Bird Habitat Conservation

Bird Habitat Conservation
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Bird Habitat Conservation's purpose is to support habitat conservation partnerships. The Division does this by administering the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grants programs, by serving as staff to the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative U.S. Committee, and by administering the Federal Duck Stamp program.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants Program
The North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989 provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act was passed, in part, to support activities under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international agreement that provides a strategy for the long-term protection of wetlands and associated uplands habitats needed by waterfowl and other migratory birds in North America. In December 2002, Congress reauthorized appropriations for the Act through Fiscal Year 2007, reflecting its and the public’s support of the Act’s goals. Congress increased the appropriation authorization to $55 million in 2003, with $5 million increases to occur annually until Fiscal Year 2007, when the appropriation cap will be $75 million.

In Fiscal Year 2004, Congress appropriated $37.5 million to fund the grants program. Additional funding comes from moneys received from fines, penalties, and forfeitures under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and from interest accrued on the fund established under the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937. Amendments to the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 directed a portion of the moneys collected from Federal fuel excise taxes on small gasoline engines be allocated for use under the Act for coastal ecosystem projects. The Presidents's Fiscal Year 2005 budget request is $54 million, an increase of $16.5 million.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Council
The Act established the Council to review and recommend project proposals to the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, which has the authority to approve funding for projects. The Council is comprised of nine members. The Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Executive Secretary of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have permanent seats on the Council. Four state representatives (one from each flyway) and three non-governmental organization representatives (each from a different non-governmental organization that is an active partner in wetlands conservation) are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. These members serve 3-year terms. Non-voting ex officio members are also appointed by the Secretary. There are currently two ex officio members representing non-governmental organizations and one each representing Canada and Mexico. The Council meets three times each year.

Standard Grants Program: From September 1990 through June 2004 more than 2,024 partners have been involved in 1,074 Standard Grant Act-supported projects. Canadian and U.S. partners focus on protecting, restoring, and/or enhancing critical habitat. Projects must support long-term wetlands acquisition, restoration, and/or enhancement and partners must minimally match the grant request at a 1-to-1 ratio. Mexican partners may develop training and management programs and conduct studies on sustainable use as well.

More than $605.1 million has been invested through the Act; total partner contributions have amounted to more than $1.7 billion. Approximately 22.1 million acres of wetlands and associated uplands have been affected across the continent.

Small Grants Program: Small Grants support the same kinds of activities as Standard Grants but usually involve fewer project dollars. In FY 2004, $2 million was allocated for projects. Except that grant requests may not exceed $50,000 and that funding priority is given to projects that have a grantee or partners that have not participated in an Act-supported project before, criteria for funding a project are the same as for Standard Grants.

From 1996, when the program began, to June 2004, 240 projects, involving more than 666 partners, have been funded. Partners added more than $69.4 million to more than $10.2 million in grants to conserve some 81,814 acres of habitats in the United States.

Bird Conservation Plans
The Division of Bird Habitat Conservation is responsible for supporting the habitat conservation work of partnerships formed under four major bird plans:

North American Waterfowl Management Plan
The North American Waterfowl Management Plan is an international action plan to conserve migratory birds throughout the continent. The Plan's goal is to return waterfowl populations to their 1970s levels by conserving wetland and upland habitat. Canada and the United States signed the Plan in 1986 in reaction to critically low numbers of waterfowl. Mexico joined in 1994 making it a truly continental effort. The Plan is a partnership of federal, provincial/state and municipal governments, non-governmental organizations, private companies and many individuals, all working towards achieving better wetland habitat for the benefit of migratory birds, other wetland-associated species and people. The Plan's unique combination of biology, landscape conservation and partnerships comprise its exemplary conservation legacy. Plan projects are international in scope, but implemented at regional levels. These projects contribute to the protection of habitat and wildlife species across the North American landscape. In fact, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan is considered one of the most successful conservation initiatives in the world.

U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan
Partners from state and federal agencies, joint ventures, and non-governmental organizations from across the country pooled their resources and expertise to develop a conservation strategy for migratory shorebirds and the habitats upon which they depend. The U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan provides a scientific framework to determine species, sites, and habitats that most urgently need conservation action. Main goals of the Shorebird Conservation Plan, completed in 2000, are to ensure that adequate quanity and quality of shorebird habitat is maintained at the local levels. These national assessments were used to step down goals and objectives into 11 regional conservation plans. Plan partners are working with joint ventures to accomplish these goals. The Shorebird Plan is administered by the Division of Migratory Bird Management.

North American Waterbird Conservation Plan
This relatively new initiative focuses on waterbirds across the continent. Primary attention is provided to species that are not currently addressed by other conservation initiatives, and includes grebes, rails, seabirds, terns, and herons.

Partners in Flight
This broadly based bird conservation initiative has developed songbird conservation priorities and habitat conservation plans for physiographic areas nationwide. Partners in Flight monitoring, research, planning, and implementation activities have been beneficial to the Division of Bird habitat Conservation by providing a scientific and planning base that contributes to ranking and developing habitat priorities. The Division of Bird Habitat Conservation supports Partners in Flight by providing species assessments, project development and review, and national coordination efforts.

North American Bird Conservation Initiative
The U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative is dedicated to promoting and advancing integrated bird conservation. Online you will find a variety of tools and resources including an easy-to-browse Bird Conservation Regions (BCR) map hot-linked to BCR descriptions, BCR staff, the Bird Conservation Node maintained by the USGS and USFWS, and a Bird Conservation Directory of contact information. The site contains a host of information on NABCI, including downloadable documents about the NABCI Vision, the US Committee's Action Plan, and Committee and Working Group contact lists and meeting summaries. The site also provides links to the NABCI International site and the Canadian and Mexican national NABCI sites.

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