North American Bird Conservation Initiative: Bringing It All Together

摘要

Every day, day and night, birds are nesting or migrating throughout the varied landscapes of North America. They are an integral part of our lives, whether we encounter them in remote areas with gun, camera, or binoculars or observe them from our kitchen window or while walking on a city street. From shorebirds and waterfowl to seabirds, herons, and songbirds, over 1,100 species of birds can be found in our continents Arctic tundra, deserts, wetlands, grasslands, mountains, and forests. Populations for many of these species, however, are in trouble. Some songbird populations have declined dramatically: Cerulean Warbler, Loggerhead Shrike, and Painted Bunting populations have plummeted 60 to 75 percent over the past three decades. Of the ducks identified in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Northern Pintail and Scaup remain significantly below Plan population goals. Of the 50 shorebird species that breed in the United States, almost half are considered to have undergone notable population declines. The status of most colonial waterbirds is poorly known, but it is suspected that many are following the trajectory of the Black Tern, which has declined 61 percent since the mid- 1960s. The North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI), a coalition of U.S., Canadian, and Mexican governmental agencies and private organizations, is the most inclusive framework for bird conservation ever assembled on this or any other continent. For the first time ever, the vast majority of leaders in natural resource management and biological diversity conservation are agreeing to work together on a shared vision of bird conservation. Founded on the strengths and knowledge that have accumulated through the years in the conservation community, NABCI will bring together the resources to effect more efficient bird conservation. This brochure provides you with the U.S. NABCI Committees vision and model for conservation and proposes to you, the conservationist and land manager, how we will work for you. We are committed to providing leadership for a shared vision of bird conservation. We will leverage new resources and channel them to people working on the ground. We will help to build bridges and to expand current conservation partnerships. This initiative will help to create an environment in which all concerned with the health of the land natural resource managers, hunters, landowners, birdwatchers, and others can work together to achieve common goals.