Partners in Flight (PIF) Awards recognize exceptional contributions to the field of landbird conservation in the Americas in the categories of Leadership, Investigations, Public Awareness, Stewardship, and Lifetime Achievement.
2018 AWARDEES
LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Honors an individual or group that demonstrates outstanding guidance and direction
that contributes, or has contributed to, advancing PIF conservation efforts.
Judy Pollock (second from left) receiving her 2018 PIF Leadership Award at the PIF Eastern Working Group meeting in Tennessee, with her husband Scott Pollock (second from right), EJ Williams (far left), and Bob Ford (far right). |
JUDY POLLOCK
For her organizing, innovating, and inspiring generations of bird conservationists in the Chicago Region. She has engaged bird clubs, habitat restoration volunteers, zoo and museum scientists, and government bird conservation professionals to combine bird-friendly habitat restoration with citizen science and community engagement to meet bird conservation goals and through programming to introduce people to birding, bird conservation and bird monitoring. Judy helped spearhead the nation’s first Lights Out program, launched the Chicago Wilderness Grassland Bird Taskforce, was Director of Bird Conservation for the Audubon Chicago Region, and helped found and is on the Board of Directors of the Bird Conservation Network, a coalition of 21 organizations and 35,000 members. She is currently President of the Chicago Audubon Society.
Randy Dettmers (left) receiving his 2018 PIF Leadership Award at the PIF Eastern Working Group meeting in Tennessee, with EJ Williams (center) and Bob Ford (right). |
RANDY DETTMERS
For his decades of conserving Eastern birds and his long-standing commitment to PIF efforts. In his capacity with the Migratory Bird Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region, Randy has made significant contributions to priority bird conservation. He has been an active member of PIF’s Steering Committee and International Science Committee, has co-authored many bird conservation plans and technical reports including the 2004 and 2016 PIF Landbird Conservation Plans, was Chair of the PIF Northeast Working Group, and led the effort to create the new PIF Eastern Working Group. Randy has also made significant contributions to priority birds in the nonbreeding season in the Central and South American Highlands and the Dominican Republic, including Bicknell’s Thrush, Wood Thrush, and Cerulean Warbler.
At the 22nd BirdsCaribbean International Conference in Guadeloupe in July 2019, Greg Butcher (USFS) presents BirdsCaribbean with a 2018 PIF Group Leadership Award for Hurricane Relief and Recovery for Caribbean Birds and Habitats, with Andrew Dobson (President, BirdsCaribbean) accepting. Pictured from left to right are persons who participated in the hurricane recovery effort: Jennifer Yerkes (St. Martin), Mark Yokoyama (St. Martin), Scott Johnson (Bahamas), Natalya Lawrence (Antigua and Barbuda), Stephen Durand (Dominica), Frantz Delcroix (hidden, Guadeloupe), Anthony Levesque (Guadeloupe), Jose Colon (Puerto Rico), Julissa Irizarry (Puerto Rico), Laura Fidalgo (Puerto Rico), Judd Patterson (USA), Eduardo Llegus (Puerto Rico), Alcides Morales (Puerto Rico), Fernando Simal (Bonaire), Kathleen Wood (Turks and Caicos Islands), Adrianne Tossas (Puerto Rico), and Jennifer Valiulis (US Virgin Islands). Note that not all persons that helped with hurricane relief and recovery were present at the conference for this award. |
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BIRDS CARIBBEAN
For its Hurricane Relief and Recovery for Caribbean Birds and Habitats, a Group Award. BirdsCaribbean was recognized for its response to the devastating impacts in September 2017 of hurricanes Irma and Maria on Caribbean landbird populations and habitats, providing outstanding leadership by promptly organizing and implementing conservation recovery and restoration activities. Via its extensive network of members, cooperators, and volunteers, it sprang into action to organize “Operation Feeder Rescue” to provide crucial food resources to over 60 species of birds, and to raise funds to help Caribbean birds recover from the hurricanes. BirdsCaribbean also funded 15 small grants for post-hurricane assessments, restoration, and recovery of birds and their habitats, providing guidance for prioritizing conservation interventions.
PUBLIC AWARENESS AWARD
Honors an individual or group that contributes significantly to increasing the public’s
awareness and appreciation for birds, their habitats, or the need for conservation.
Liliana Chavarría-Duriaux (right) accepting a 2018 PIF Public Awareness Award, presented by Andrew Rothman. |
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LILIANA CHAVARRÍA-DURIAUX
For her work in building a solid foundation for bird conservation in Nicaragua. Liliana has dedicated her life to studying and protecting birds in Nicaragua, and her efforts have led to an increased appreciation for birds among local communities and landowners, and to valuable collaborations with national, regional, and international scientists. She has helped raise international awareness about the importance of this country for bird conservation, through co-authoring bird field guides, giving presentations, leading birding trips for school children, establishing and maintaining bird monitoring stations, and contributing to the conservation of priority shared species through PIF Mesoamerica and the Golden-winged Warbler Working Group. She and her husband established their coffee farm as a private preserve, Reserva El Jaguar, now a premier birding destination.
Do you know someone who has made major contributions to landbird conservation?
