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 [...]
It’s a clear, May morning, on the plains of eastern Montana. The dawn chorus of birds welcomes the sun as it crests over hills of waving bunch grass. You can’t turn in any direction here without seeing a meadowlark singing atop a shrub or fencepost. You also can’t look anywhere without seeing, or hearing, cows. [...]
In 2026, the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture (PHJV) is celebrating 40 years of wetland and waterfowl conservation. However, many of these conservation successes have taken place behind the scenes and largely out of the public eye. We’re working to change that. The PHJV was one of the first joint ventures established after the North American [...]
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 [...]
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the North American Migratory Bird Joint Ventures. Since the North American Waterfowl Management Plan called for their creation in 1986, the Joint Ventures have become widely accepted as the model for cooperative conservation. On February 25, 2026, the Association of Joint Venture Management Boards (AJVMB), Ducks Unlimited, American [...]
Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture has officially launched the Decade of the Oak — a grassroots outreach initiative to build awareness and support for oak conservation by connecting individuals with their communities and local landscapes. The Decade of the Oak is a celebration as well as a call to action to help save and restore [...]
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 Northern Great Plains Joint Venture in collaboration with the South Dakota Grasslands Initiative sponsored the inaugural Grasslands Triple Crown Cycling Series in western South Dakota. The event drew 250 cyclists from 11 states. Each of the three events included a segment that passed through a USFS National Grassland: Fort Pierre, Grand River, and Buffalo [...]
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 [...]
Throughout 2026, Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture is celebrating the ʻalae ʻula, or Hawaiian Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata sandvicensis). There are just 712 of these waterbirds left. Although they are endemic to Hawaiʻi, they have been lost from all of the islands except Kauaʻi and Oʻahu. In order to thrive, ‘alae ‘ula require healthy coastal [...]