New legislation will help bring birds back to the Western Hemisphere
WASHINGTON – “Birds don’t recognize borders, so we need to work with our neighbors to protect them wherever they fly,” said Marshall Johnson, conservation manager, National Audubon Society. “This legislation will provide more places to nest, overwinter and rest for the millions of birds across from farms and forests in Ohio, through the backyards and bays of Maryland, to the mountains of Columbia and beyond.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) this week introduced a bill to improve the Neotropical Migratory Birds Conservation Act. The NMBCA is an innovative, cost-effective approach to the conservation of more than 350 neotropical bird species in the United States that travel to Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Canada each year, such as the Scarlet Tanager, Swallow violet and Baltimore Oriole. It supports bird habitat conservation as well as research, monitoring, awareness and education.
As a matching grant program, it catalyzes funding from a variety of sources beyond the US government. Since 2000, the United States has invested $80 million, which has generated an additional $310 million in matching funds from public-private partnerships. These funds supported 658 projects in 36 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, 40 US states and territories, and Canadian provinces and territories.
“There are so many incredible, yet at risk, birds we share in the Western Hemisphere, this legislation will support shared stewardship of these birds and the places they need.“, Johnson said. “The bill would triple the NMBCA investment can do in habitat protection, restoration, education and research in the field. This too ensures that these funds are mobilized by other governments and partners.
the The Neotropical Migratory Bird Enhancement Act specifically aims to:
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More than triple the authorized annual funding for the program, increasing from a maximum of $6.5 million to a maximum of $25 million by FY2028.
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Increase the available matching of federal funds which can result in more and larger proposals and fewer barriers to partner engagement at a time when action is urgently needed.
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Provide greater capacity to implement the grant program by increasing the amount the Fish and Wildlife Service can allocate to its management.
“These are the kinds of investments we need to make to help recover the 3 billion birds lost on this continent alone since 1970,” Johnson added.
Each spring, millions of birds travel thousands of miles from Latin America and the Caribbean to their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada, as far north as the Arctic. As winter approaches, these migratory birds make the long journey south. Besides being among the most amazing and impressive species loved by bird watchers, these over 300 species of birds are also economically important for their role in pest control, seed dispersal, pollination for the agriculture and ecotourism. In the United States, the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there are 45 million bird watchers, generating an economic output of $96 billion.
In recent years, congressional spending committees and the Biden administration have shown increased commitment to funding the NMBCA program. To continue to expand the program, meet unmet demand from applicants, and address the urgent conservation needs of these species, Audubon urges Congress to pass and quickly advance this legislation.
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Media contact: Matt Smelser, [email protected]
About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects the birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, across the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and Audubon partners have an unprecedented scale reaching millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a non-profit conservation organization. Find out how to help audubon.org and follow us on Twitter and instagram at @audubonsociety.