Migratory Bird Program: Difference between revisions

'''Migratory Bird Program''' is a Department of the Interior initiative administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that oversees the conservation of over 1,093 migratory bird species across the United States and its territories, managing more than 300 million acres of habitat and issuing over 16,000 permits annually as of 2025 to balance ecological preservation with public engagement.  

Established under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, it conducts surveys like the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey—ongoing since 1947—coordinates four flyways (Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, Pacific), and disbursed over $157 million in wetland conservation grants in 2024, supporting species like bald eagles and neotropical migrants through partnerships with over 2,000 entities, including states, tribes, and NGOs, amid challenges like a 3-billion-bird population decline over 50 years.

The Migratory Bird Program was sponsored by its own program office within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the Department of the Interior, headquartered at 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia.<ref>"Migratory Bird Program Structure," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov/program/migratory-birds/about-us, accessed February 19, 2025.</ref> Funding came from Congressional appropriations, with FY 2023 at $74.6 million, supporting Divisions of Migratory Bird Management and Bird Habitat Conservation, managing surveys, permits, and grants across four flyways with over 2,000 staff and collaborators like the Canadian Wildlife Service and Flyway Councils.