Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews
Pacific Birds is pleased to announce the awardees of the U.S. 2022 Partnership Grants. Eight organizations in four states will receive support to further advance bird conservation in their communities. Projects this year will conserve land, create outreach, bring people together, and provide capacity for the strategic planning and coordination that make projects successful.
While eight organizations were funded this year, the number of involved partners that make these project possible is testament to the collaborative nature of this work. Eighty-nine organizations or agencies are associated with these projects, offering match, expertise, or support in other ways.
Below is a sample of the 2022 projects. You can see them all on our Partnership Grants web page.
The Wetlands Conservancy is an Oregon nonprofit that partners with communities to conserve wetlands. They will partner with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the MidCoast Watershed Council, Oregon State Parks, and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians to provide hands-on wetlands experiences, share knowledge about migratory birds, and begin conversations about how land management and stewardship can support first foods needs. The Olive-sided Flycatcher, Wandering Tattler (a State of the Birds Tipping Point species) and Snowy Plover are among the birds that use Oregonʻs coastal wetlands habitats and will benefit from wetlands conservation.
In Hawaiʻi, the Kākahaʻia Community Restoration Project is a collaborative
effort to restore a 40-acre coastal wetland agroecosystem in Kawela, Molokaʻi. Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Molokaʻi Land Trust, will undertake a scoping process to guide the long-term restoration of Kākahaʻia Loko Puʻuone and its adjacent loʻi (taro patch). This planning process places collaborative relationships and Indigenous knowledge/perspectives at the core of restoring this cultural landscape, for the benefit of threatened and endangered waterbirds.
Within our Oak and Prairie conservation priority, Ecostudies Institute will collaborate with multiple partners to build prescribed fire capacity on Tribal and private lands in the Willamette Valley. They will continue to build a five-person, year round, ecological fire crew and regional coordination team, expand training opportunities, and increase prescribed burning and the capacity for burning. They are committed to establishing a regional fire collaboration program that centers on Indigenous people and their priorities, and improves land and community.
More conserved wetlands and people who love them means more habitat and food for migratory birds. Birds are some of our greatest allies for wetland conservation, providing charismatic faces to see and fascinating stories to connect with.
- Kellyn Baez, The Wetlands Conservancy
