Division of Bird Habitat Conservation

Joint venture is a term most usually associated with the workings of big business and found in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, but that changed in the mid 1980s.

It was at that time that waterfowl populations were in crisis. A 10-year-long drought and the draining of wetlands for agricultural and other uses were taking their toll on the birds’ habitats and subsequently on them. Because waterfowl were then (and are now) North America’s most prominent and economically important group of migratory birds, the U.S. and Canadian governments took action. Scientists from inside and outside the government were asked to identify “waterfowl habitat areas of major concern” across the continent and to develop a conservation plan. The North American Waterfowl Management Plan was signed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and the Canadian Minister of the Environment in 1986.

The scope of the conservation effort needed left no room for doubt: acting alone, the two federal governments did not have the resources needed to save these vital habitats. It was from this dilemma that the concept of conservation joint ventures was born: private- and public-sector partners working together to conserve the continent’s waterfowl populations and their essential habitats.

Conservationists concerned about other migratory bird groups—landbirds, shorebirds, colonial waterbirds—saw the success of the Plan model and adopted it as they developed conservation strategies for their species of concern. Rather than reinvent the wheel, they looked to the Plan’s joint ventures to help implement their plans. Within their established geographic areas, the Plan’s habitat joint ventures, when possible, have integrated the conservation of shorebirds, landbirds, and other waterbirds into their planning processes.

But “white spaces” remained on the map of North America—areas of habitat needing conservation attention where Plan joint ventures did not exist. New joint ventures, not associated with the Plan, have formed. To ensure a logical and coordinated approach to the development and support of these new joint ventures, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued Director’s Order No. 146 to define joint venture.

From the long-established joint ventures to those in various stages of development, there are nearly two dozen such partnerships at work across the continental landscape. In addition, three species-specific joint ventures are addressing the needs of the black duck, Arctic geese, and sea ducks throughout their international ranges. To date, Plan joint ventures have invested $4.5 billion to conserve 15.7 million acres of waterfowl habitat.

/birdhabitat/JointVentures/index.shtm was last updated 01/05/09 10:04:58

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