A vital aspect of the PIF Awards is making them accessible to nominees across the Western Hemisphere. Once award winners are selected, there is always the challenge of how to get the physical awards to our esteemed colleagues in Latin America or the Caribbean. We’re always looking for couriers who can hand-carry an award to the recipient, either in that awardee’s home country or another country where the recipient may be attending a conference or workshop.

One of those couriers for a 2022 PIF Award was Jesús Franco with the American Bird Conservancy, the Assistant Coordinator for the binational Rio Grande Joint Venture based in McAllen, Texas. Carol Beidleman, Chair of the PIF Awards Committee, had reached out to Humberto Berlanga with CONABIO in México about needing a courier for the 2022 PIF Public Awareness Award for Museo de las Aves de México (MUSAVE) in Saltillo, Coahuila. Humberto recommended Jesús, who has close ties and physical proximity to Saltillo. Jesús had graduated from Antonio Narro Agricultural University in Saltillo before completing his M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management at Texas A&M University. Thus, these were his old stomping grounds. Ever the generous-hearted PIF’er, Jesús jumped at the opportunity to provide this important service to bring the award to Saltillo and help honor his Mexican colleagues.
Jesús communicated his offer to the MUSAVE staff, who then decided it would be a great opportunity to hold an award ceremony at the museum. On June 3, 2023, Jesús Franco presented, on behalf of Partners in Flight, the 2022 Partners in Flight Public Awareness Award to the Museo de las Aves de Mexico in the City of Saltillo.

Through the Partners in Flight (PIF) Awards, PIF has recognized outstanding individuals and groups across the Americas for their exceptional contributions to the field of landbird conservation since 1996.  PIF Awards are given in the categories of Leadership, Investigations, Public Awareness, Stewardship, and the David N. Pashley Lifetime Achievement Award. We are pleased to have seven 2022 PIF Award winners, four individuals for Leadership, one group each for Investigations and Public Awareness, and one individual for the David N. Pashley Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Do you know someone who has made exceptional contributions to landbird conservation? Nominate an individual or group for a Partners in Flight Award!

Partners in Flight Awards recognize exceptional contributions to the field of landbird conservation in the Americas. Nominees will be considered who have significantly furthered the mission of Partners in Flight and its goal of protecting priority migratory and resident landbirds and their habitats. To be eligible, projects or activities must have been initiated after 1990. Nominees will be evaluated in five award categories: Leadership, Investigations, Public Awareness, Stewardship, and the David N. Pashley Lifetime Achievement Award.

The future of birds and the future of our communities are deeply intertwined, and it will take all of us to ensure they can thrive in a changing world. Join the team behind the 2022 State of the Birds Report—the first since the landmark study in 2019 showed the loss of 3 billion birds in the U.S. and Canada in the past 50 years—to learn about bird conservation successes, species in need of urgent attention, and how communities demonstrate that bird conservation is an incredible vehicle for environmental justice.

As part of the PIF Visioning Retreat in February 2022, Carol Beidleman provided a summary from the PIF Retrospective Team, looking to the past to inform the future. This Team, with Carol Beidleman as lead, included Carol Beardmore, Geoff Geupel, and John Alexander. Through meetings in 2020 and 2021, the group examined both the successes and challenges of PIF’s first 30 years.

For our 30th anniversary, the Partners in Flight Steering Committee launched a long and short-term visioning exercise to consider obstacles and opportunities for bird conservation. Our target was to identify how the steering committee can ensure that Partners in Flight continues as a driving force in bird conservation into the future.

Calling all bird lovers! We need everyone who cares about birds to rally together for the passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. With historic levels of funding and support from both sides of the aisle, this once-in-a-generation legislation is a rare bird. Join us as we flock together in support of this critical bill, which will help protect birds long into the future and make the enjoyment of birds more accessible for all!

Thank you to everyone that attended the Forest for the Birds webinar series. This 12-part lecture series addresses the 50-year decline of 3 billion birds through partnerships, conservation science, and forest management. The series told a compelling story about forest bird population declines, partnership opportunities, and forest management actions that can support bird population recovery and sustainability. 

Did you miss the last Forest for the Birds Webinar by Dr. John Alexander from the Klamath Bird Observatory? No worries you can find the recording of John’s webinar “Effectiveness monitoring – evaluating the effects of forest management on bird populations,” here. All of the recorded webinars from the Forest of the Birds Series can be […]

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) honored Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) with their National Conservation Partner Award on March 10, 2021. KBO has been collaborating with the BLM’s Medford and Lakeview districts and Oregon State and National offices for more than 20 years. The award recognized KBO’s instrumental role in applying avian science to inform […]