The Office of Migratory Bird Management (MBMO) emphasizes the wise management and conservation of neotropical migratory birds. Through the Partners in Flight (PIF) network, MBMO has successfully developed numerous bird conservation projects that help ensure the continuation of one of the surest signs of Spring -- the grand phenomenon of migratory birds on the move!

What is Partners in Flight? A consortium of hundreds of private organizations, natural resource agencies, private businesses, industry associations, private landowners, foundations, universities, and individual citizens dedicated to maintaining healthy bird populations in the United States and throughout the Western Hemisphere. PIF is dedicated to 'Keeping Common Birds Common,' but many of their efforts are also aimed at less common species and at developing ways to avoid collision between wildlife conservation and economic development. Through those partnerships, PIF has been able to raise awareness of the value of migratory birds and the need for their protection. Before PIF, most people were not aware of any problem.

What's the Problem? Nearly 700 bird species breed on the North American continent north of Mexico. A gradual dwindling of populations of many once-common land birds was documented in the 1980s through scientific surveys. Declines were especially pronounced in neotropical migrants, species that breed in North America and spend the northern winter at tropical or subtropical latitudes. Although various state and federal laws and policies were in place to protect these species, few private or public resources were dedicated specifically to the international conservation of migratory land birds. Waterfowl and other wetland-associated species were covered by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Plan . What was needed was a plan for preventing the hundreds of species of neotropical migratory land birds from "falling through the cracks."

The Coalescing of Partners in Flight. In an effort to bring more conservation attention to the hundreds of species of North American migratory land birds, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and its partners sponsored an international workshop in 1990 that gave birth to the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Initiative, popularly called "Partners in Flight - Aves de las Americas". The goal of PIF is to maintain stable populations and enhance or restore declining populations of wild land birds, both migratory and resident.

What has Partners in Flight Accomplished? In only five short years, Partners in Flight has made monumental strides in drawing the attention of industry and business, landowners, government agencies, and citizens' groups to the need for more effective measures to protect migratory birds before they become Endangered. Partners in Flight has initiated more than 1,000 different projects, from restoration of damaged sites to region-wide monitoring projects to inclusion of migratory bird conservation in school curricula throughout the nation. The result has been widespread recognition by the federal government, Congress, state governments, Fortune 500 companies, conservation groups, local chambers of commerce, and many others that a public-private partnership is the most effective and gratifying approach to wildlife conservation.

Why has Partners in Flight been so Successful? Because they have stressed voluntary, cooperative partnerships that allow individuals, organizations, and agencies to do what they can to help migratory birds, but not place undue hardship on them by diminishing the importance of other types of land uses. Every one of the hundreds of active groups within the Partners in Flight consortium realize that the most economically and scientifically sound approach to bird conservation is to take action now to keep species off the Endangered Species List.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Partners in Flight. The Service has been active in developing the administrative, technical, and partnership foundations of PIF. From serving as Chairs of the Federal Committee, Regional Working Groups, National Technical Working Groups, and numerous other conservation initiatives, the Service has helped build a strong organizational infrastructure. The biological and educational expertise offered by the Service has perpetuated a scientific, logical, and effective approach to bird conservation, as well as dissemination of accurate information to the American public. The Service is the recognized technical advisor to PIF. In addition, hundreds of Service biologists and outreach specialists have dedicated their time to on-the-ground implementation of management and educational programs. For example, National Wildlife Refuges and private lands programs now have a more active role in neotropical migratory bird management compared to only a few years ago. Service outreach specialists and biologists regularly hold special workshops and educational programs on migratory birds for teachers and families from local communities. In 1995 and 1996, the Office of Migratory Bird Management played a significant role in organizing International Migratory Bird Day, a series of informative and fun events for families, businesses, and conservation organizations throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Need Additional Information? There are many opportunities for individuals, businesses, and conservation groups to become active in Partners in Flight. For general information and brochures about Partners in Flight and migratory bird conservation, contact:

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