Resources
Landbird Habitat Conservation Strategy Upper Mississippi and Great Lakes Region Joint Venture (2020)

The goal of this revised Joint Venture (JV) Landbird Habitat Conservation Strategy (Strategy) is to guide regional conservation that results in habitat to support populations of priority landbird species and related social values, consistent with continental bird conservation goals. Priority birds include JV focal species used for regional planning, as well as other species considered a high conservation concern by JV partners. The target audience includes those involved with planning, developing, and implementing landbird conservation at state and Bird Conservation Region (BCR) scales. However, information presented in this Strategy should also help clarify potential roles for local-scale managers, leading to best practices for work areas within a regional context. New to this iteration of the Strategy is organization by grassland- and forest-bird habitats. Also new is emphasis on people and the role of human dimensions research to guide bird conservation. For example, the document includes a novel chapter regarding conservation of urban birds and developed lands.
Unlike the 2007 JV Landbird Strategy, with its continental top-down approach, this revision provides far more regional-scale information regarding land cover (and bird habitat) change, landscape ecology, and important threats to birds. The Strategic Habitat Conservation (SHC) section conveys a regional overview for each SHC planning component, whereas sections devoted to grasslands, forests, and urban birds offer guild-specific information and objectives, along with a conservation design to target bird habitat delivery. Due to the vast diversity of landbird species and habitats, ecological systems, land-use patterns, and conservation opportunities across this large JV region, recommendations provided for bird habitat actions are general. However, links to online resources provided throughout the document offer supplementary conservation information and management examples. Joint Venture scientists also plan to assist conservation partners developing smaller-scale tactical bird-habitat delivery plans with more explicit management actions upon request.