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The
Bird Conservation Scene
The Bird Plans
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A birdwatcher
and snow geese at an observation
tower at Chincoteague NWR in Virginia. |
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Photo: FWS |
Since
the late 1980s, the world of bird conservation
has been facilitated by the move toward
multiple "plans" or "initiatives" outlining
national and continental conservation priorities.
There are now four national and international
efforts to bring together government agencies,
bird groups, conservation organizations,
and businesses to plan for a secure future
for our birds. These four are the North
American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP,
with a duck and goose orientation), the
U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan (USSCP),
a North American Waterbird Conservation
Plan (NAWCP, concentrating on colonial and
related waterbirds), and Partners in Flight
(PIF, with a special emphasis on Neotropical
migrant landbirds). Finally, the North American
Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) seeks
to facilitate coordination between all four
plans and integrated bird management in
the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
NWRA is involved in varied efforts through
a number of these plans, through our staffwork,
associated Friends groups, and other interaction.
For links to the bird plans click on the
following:
The Federal Duck Stamp
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Jay Norwood
"Ding" Darling, "father of the Duck
Stamp," was a Pulitzer-Prize-winning
editorial cartoonist and a bird
conservationist. |
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Photo: FWS, NCTC/The Des Moines
Register |
In
response to a wetland and waterfowl crisis
which ravaged the continent in the early
decades of the 20th century, conservationists
devised a number of innovations. Among these
was the creation of the Federal Duck Stamp
in 1934, essentially a federal waterfowl-hunting
license to raise funds for wetland habitat
acquisition in the struggling Refuge System.
As an upshot to the funds brought in by
the stamp, additional federal dollars going
into acquisition, and the application of
new "scientific management techniques,"
there was an exponential growth in the Refuge
System over the next decade, and the waterfowl
began to respond immediately.
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The Duck Stamp
Contest entries are evaluated in
1951. The winning image (to be placed
on the 1951-52 stamp, costing $2)
was of a pair of Gadwalls created
by Maynard Reece. |
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Photo: FWS/William Schmidtman |
Over the many decades since its creation,
the stamp has been credited with over $670
million collected for the acquisition of
more than five million acres of wetland
habitat in Refuges. In addition to waterfowl,
of course, many other birds, as well as
fish, amphibian, reptile, and mammal species
dependant on wetland habitats have benefited.
Moreover, an estimated one-third of our
Endangered and Threatened species find food
or shelter in Refuges created or expanded
through the use of these stamp funds.
Among the non-game bird groups that have
directly benefited from Federal Duck Stamp
revenues are grebes, bitterns, rails, shorebirds,
and terns, as well as raptors and many songbird
species.
Many of the country's most popular birding
destinations are National Wildlife Refuges
that have benefited as a result of dollars
collected through the stamp. Examples of
these Refuges are Bombay Hook in Delaware,
Sonny Bono Salton Sea in California, Ding
Darling in Florida, Aransas and Santa Ana
in Texas, Parker River in Massachusetts,
John Heinz in Pennsylvania, Bosque del Apache
in New Mexico, Lostwood in North Dakota,
and Great Dismal Swamp in North Carolina
and Virginia. The list could go on.
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This is the
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation
Stamp for 2002-2003, created by
Joseph Hautman, and featuring the
Black Scoter, an elegant "sea
duck." |
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Photo: Federal Duck Stamp Office |
Today, anyone with a stamp - whether or
not you are a waterfowl hunter - may gain
free admission to any National Wildlife
Refuge which charges for entry. The $15
spent on a Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation
Stamp (the official name of the Stamp since
1977) is a bargain and a contribution to
conservation and the Refuge System. The
life of the stamp extends from 1 July to
30 June of the following year.
For more details on the stamp, check this
site.
More
Bird Conservation Information
Bird
conservation is both dynamic and fascinating.
There are many exciting ways you can get
engaged - at your favorite refuge and elsewhere.
And it doesn't take an "expert" to do so;
in fact, skill-building and contributions
to bird conservation are best achieved in
tandem. To review other aspects of the current
ongoing bird-conservation scene, you can
visit our other bird conservation
webpages or visit All
about Birds, a website project between
Swarovski and the Cornell Laboratory of
Ornithology.
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