Act for Songbirds Teleconference Highlights Need to Boost Conservation Funding

A June 11 teleconference featuring a distinguished panel of politicians and scientists is now available to the public. Representatives Ron Kind and Wayne Gilchrest, along with Dr. David Wilcove, Sara Lara of Fundación ProAves and American Bird Conservancy’s Darin Schroeder, discussed the plight of migratory birds, and the proposed reauthorization of a successful conservation program, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA). The complete recording and selected excerpts are available here.

American Bird Conservancy’s new report, Saving Migratory Birds for Future Generations: The Success of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, reveals that at least 29 species of Neotropical migratory songbirds that breed in the United States and winter in Latin America and the Caribbean have declined by at least 45% in the past 40 years.

The NMBCA has proven effective in stemming these declines and conserving migratory birds. Representatives Ron Kind and Wayne Gilchrest recently introduced legislation in the House, H.R. 5756, to reauthorize NMBCA at a significantly higher funding level to multiply the successes of this program. A Bird News Network video featuring Representatives Kind and Gilchrest discussing the need for this legislation is also available.

Citizens are being encouraged to take part in American Bird Conservancy’s Act for Songbirds Campaign to contact their Representatives in support of this legislation. Visit http://www.abcbirds.org/action to take action today.