The Canadian Wildlife Service, Pacific and Yukon Region, is involved in many international, national and regional initiatives aimed at conserving migratory birds and their habitat, biodiversity and species at risk. The very fact that birds migrate vast distances makes these broad initiatives, and the partnerships they foster, essential if populations are to be maintained. This page briefly describes some of these initiatives and how they relate to each other. Coordination of the regional components of these programs is mainly from the Pacific Wildlife Research Centre.

Scott Islands Marine Wildlife Area

Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) is leading an initiative to establish a Marine Wildlife Area in the marine waters surrounding the Scott Islands. This protected marine area would serve to safeguard the critical foraging area used by the seabirds that occupy the five islands that make up the Scott Islands, off the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island.

Representatives of the Canadian Wildlife Service have hosted a series of Public Information Sessions to provide information and respond to questions and comments regarding the wildlife values of the Scott Islands marine area, and the proposed process for defining the boundaries and developing a cooperative management regime for the MWA. These sessions were intended to provide an opportunity for input and feedback to CWS staff and to establish an ongoing dialogue on the Scott Island MWA establishment process. Please click on 'public information sessions' to obtain information on this process.

In November 1998, in Puebla Mexico, the North American Bird Conservation Initiative was initiated by more than 100 leading conservationists from Mexico, the United States and Canada. It is supported and facilitated by the Commission for Environmental Co-operation, an organization created by the North American Free Trade Agreement to deal with environmental issues that affect Mexico, the United States and Canada.

The vision of NABCI-Canada is that:

the diversity and abundance of Canadian birds and their habitats are sustained or restored through cooperative, ecologically-based partnerships.

The goal of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative is to facilitate the conservation of native North American birds by increasing the effectiveness of existing and new initiatives, enhancing co-ordination, and fostering greater co-operation among the nations and peoples of the continent. North American Bird Conservation Councils have been established in each of the three countries. Canada's Council, officially formed in December, 1999, is an expanded North American Wetlands Conservation Council.

In Canada, NABCI will be implemented through regionally-based, landscape oriented partnerships, for example the Pacific Coast Joint Venture, that deliver on the goals of the following programs:

• North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP)
• Partners in Flight-Canada (PIF) 
• Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan (CSCP) 
• Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN)
• North American Colonial Waterbird Conservation Plan
• Important Bird Areas (IBA)

The North American Wetlands Conservation Council (Canada), established in 1990, is composed of federal and provincial agencies and non-governmental organizations. It is the senior Canadian body that advises the federal Minister of the Environment on all aspects of the development, coordination, and implementation of wetland conservation initiatives of national or international scope.

The roles of the NAWCC (Canada) include: Providing national leadership on all matters related to funding and managing the implementation and evaluation of NAWMP habitat joint ventures in Canada. Three joint ventures (Pacific Coast, Prairie Habitat, and Eastern Habitat) and several species ventures (Arctic Goose, Black Duck and Sea Duck for example) are currently underway. Serving as a national coordinating group for the development and implementation of wetland conservation policy and awareness programs in Canada. Serving as a national group for coordinating Canadian involvement in international wetland conservation initiatives. NAWCC (Canada) recently expanded its membership and its role to be the coordinating body of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (Canada).

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan aims to conserve migratory waterfowl throughout the continent. The Plan's goal is to return waterfowl populations to their 1970s levels by conserving wetland and upland habitat. Canada and the United States signed the Plan in 1986 in reaction to critically low numbers of waterfowl. Mexico joined in 1994 making it a truly
continental effort. The Plan is a partnership of federal, provincial / state and local governments, non-governmental organizations, private companies and many individuals, all working towards achieving better wetland habitat for the benefit of waterfowl, other wetland-dependant species and people.

The Plan aims to restore waterfowl populations in North America by securing, enhancing, and managing wetland and upland habitat across the continent. A major objective of The Plan is to achieve and maintain a breeding population of 62 million ducks which could produce a fall flight of 100 million waterfowl. The Plan also aims at maintaining wintering populations of 6 million geese and 152,000 swans. An estimated 4.5 million hectares in Canada and the U.S. will be affected by The Plan activities over the first 15 years of the program. In Canada alone, the goal is to secure and enhance a minimum of 2 million hectares.

Throughout North America, NAWMP is delivered through partnerships called "joint ventures". Each joint venture includes the participation of individuals, corporations, conservation organizations and government agencies. In the Pacific and Yukon Region we are involved with four Joint Ventures. Two of these are focused on habitat– the Pacific Coast Joint Venture and the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture – while the other two joint ventures are focused on specific species– the Arctic Goose Joint Venture and the Sea Duck Joint Venture.

The Pacific Coast Joint Venture (PCJV), which extends from northern California to the Skeena River in British Columbia, was established in 1991 to co-ordinate the efforts of government agencies and private organizations trying to protect and manage pacific coast wetlands and adjacent upland habitats. The Pacific Coast Joint Venture is overseen by an international management Board consisting of representatives from U.S. and Canadian federal, provincial/state governments and non-governmental organizations from both countries.

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Oregon Department of Fish and Game
• Canadian Wildlife Service
• Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
• Ducks Unlimited Canada
• The Nature Trust of British Columbia
• Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
• California Department of Fish and Game
• The Nature Conservancy
• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

The overall goals are to secure 101,000 hectares, enhance 9,000 hectares, restore 8,000 hectares and manage 48,000 hectares. Other objectives include other less direct landscape level activities such as stewardship.

Partners in the Pacific Coast Joint Venture promote the maintenance of wildlife habitat, sustainable agriculture and biological diversity of coastal wetland ecosystems. Efforts in British Columbia complement projects in Washington, Oregon and California.

In British Columbia, projects include:

1. Securement - direct purchase or donations of land, Crown land transfers, covenants and easements ensures the preservation of critical wetlands and upland habitats. Securement activities are carried out through the Pacific Estuary Conservation Program
2. Enhancements and restoration - habitat modification increases the carrying capacity or diversity of secured ecologically significant land
3. Management and Stewardship - voluntary stewardship on private land offers opportunities for community and local government involvement in promoting sustainable land use practices, conserving natural values and enhancing habitat
4. Monitoring and Evaluation - critical wildlife and fish habitats are identified and the effectiveness of projects to maintain coastal wetland ecosystems is determined

Since 1991, PCJV partners have secured over 28,000 hectares and invested over $47 million in various conservation activities in British Columbia. The land securement and enhancement co-ordination and delivery program of the PCJV in British Columbia is the Pacific Estuary Conservation Program (PECP).

In 1999, the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture extended its program boundaries from Canada's Prairie Provinces to include 4.7 million acres of habitat along the Peace River of British Columbia. This prairie-like habitat is unique to British Columbia and is contiguous extension of Alberta’s Peace Parkland.

Lying in the northeast corner of British Columbia, the Peace River area represents Canada’s most northerly agricultural region. Intensive agriculture practices include grain growing, ranching and aspen harvesting. Adopting the techniques of the larger Prairie Care program to British Columbia, BC Prairie Care has been a resounding success.

The goal of the Arctic Goose Joint Venture, which was established in the early 1990s, is to foster greater research and monitoring of Arctic-nesting geese so that improved population management may proceed. Given the international scope of Arctic geese, partnerships are required to study Arctic goose populations effectively during their annual cycles. The members of the Arctic Goose Joint Venture management board are:

• Canadian Wildlife Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Delaware Division of Wildlife
• Ducks Unlimited Inc.
• Mexico Inst. Nacional de Ecología
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, Parks
• Manitoba Dept. of Natural Resources
• U.S. National Biological Survey
• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
• Ducks Unlimited Canada
• Yukon Dept. of Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development
• Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

Two projects currently underway in British Columbia include population turnover and interchange of Brant staging in coastal British Columbia and population and recruitment estimates for Lesser Snow Geese on the Fraser and Skagit deltas. These are summarized below.

Brant: British Columbia provides important intertidal habitat for approximately 30,000 Brant migrating north in spring to Arctic nesting grounds. Their migration route has been monitored since 1989 using marked individuals and rigorous surveys. Although migrating Brant have strong fidelity to specific stopover areas, they stay varying lengths of time at different sites. In northern locations on the Queen Charlotte Islands the birds stay five to seven days, while in the southern portions of the province, the length of stay is much shorter at one to three days. Further research on the possible reasons for this variation is underway. Factors being investigated include human disturbance, variation in habitat quality and the condition of the birds at the different sites. The research helps identify the importance of particular sites and the possible limitation of these coastal wetlands.

Lesser Snow Geese: The Fraser and Skagit deltas provide critical overwintering habitat for approximately 40,000-50,000 Lesser Snow Geese from Wrangel Island, Russia, more than half of the Wrangel Island population. These are the last remaining Snow Geese in Russia and the only population that migrates between Asia and North America; hence, their international importance. Researchers have completed photo censuses of the geese on their nesting grounds annually for the last five years to determine abundance and recruitment. These data are used to help set harvest regulations in British Columbia and Washington state, to develop mathematical models to determine the importance of harvest recruitment to population dynamics and to predict long-term abundance.

Although the 15 species of sea ducks constitute 42% of the duck species breeding in North America, they are the least understood. Basic biological information is lacking for some species and there is no reliable population index or estimate for any. Since NAWMP was signed in 1986, the eastern Canadian population of Harlequin Ducks and the Alaskan population of Spectacled Eider have been listed as endangered and the Steller's Eider as threatened.

Sea duck issues include lack of knowledge on which to base management, habitat change on both breeding and wintering areas, possible effects of environmental contaminants on survival and productivity and the current inability to accurately measure harvest.

The large number of sea duck species, the vastness of their geographic range and the complexity of issues affecting their conservation make management of sea ducks are daunting, far beyond the capability of any one agency or country. However, estimated population declines in 10 of the 15 species suggests that sustainable management should be strengthened now. Specialists view the Sea Duck Joint Venture, approved in 1999 under NAWMP as the best vehicle to provide the information and build the partnerships required to succeed. The members of the Sea Duck Joint Venture management board are:

• Canadian Wildlife Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Ducks Unlimited Inc.
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Newfoundland Dept. of Forest Resources and Agrifoods
• Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
• Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game

In British Columbia, sea duck projects focus on breeding, wintering, and molt ecology of sea ducks, population demographics, toxics levels, habitat use, and aerial/ground surveys.

Environment Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and The Nature Trust of British Columbia have created a new office to further wetland conservation in British Columbia (BC) called the BC Wetlands Joint Venture Secretariat.

The BC Wetlands Joint Venture Secretariat has been established to coordinate, facilitate, and market wetland conservation in British Columbia. A key aspect of the Secretariat's role is to coordinate activities and act as liaison within existing partnership programs, including BC’s involvement in the Pacific Coast Joint Venture, the Intermountain Wetland Conservation Program, and the BC portions of the Boreal Forest Initiative, the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture, the Arctic Goose Joint Venture, and the Sea Duck Joint Venture.

Partners in Flight is an international initiative that focuses on landbird conservation. It advocates a grassroots approach involving local organizations. Regions develop their own goals and strategies around keeping common birds common. Partners in Flight is a coalition of conservation groups, academic institutions, government agencies, First Nations and countries which are working to maintain the health of bird populations and their habitats. Planning, outreach, research, monitoring and applied conservation are the program’s main strategies. Activities in British Columbia and Yukon are coordinated through the Western Working Group which is made up of Partners in Flight representatives in the western U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

The vision of the Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan is that healthy populations of shorebirds will be distributed across their range and diversity of habitats in Canada and throughout their global range. It recognizes the need to collaborate internationally, regionally and locally. The five goals of the Plan are:

1. sustain the distribution, diversity and abundance of shorebird populations within Canada, and restore populations of declining and threatened species;
2. secure and enhance sufficient high quality habitat to support healthy populations of shorebirds throughout their ranges in Canada;
3. ensure that information on shorebird conservation needs and practices is widely available to decision makers, land managers, and the public;
4. ensure that coordinated shorebird conservation efforts are in place, on the ground, throughout the range of Canadian shorebird species;
5. ensure that shorebird conservation efforts are guided by common principles throughout the Western Hemisphere

The purpose of the Pacific and Yukon Region (PYR) Shorebird plan is to address regional shorebird management needs in the context of national goals set out in the Canadian Shorebird Plan. The PYR Shorebird Plan is one of five regional plans (i.e., Pacific and Yukon, Prairie and Northern, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic) being developed across Canada. The Plan is also intended to complement plans for areas to the south (U.S. Northern Pacific Coast), to the west (Alaska), and to the north (Arctic Working Group) and international efforts such as the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN). As with the national plan, this plan has identified specific goals for shorebird management, habitat protection and stewardship, monitoring and research, and coordination which support population goals, and has provided an outline of specific strategies required to achieve them. Delivery of the regional plan will primarily be through the Pacific Coast Joint Venture.

Environment Canada’s Latin American Program promotes conservation of shared migratory bird populations in Latin American countries. The program targets the many species of birds that are either Canadian migrants or breeders that overwinter in Mexico, Central or South America. Currently, Canadian Wildlife Service staff in British Columbia focus on Mexico, Panama and Ecuador, working to conserve over wintering shorebirds and Pacific Brant.

An Important Bird Area (IBA) is a site providing essential habitat for one or more species of breeding or non-breeding birds. These sites may contain threatened species, endemic species, species representative of a biome, or highly exceptional concentrations of birds.

The first Important Bird Area program was initiated by BirdLife International in Europe during 1985 in response to the European Economic Community's request of BirdLife to produce a priority list of sites for protection in Europe. A directory to IBAs in Europe was published in 1989. Today, IBA programs are underway in Asia, Africa, Europe, Middle East, and the Americas. The Canadian Important Bird Area program was launched in 1996 by the Canadian Nature Federation and Bird Studies Canada, the Canadian BirdLife partners. Currently, BirdLife has national representation in over 100 countries around the world.

CWS works in partnership with a broad-array of government and non-government organizations in the development and delivery of large-scale ecosystem-based initiatives. These initiatives focus on geographic areas where there are important wildlife habitats as well as significant pressures on the landscape. These initiatives take a broad landscape approach and focus on partnerships in order to support the achievement of specific results. These initiatives are consistent with, and build upon the plans and actions of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative as described above.

Managing growth to achieve healthy, productive and sustainable ecosystems and communities is the shared vision of the Georgia Basin Ecosystem Initiative, a partnership between Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks and other partners. Its activities focus on four action plans: Clean Air, Clean Water, Conserving and Protecting Habitat and Species, and Building Sustainable Communities. The Canadian Wildlife Service and the Ministry of Environment Lands and Parks co-lead the Protecting Habitat and Species action plan. This action plan focuses on three main results: network of protected areas; supporting sustainable land use decisions; and fostering community involvement. It builds on and supports activities of the Pacific Coast Joint Venture, Partners in Flight, Species at Risk, and other initiatives within its boundaries.

The South Okanagan-Similkameen region is one of Canada’s three most endangered ecosystems containing many rare and endangered species including many species not found elsewhere in Canada. The region is also a critical "wildlife corridor" serving as a pathway for annual species movement between summer and winter ranges. The corridor has also served as the principle portal for the entry of southern plants and animals into the interior of BC.

The South Okanagan – Similkameen Conservation Program (SOSCP), developed by a broad array of government and non-government partners, aims to focus conservation efforts to maintain this natural system and the great variety of plant and animal species that exist within it. The program outlines strategies to achieve this goal including: fostering community involvement; promoting ecologically sustainable land use; enhancing stewardship on private and Crown land; and acquiring key habitats. The SOSCP seeks a balance between wildlife requirements and human needs. Four key habitats have been proposed for Program activities: wetland and riparian, grassland/shrub-steppe, coniferous forest, and rugged terrain. The partners have developed a Prospectus for the program which outlines the biological importance of the area, the types of activities to be carried out, and long-term objectives.

A key component of the Program is the link to efforts related to the conservation, protection and recovery of species at risk in the region. The SOSCP will be an important mechanism for the implementation of the national strategy to protect species at risk of which the proposed federal Species at Risk Act, currently before the House of Commons, is one element.

The Fraser River Action Plan (FRAP) was part of the federal Green Plan to improve environmental quality and habitat conservation in selected ecosystems across Canada. In British Columbia, Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans teamed up with a variety of partners in a five-year program to clean-up, restore and conserve aquatic and wetland habitats throughout the Fraser River basin. The program ended in 1998. A number of technical and general publications were produced.