Whooping Cranes by Al Perry

Habitat loss and poor habitat management remain the greatest threats to birds in the United States. In North America, vast areas of wetlands were drained prior to the middle of the 20th Century, most of the eastern forests were logged before 1900, and virtually all the tall-grass prairies have now been converted to agriculture, causing declines in birds dependent on those habitats.

ABC engages in broad-scale, partner-based work across the United States, using the best available conservation science, data, and planning, to conserve or expand millions of acres of public and private lands in order to benefit dozens of threatened bird species and hundreds more declining species.

ABC is a key player in Partners in Flight and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, and provides leadership in several Joint Ventures. JVs are regional partnerships involving federal, state, and local government agencies, corporations, tribes, individuals, and a wide range of non-governmental organizations which advance conservation efforts and help identify local land use priorities. JVs provide coordination for conservation planning and implementation that benefit birds and other species using science-based goals and strategies, and a non-regulatory approach for achieving conservation.

ABC also conducts on-the-ground habitat conservation initiatives for priority birds:

Northern Bobwhite

Marbled Murrelet and Spotted Owl

Interior Least Tern

Cavity-nesting birds (Lewis's Woodpecker, Flammulated Owl, White-headed Woodpecker)

Golden-winged Warbler

Birds in oak habitats

Western Bluebird