“Every year, more than 8 million shorebirds fly back and forth along the Pacific Americas Flyway, a migratory route used by birds between their breeding and wintering grounds. The Pacific Americas Flyway stretches over 10,000 miles (16, 000 km)—connecting North America’s Arctic with South America’s Patagonia— with many critical stops along the way. Migratory shorebirds face many threats during their journeys including habitat loss, disturbance, and a changing climate. Thirty-seven percent of migratory shorebirds in the Americas have been lost in the last 50 years and many more are at real risk of disappearing.” – Pacific Shorebird Conservation Initiative
The Pacific Shorebird Conservation Initiative is a collaborative, international partnership working to conserve migratory shorebirds that travel the length of the Western Hemisphere’s Pacific Americas Flyway. The Pacific Americas Flyway intersects with the Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture region in Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
The Initiative recently developed a collection of Story Maps that fills us in on what the partnership is, the threats faced by migratory shorebirds, and how partners throughout the Flyway are taking action to conserve them. Explore the 28 partner projects organized by the seven conservation strategies, a metrics dashboard that summarizes the project’s impacts, and a summary of their accomplishments.
As noted in the reports related to the loss of 3 Billion Birds, shorebirds as a group have seen a precipitous decline in the past 50 years. With habitat loss identified as a major driver of population declines, it will take a concerted, hemispheric effort to save this group of birds. The on-the-ground conservation, work to increase partner capacity, and other strategies outlined in the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Plan are leading the way.
View the STORY MAPS, and the Initiative’s PRESS RELEASE.
“For conservation efforts to be effective for migratory species like shorebirds, we need to work at local as well as international scales. Conservation efforts occurring at different points along the Pacific Flyway between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego benefits birds, improves habitats, and supports human communities all along the Pacific Birds region.”
– Monica Iglecia, Pacific Shorebird Conservation Initiative Steering Committee Member and Pacific Birds U.S. Coordinator
