In western Kansas, water isn’t a background issue. It’s the issue. It determines whether crops can be grown, whether livestock operations can operate or even expand, and whether small towns can count on a reliable drinking water supply. And for a region with limited surface water, it also determines what the next generation inherits. That’s [...]
Shorebirds in the Prairie Region of Canada have experienced long-term declines, including the threatened Lesser Yellowlegs, which has declined by 70% since 1970. Partners in our Prairie Habitat Joint Venture (PHJV) Science Committee are working to ensure that target landscapes include much needed habitat for Lesser Yellowlegs and other shorebird species. Lesser Yellowlegs breed in [...]
Since 2021, the Sea Duck Joint Venture has supported a large-scale collaborative research project to deploy Argos satellite tracking devices on American Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima dresseri). Eider populations have been declining across the southern part of their breeding range since the early 21st century. These changes are hypothesized to be caused by the rapid [...]
The Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP), formed in 1996, brings together 19 public and private partners to conserve and restore the longleaf pine ecosystem and unique aquatic resources of northwest Florida and southern Alabama. Together, these partners own and manage nearly 1.3 million acres, including 70% of the world’s remaining old-growth longleaf pine habitats, [...]
The JV8 Central Grasslands Conservation Initiative is excited to announce the official launch of its newly redesigned website JV8.org. The JV8 Central Grasslands Conservation Initiative is a long-term collaborative effort by eight Migratory Bird Joint Ventures (JVs) working together to implement grassland conservation from Mexico to Canada. The redesigned website offers a blueprint for expanding [...]
In southeast New Mexico, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is working to preserve grassland habitat and improve rangeland health on public lands by treating and removing invasive mesquite. This is part of a larger effort through Restore New Mexico to remove mesquite on both public and private lands. Since 2005, the partnership has treated [...]
The Sonoran Joint Venture has been supporting long-term ecological monitoring for decades. This spring we partnered with the Tucson Audubon Society (TAS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to revive a Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) bird banding station in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in southeast Arizona. This station was previously [...]
While “Motus” may seem like the latest bird conservation buzzword, the Motus Wildlife Tracking System (Motus) is a program of Birds Canada that was launched in 2014. It has continued to gain popularity as a tool to study the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Radio telemetry has been used since the 1960’s to track [...]
The State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) practice within the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is an innovative approach which allows state fish and wildlife agencies, along with their federal and NGO partners, to define priority species and landscapes for practice delivery. North Dakota has several designated SAFE projects, but among the most relevant to the [...]
A key aspect to successful conservation delivery is listening to the needs of partners and shaping strategy around those conversations. That is what Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) is doing with two recently funded projects that address declining aquifer levels in Kansas. Groundwater Recharge and Sustainability Project This past year, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service [...]