New Tri-National Conservation Vision Issued

Twenty years ago, a group of agencies, conservation organizations, academics, industry, and private individuals formed Partners in Flight. Their goal was to cooperate across states and provinces, across the continent, and across three languages, to protect birds in all the places they spend their lives. It was a formal recognition that North America is stitched together by the lives and migrations of birds. Watch the video below.

Of the 882 land birds that occur in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, nearly one-third depend on at least two of these countries for their survival. Our land really is their land, in this case—and in the just-issued Partners In Flight Tri-National Vision that basic fact is underscored: “Conserving our shared birds will require a continental, and ultimately hemispheric, perspective and a commitment to international cooperation,” the report reads.

Download a PDF of the Tri-National Vision or explore the report on the website—which is accessible in English, French, and Spanish. The report assesses the condition of bird populations on the continent, including changes in both diversity and abundance. It offers two perspectives of our home, as a continent of people and a continent of birds.

We’ve also prepared a 5-minute video that does a fine job of reminding us what it is we’re all committed to conserving. Almost as much a piece of artwork as it is a statement of scientific intent, the video offers intimate glimpses of our continent’s bird life immersed in bird song—exactly the experience this three-nation partnership is committed to keeping alive in the natural world. Watch it here:

The report was prepared by two dozen people representing more than 15 organizations (full credits here). Partners in Flight’s mission since 1990 has been to help species at risk and keep common birds common. Partners in Flight is coordinated by four parallel national committees representing state and federal government agencies; nongovernmental conservation organizations; and industry. The Implementation Committee and the PIF Council provide forums to resolve major issues at all levels of Partners in Flight. These two oversight committees meet twice annually.