The conservation activities will be conducted by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), a Manomet-based coalition of conservation organizations with 63 shorebird protection sites in eight nations of the Western Hemisphere. The Foundation funds will be matched two to one by Manomet and other non-governmental organizations, for a total investment of more than $900,000 for conservation projects.
In this second consecutive year of Foundation funding, new conservation initiatives will be implemented in North, Central and South America, with special emphasis on opportunities in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay. For instance, in the Grasslands of la Soledad in Mexico, voluntary land protection agreements will benefit mountain plovers and long-billed curlews, two highly threatened species of shorebirds. WHSRN scientists are identifying similar conservation opportunities and strategies for many other species of conservation concern, including the endangered red knot in Argentina.
"Protecting migratory birds is a high priority for the Foundation. To effectively restore declining populations will take a well focused, international response," said the Foundation's Executive Director, Jeff Trandahl. "By partnering with the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, we are investing resources with a recognized global leader in shorebird conservation. They share our philosophy of forming and supporting partnerships as a key to conserving natural resources."
"In the first year of our collaboration with the Foundation, we had many tangible accomplishments in our mutual goal to protect shorebirds," said Charles Duncan,
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Contact: Jim Elder
jim@eldercommunications.com
203-431-3573
Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences
17-Jan-2006