A chance to learn scientific and technical skills while helping conserve birds was all the motivation middle-school students needed to participate in a Cornell University afterschool program this summer. The students are now flocking back to school full of new ideas to help birds and the habitats they depend on. Through a series of free workshops and a curriculum focused on youth, family and community, the summer program included lessons in biology, ecology, habitat, mapping and data exploration. The program is supported in part by funding from the Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc.
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In response to customer and partner input, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced today a significant update to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the nation’s largest conservation program by acreage. Beginning with the new enrollment period planned later this year, the updated CSP will leverage redesigned planning and evaluation tools and an expanded array of new enhancements to provide conservation-minded producers with more options to improve conditions on working lands. “After hearing from farmers, ranchers, and partners who wanted to see improvements to the Conservation Stewardship Program, we’re launching this update to make a successful program work even better,” said
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Scientists Document Widespread Declines, Urgent Need for Conservation of Landbirds in U.S. and Canada. Report calls for unprecedented partnerships across public and private sectors to reverse trends throughout bird’s life-cycles. A new analysis of the population status and trends of all landbirds in the continental U.S. and Canada documents widespread declines among 450 bird species—a troubling indicator of the health of these species and their ecosystems. Nearly 20% of U.S. and Canadian landbird species are on a path towards endangerment and extinction in the absence of conservation action, according to the Partners in Flight (PIF) 2016 Landbird Conservation Plan Revision. Fortunately, the
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Agreement between U.S. and Canada responsible for many successes in bird conservation; will help us meet challenges that lie ahead The skies of North America today provide the backdrop for celebrating a century of conservation of one group of Earth’s most treasured animals: migratory birds. On this date in 1916, the first Migratory Bird Treaty was signed between the United States and Canada. Today, the two nations mark the monumental success of this agreement. “It’s hard to imagine the North American continent without egrets, ducks, hawks or songbirds, but at the turn of the 20th century, that’s the way things
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A report released today by American Bird Conservancy contains some good news for U.S. mainland birds: 78 percent of the birds listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) have populations that are now stable, increasing, or have recovered enough to be delisted. The Endangered Species Act: A Record of Successanalyzes population trends and recovery success for all U.S. listed birds, including those in the Hawaiian Islands and U.S. territories. “Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, twice as many populations of listed birds are increasing as are decreasing,” said Steve Holmer, Senior Policy Advisor for American Bird Conservancy
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A new partnership to help protect birds on private lands was announced today by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Land Trust Alliance. The goal of the new Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative and associated website (birdtrust.org) is to improve conservation for declining species by pairing the bird conservation community with land trusts, which collectively protect more than 24 million acres of private land nationwide. “It’s a natural fit,” said Ron Rohrbaugh, the Cornell Lab’s Assistant Director of Conservation Science. “Thousands of local and regional land trusts are already protecting private land for all sorts of reasons. This initiative enhances that
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Click here to view and download the 2023 AMJV Partnership Year in Review!
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The 2023 AMJV Impact Report is now available for downloading and sharing! Starting in 2022, this beautiful report has been designed annually by Liz Brewer (AMJV Outreach Specialist) to…
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by Liz Brewer, AMJV Outreach Specialist Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV), in partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), and the West Virginia…
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