverse support base for conservation.
We have and will continue to make grassland conservation, especially but not exclusively
focused on the PPR, a priority for communication to our supporters.
IBP Actions to facilitate the 5 Game Changing Paradigms
(1) Unprecedented coalition to address the bird crisis and (2) Advanced science to identify the “smoking guns” of bird declines IBP has remained active in the BB3BB effort, and will continue to provide support. In particular, it’s nearly universally agreed that determining the causes of decline, especially identifying demographic factors throughout the full annual cycle, must play a role in BB3BB. IBP’s Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) and Monitoring Overwinter Survival (MoSI) programs are the longest-running and geographically most-extensive network of demographic monitoring efforts in the hemisphere. The networks are a free, open source of full annual cycle demographic data for more than 150 species of birds. 3. Road Maps for Population Recovery and full life cycle conservation IBP has been active in the development of the original Relevancy Toolkit, and we regularly partner with the BLM, NPS, USFS, DoD, and other federal partners to conduct monitoring and develop conservation strategies that utilize or integrate with the noted existing conservation strategies. IBP was a participant in the development of some of the Conservation Business Plans, and hopes to remain an active partner. 4. Bold, new legislative agenda (Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, North American Grasslands Conservation Act) IBP supports RAWA, and is committed to providing data, studies, and communications materials in support of it, in ways that do not compromise our non-profit status. IBP does not conduct much work in grasslands, though a few of our projects have monitoring efforts that extend into this habitat. The MAPS network has several stations collecting demographic data on grassland species. 5. Unified messaging to bring back 3 billion birds IBP’s Communications Specialist is a member of the Comm Comm, and uses materials developed by it in our blog, email newsletters, and our Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.
Migratory Bird Joint Ventures
1. JV Leadership in grasslands work:
a. The JV8 work in the grasslands and scaling-up conservation efforts at the multi-
national Central Flyway level.
b. The Southern Mississippi Flyway Joint Venture Partnerships’ Grassland initiative:
A Multi-Joint Venture effort to model full annual cycle population-habitat
relationships of grassland birds (AKA: The 5 JV Murmuration)
c. JV leadership in the Central Grasslands and Mississippi Flyway grassland
summits
d. Increased activities and strengthened/broadened partnership efforts within
individual JVs that are directed at grassland bird habitats. This is a major
redirection of staff responsibilities, engagement of new partners, engagement of
existing partners in new ways, collective pursuit and administration of funding
support, addition of board members, changes/additions to partnership structure,
etc.
2. JV science and engagement in the Limiting Factors (smoking guns) workshop
3. Building potential for a national-level NRCS-JV Partnership Enterprise that would
institutionalize the existing NRCS-JV relationships and establish a pathway for new
partnerships. Formalizing the NRCS-JV partnership would accelerate strategic delivery
of Farm Bill conservation programs though improved long-term science and conservation
capacity needed to comprehensively address resource concerns at scale; increased
continuity in project implementation, partner and landowner relationships, and outcome
monitoring; and enhanced stability and confidence for long-term planning and strategic
use of resources.
4. Many JVs have developed unprecedented, novel partnerships with private landowners,
industry, and state and local governments to achieve bird conservation objectives. These
partnerships could be expanded as well as serve as case studies for new partnerships.
NABCI Private and Working Land Subcommittee
Many elements of our current subcommittee workplan fit well within the 5 Game Changing
Paradigms, and there are some additional actions the PWLSC can take to contribute further.
• Subcommittee Workplan Conservation Goal II: Build and maintain field delivery
capacity for Farm Bill and other private lands conservation programs
➢ The Private Lands Staff Forums are the primary action under this goal. Their
purpose is to provide a high-quality environment for training and mentoring,
exchange of ideas, and developing a sustained community of practice that
enhances the ability of private lands staff to effectively deliver Farm Bill and
other conservation programs. The forums apply to the following game changers:
1. Unprecedented Coalition to address the Bird Crisis: One goal of the
forums is partnership building and development of a sustained community
of practice among private lands staff
2. Advanced science to identify the “Smoking Guns” of bird declines: As a
training platform, the forums will integrate the most recent science into
conservation planning strategies as well as serve as a means for discussing
and identifying additional science needs.
3. Road Maps for Population Recovery and full life cycle conservation:
private lands conservation must be an integral component of any recovery
strategy
5. Unified messaging to bring back 3 billion birds: Relevancy messaging,
such as the Why Care About Birds campaign, as well as messaging that
promotes a conservation ethic (see next bullet) can be integrated into the
forum curriculums.
• Subcommittee Workplan Conservation Goal III: Promote and advance adoption of
private lands conservation ethic to encourage increased landowner investment in private
lands conservation.
➢ This work applies most directly to Paradigm 5: Unified messaging to bring back
3 billion birds, and could easily contribute to a broader, unified communications
strategy.
• Conservation Goal IV: Advance and support private lands conservation for birds outside
of NRCS/FSA programs; Strategy i: Engage land trusts in bird conservation (Land Trust
Alliance as well as regional and national land trusts) to facilitate creation of mutually
beneficial relationships between land trusts and bird conservation communities; explore
how birds can help these groups achieve their work with private landowners and further
their conservation mission.
➢ Applies to Paradigm 1: Unprecedented Coalition to address the Bird Crisis and
Paradigm 3: Road Maps for Population Recovery and full life cycle conservation
➢ To work at scale w/ private lands, it’s critical to engage landtrusts and encourage
the incorporation of birds into their planning & conservation. Many landtrusts
need additional capacity to successfully incorporate birds into their work, and the
Cornell landtrust small grant program provides that capacity.
• Additional steps for the PWLSC to contribute to the 5 Game Changers
➢ Assist with collating all the information and efforts for grasslands to create a
roadmap about what is being done and planned.
➢ Grasslands work aligns with a lot of NABCI’s efforts (e.g., NABCI’s 5 priority
themes). When available, review the draft roadmap the central grasslands summit
is developing to see how it aligns with NABCI PWLSC plan. How can our SC
help step down this roadmap?
➢ Grassland Summits are trying to bring together really broad stakeholder groups;
how can our subcommittee best continue this work and encourage this among
partners. This also overlaps with the NABCI Field Guide to Partnerships that will
be released soon.
Nebraska Game and Parks
1. Our agency has sponsored the Grassland Summit in the Central Grasslands, and will
continue to sit as a delegate and work through solutions with this amazingly diverse and
passionate group. We will also continue to support our JVs and their collaborative work
in the central grasslands by supporting the science, monitoring, and positions going on in
the Playa and Rainwater Basin JV’s. We will also continue to work together with all of
our conservation partners on grassland efforts across the state (SWAP Plan, Grouse work,
Pheasant Plans).
2. We will continue to support the work being done towards “smoking gun” science…we
NEED this information to help us (as a State Fish and Wildlife Agency) better target our
funding and habitat implementation in the most meaningful way possible with our limited
dollars. I feel out of all the arenas…this is the most lacking! We need to know what part
Nebraska plays in meeting which important habitat needs of grassland birds…where and
what type of work needs to be done…and how does that fit into the broader life cycle
puzzle of those migratory species? We don’t have the capacity to do this type of work,
but look towards our JV’s, University, and NGO’s to help with this part.
3. Our SWAP is geared up and ready for more specific (targeted) conservation goals. We
have a diverse partnership team of government, non-government, agriculture, and
ranching representatives that we can work with to make sure the goals include the
economic impacts to our farmers and ranchers.
4. Our agency is a part of the Association Fish and Wildlife Agency – Agriculture
Committee and is always looking at Farm Bill policy and ways to protect and enhance
our grassland communities, will continue to serve on this and other national committees
to help be a positive voice for grassland conservation.
5. The Conservation Roundtable in Nebraska (made up of most of the Conservation Groups
in NE) is taking on Grassland Loss/Degradation as a top priority to explain to our
Nebraska Senators next year at their annual breakfast. The 3 Billion birds information
will be key to helping explain the many reasons why our grasslands need to be
conserved. The agency has also used the “Why Birds Matter” campaign to continue to
bring birds into the lime light in Nebraska…this is being done through social media posts
and incorporated into our Fish and Wildlife Education Division ‘s messaging.
Partners in Flight (PIF)
Though Partners in Flight (PIF) we have worked with international and regional teams of
collaborators to develop a set of integrated conservation investment strategies. The Integrated
Conservation Strategy For Western Temperate, Mexican Pine‐oak, and Tropical Cloud Forest
Birds: North America to Central America resulted from PIF conservation business planning
efforts. This strategy:
• Is intended to help coordinate and focus international efforts to address the human
activities that are impacting the natural systems that our declining migratory and resident
bird depend on, and
• Serves as a tool for the voluntary integration of conservation efforts throughout the
breeding and overwinter distribution ranges of migratory birds that breed in North
America’s temperate western forests and winter in the pin-oak and tropical cloud forests
of western Mexico and northern Central America.
Specifically, the plan serves as a starting point for creating more specific and scaled output and
outcome indicator measurements that will help step-down the strategy to on-the-ground
conservation efforts and roll-up information across such conservation efforts to ensure cross-
project learning and adaptive progress on meeting our goal of stopping and reversing the declines
of our target birds. This allows us to better link and grow existing conservation efforts and better
design new ones. This also helps promote an adaptive management approach to range-wide
strategic conservation planning and implementation and facilitate the scaled monitoring of our
conservation investments based on specific habitat and bird population objectives.
Two new documents that demonstrate this approach are:
• State of the Rufous Hummingbird Science and Conservation, and
• Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network Strategic Conservation Action Plan.
U.S. Geological Survey
Our mission as a federal science agency precludes us from participating in advocacy efforts. As
the science entity for the U.S. Department of the Interior, and a bureau with no management
responsibility for Interior lands or waters, the credibility of USGS science is dependent upon the
bureau limiting its role to providing unbiased peer-reviewed science to inform management
decisions. Therefore, the second paradigm of the “call to action” is the portion USGS can help
address. The USGS sees our role as working with the bird conservation community to
understand and implement the priority science needed to understand limiting factors, as federal
budgets allow.
For your information, the Species Management Research Program is initiating a review of past
and present research on migratory birds and would be grateful for input from the bird
conservation community on research priorities and future needs, as we begin to chart the future
of the Program. We will bring this to the attention of the NABCI community at the August
meeting.
USDA Forest Service
Five Game Changing Paradigms:
A NABCI Call to Action to Address the Three Billion Birds Crisis
July 17, 2020
A Forest Service Response by Greg Butcher
1. Unprecedented Coalition to address the Bird Crisis
The Forest Service manages 193 million acres in 10 Regions, 154 national forests, and 20
national grasslands. The 10 regional wildlife biologists are setting up an Avian Conservation
Team to prioritize bird conservation actions on national forests and grasslands. In addition,
FS International Programs has two Migratory Species specialists who support partnerships to
prevent the listing of species that spend considerable time outside the United States.
Specifically for grasslands, FS wildlife biologists are contributing to grassland conservation
initiatives, including attending Americas Grassland Conference sponsored by National
Wildlife Federation in 2019 and the Central Grasslands Roadmap Summit now underway.
Internationally, trinational work is not sufficient. Dickcissels winter in Colombia and
Venezuela. A number of species pass through Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and probably
the Amazon Basin to winter in the Southern Cone countries of Argentina, Uruguay, southern
Paraguay, and SE Brazil. These species include Bobolink, Swainson’s Hawk, American
Golden-Plover, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Upland Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, and more.
USFS International Programs supports partners working throughout the Western Hemisphere
on grassland birds, with our emphasis so far on Chihuahua in Mexico and the Southern Cone
Grasslands.
2. Advance science to identify the “Smoking Guns” of bird declines
Several FS researchers are involved in relevant science activities, notably Joseph Wunderle
(recently retired) on Kirtland’s Warbler, David King on Golden-winged Warbler and other
Central American wintering species, Vicki Saab (woodpeckers and other fire-dependent
species), and Frank Thompson. Greg Butcher has contributed to State of the Birds reports
that attempt to interpret science for decision-makers and the public.
3. Road Maps for Population Recovery and full life cycle conservation
Greg Butcher and other FS employees have participated in the Partners in Flight business
planning sessions, especially for Tropical Dry Forest and Pine-Oak Forest. We anticipate
contributing the new Eastern Working Group business plan for Central America and the
Tropical Andes. We support the pine-oak planning for Chiapas Mexico and northern Central
America. We are helping to implement the Pacific Shorebird Conservation Strategy through
our CRIMBI program (Copper River International Migratory Bird Initiative) and its partners.
For grasslands, we are contributing to the Central Grasslands Roadmap Summit and to the
Rio Grande Valley Joint Venture grassland planning
4. Bold, new legislative agenda
Sorry, we are a federal agency.
5. Unified messaging to bring back 3 billion birds
I agree that the messaging needs to go beyond birds. In grasslands, we are lucky in that birds
and cattle both benefit from improved grazing practices. Bird-friendly beef is already a
reality in Brazil and Argentina. As a result, the ranchers have taken the lead in the Southern
Cone Grassland Alliance. These successes can be duplicated throughout the hemisphere.
Outside of grasslands, we have many other agroforestry systems, including of course shade-
grown coffee. NABCI has collected a number of relevancy stories and is continuing to add to
those.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Coalitions: NRCS offers financial and technical assistance through conservation practices, activities and enhancements to help agricultural producers make and maintain improvements on their land. The 2018 Farm Bill continues its strong support for conservation efforts of America’s farmers and ranchers through reauthorization and expanded flexibility of NRCS conservation programs, such as committing at least 10% of Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding to meet local wildlife objectives. By implementing the 2018 Farm Bill conservation programs in partnership with producers, NRCS contributes to grassland bird habitat objectives in working agricultural landscapes. NRCS uses Landscape Conservation Initiatives to accelerate the benefits of voluntary conservation programs in priority regions. These initiatives enhance the locally driven process to better address nationally and regionally important conservation goals that transcend localities. They build on locally led efforts and partnerships, and they’re based on science. Through the initiatives, NRCS and its partners coordinate the delivery of assistance where it can have the most impact. Through Working Lands for Wildlife, NRCS works with landowners within the context of coordinated partnerships to reduce and remove threats impacting both wildlife and agricultural sustainability. NRCS is currently working with partners at the local level to update, review and expand efforts for greater sage-grouse, the lesser prairie-chicken and the southwestern willow flycatcher. Looking ahead, we anticipate the following:
▪ Sage Grouse - Replicate success in untreated priority watersheds, capitalize on new
innovations like the Cheatgrass Challenge and increase delivery of emerging practices
like wet meadow and riparian restoration.
▪ Lesser Prairie-Chicken – Expand the geography of the initiative to include all of the Great
Plains taking a threat-based approach (maintain focus on primary threat reduction such
as woody encroachment that degrade grasslands). Replace the name ‘Lesser Prairie
Chicken Initiative’ with a more inclusive name such as the Great Plains Grassland
Initiative under WLFW.
▪ Southwestern Willow Flycatcher - Update milestones for FY 21-23 as well as explore
potential opportunities to broaden focus. One such emerging opportunity is the
application of low-tech, low cost techniques being used to restore wet meadows and
riparian habitats across sagebrush rangelands.
Advancing Science: The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) is a multi-agency effort to quantify the environmental effects of conservation practices and programs and develop the science base for managing the agricultural landscape for environmental quality. The wildlife component of CEAP is implemented as a cooperative effort with the fish and wildlife conservation community
involving multiple regional assessments that document habitat condition and biological response to conservation practices and programs at multiple spatial scales. Below is a link to CEAP supported publications: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/technical/nra/ceap/pub/?cid=stelprdb1186080
U.S. Shorebird Council
USSCP Council Input on Five Game Changing Paradigms – 4 August 2020 Besides suggested actions, some recommended changes to game-changer text (highlighted) 1. Unprecedented Coalition to Address the Bird Crisis
a) USSCP: Increase stakeholder involvement from all sectors (private, public, social/civil)
across a diversity of communities in the Atlantic and Pacific Flyway shorebird initiatives
by 10% over those involved in plan development (e.g., more inclusive landowner field
days).
b) NABCI Grasslands: Track development of new partnerships, particularly with private and
social/civil sectors (goal = 10%).
2. Advance Science to Identify the “Smoking Guns” of Bird Declines
a) USSCP: Participate in the Road to Recovery assessment. Populate 100% of fields for
highest priority shorebirds.
b) USSCP: Work with PRISM Committee and others to identify one high priority shorebird
population in each of four (Atlantic, Midcontinent, Pacific, East Asian-Australasian)
flyways to investigate or compile information on survival throughout the annual cycle.
c) NABCI Grasslands: Integrated population models (IPM) for some key species underway.
Leverage NABCI partner support for other key species (metric = # of priority species with
IPMs).
3. Road Maps for Population Recovery and Full Life Cycle Conservation
a) USSCP: Develop strategic framework for (hemispheric) Midcontinent Shorebird
Conservation Initiative. Integrate with efforts in the North American Central Grasslands.
b) USSCP: More fully integrate human wellbeing and ecosystem services objectives and
social-oriented results with shorebird conservation objectives where appropriate.
c) NABCI Grasslands: Help broker inclusion of shorebirds in Grassland Roadmap effort and
promote wider linkage to shorebird conservation in Midcontinent.
4. Bold, New Legislative Agenda (Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, North American Grasslands Conservation Act)
a) USSCP: Appropriate partners support legislation to improve conservation opportunities.
b) USSCP: Provide technical assistance to agencies and organizations developing programs
under the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act to ensure support for shorebird
conservation activities.
c) USSCP: Work with National Wildlife Refuge staff to revise and improve their Targeted
Resource Acquisition Comparison Tool (TRACT) for shorebirds to take advantage of Land
& Water Conservation Fund and other funding.
d) NABCI Grasslands: Coalition of partners is formed and effective in delivering legislative
wins for grasslands.
5. Unified Messaging to Bring Back 3 Billion Birds
a) USSCP: Revise/expand the seven actions for birds to better address shorebird and
seabird needs.
b) NABCI Grasslands: Use Human Dimensions Sub-committee and others to solicit input
and develop culturally appropriate action messages relative to sectors and diverse
communities.