For 32 years the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) has stood as a model of waterfowl conservation and as a beacon of success for wildlife conservation practitioners and enthusiasts worldwide. Through innovative partnerships combining science, boots-on-the-ground conservation delivery, and public and policy engagement, the Plan has demonstrated to the world how continental-scale conservation can be achieved.
This update of the 2012 NAWMP is appropriately subtitled “Connecting People, Waterfowl and Wetlands.” The biggest achievement has been applying social sciences toward the goal of increasing the numbers of waterfowl hunters and other conservationists across North America.
“The highlighted achievements in the 2018 update demonstrate the adaptation and resilience that has made the plan a success for over 30 years,” NAWMP committee members said in a news release. “We know how to focus resources on important landscapes, integrate conservation decisions, address Joint Venture-level population objectives and engage hunters, birdwatchers, and the public in conservation actions. Perhaps most importantly, we have learned that multiple stakeholders share an interest in waterfowl habitat conservation, providing the foundation on which to build and maintain broader support.”
The 2018 Plan Update calls for refocusing waterfowl conservation efforts through eight recommendations including ways to better understand and integrate the interest and values of people into conservation efforts while continuing strategic actions to conserve waterfowl habitat and achieve population management objectives. These recommendations seek to compel people to conserve waterfowl habitat, focus conservation efforts in areas that are most important for waterfowl and people, and bolster training programs for future waterfowl management professionals.
Other highlights of the 2018 Update include an assessment of waterfowl management institutions; a survey of waterfowl and wetland professionals; input from the Future of Waterfowl II Workshop held in September 2017; and surveys of hunters, birdwatchers and the general public in the U.S. and Canada.
Critical to the success of the Plan is a legacy of international collaboration underpinned by dedicated service from federal, state, provincial and non-governmental organizations in Canada, the United States and Mexico working toward common goals and objectives.
“The 2018 Update does an excellent job of building on the tremendous history of waterfowl conservation success delivered through NAWMP since 1986,” said Ducks Unlimited Chief Conservation Officer Nick Wiley. “Bringing more people into the cause of waterfowl and wetlands conservation is a major theme of this update and shows great vision from three great nations working in effective partnership.”
For more information, visit https://nawmp.org.
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