The 2023-2024 Conservation Report: 8 Big Wins and More

The Strategic Framework defines how Pacific Birds catalyzes conservation and aligns the focus and work of this large-scale partnership. The Framework highlights how Pacific Birds is prioritizing conservation in coastal habitats and Western forests within the Pacific Birds service area. Within coastal habitats, the focus will center on estuaries, freshwater wetlands, and shallow marine habitats in coastal watersheds in the United States and Canada. Within Western forests, the focus will center on oak and prairie habitats in the Pacific Northwest, and riparian forests in British Columbia.

Three strategic plans are helping guide the next decade of conservation in Western Forests and Coastal Habitats. Each plan has specific goals and objectives, and each brings us to a new phase of landscape-scale work focused on implementation and accelerating conservation. Find the full documents below:

• Prairie, Oaks, and People: An Investment Strategy
• Coastal Wetlands Strategic Plan 
• A Strategic Plan for Hawaiʻi Wetlands

A new 600-acre addition to the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Oregon emerged from a collaboration with the FWS and the Willamette Valley Oak and Prairie Cooperative. The new Willamette Valley Conservation Area builds upon the success of local partnership and conservation planning. This significant addition to the National Wildlife Refuge system will benefit people, birds, and local communities.

This year, the Nature Trust of British Columbia announced the successful protection of 13 acres (5.2 hectares) of essential salmon and wildlife habitat along the Kw’a’luxw (Englishman) River. The river is a key spawning habitat for all five species of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), and an important habitat for 250+ species of migratory and breeding birds. They will collaborate with the Snaw-Naw-As (Nanoose) First Nation on the management and long-term stewardship of this area.

Through a one-year Catalyst Grant from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative, Pacific Birds coordinated and facilitated an Indigenous Knowledge workshop with over 40 participants as part of a project to elevate Indigenous Knowledge in the NERRS network and to explore practical applications of Indigenous Knowledge and biocultural restoration practices for the conservation of culturally important birds and coastal wetland habitats. Read the Key Takeaways report to learn more.

In April 2024, Pacific Birds and partners hosted over 150 people at the Predator and Wetland Workshop at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center to share knowledge about predator control, wetland, loʻi kalo (taro pondfield), and loko iʻa (fishpond) management and restoration, and waterbird conservation in Hawaiʻi. Some key takeaways included an interest in smaller-scale, deeper dives located at wetlands sites and focused on key topics of wetland bird management and predator control.

Two grants were secured, representing more than $1.1 million in conservation investments on Kauaʻi and Molokaʻi. 

Two NAWCA projects, totaling $4.3 million, are being leveraged with matching partner funds totaling ~$7.7 million to restore and enhance 3,451 acres of wetlands in Alaska and Washington.