Abstract
Anew partnership to help protect birds on private lands was announced today by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Land Trust Alliance. The goal of the new Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative and associated website (birdtrust.org) is to improve conservation for declining species by pairing the bird conservation community with land trusts, which collectively protect more than 24 million acres of private land nationwide.
"It’s a natural fit," said Ron Rohrbaugh, the Cornell Lab's Assistant Director of Conservation Science. "Thousands of local and regional land trusts are already protecting private land for all sorts of reasons. This initiative enhances that work by adding specific strategies for bird conservation and by providing land trusts with new tools and science support to help them make even better decisions about which lands are worth their resources."
"Land trusts across the United States make critical contributions to conserving birds and, in return, birds benefit land trusts by
helping them grow support and increase their capacity to conserve land," said Erin Heskett, the Alliance’s director of national and regional services. "Our ongoing, cooperative work with the Cornell Lab highlights the role land trusts can play in sustainably increasing the pace and effectiveness of bird conservation."
A recent survey conducted by the Cornell Lab found that birds and bird habitat are a priority for two-thirds of land trusts. Many land trusts are already contributing to bird conservation in a variety of ways, such as putting land under easement and managing their lands to enhance habitat for birds. At the same time, a high percentage of land trusts expressed a desire for new resources, tools, and technical support to amplify and sharpen the focus of their bird conservation efforts.
With that in mind, the Alliance and Cornell Lab partnered to create the Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative and website. The Resources Directory of birdtrust.org is chock-full of technical...