We work across borders to protect the birds, bats, and butterflies that link the Americas. Through partnerships that stretch from Alaska to Argentina, we help conserve habitats vital to migratory species—ensuring they return each year to the forests and grasslands of the United States in healthy numbers.
Migratory species are essential to ecosystem health. They pollinate crops, disperse seeds, and control pests—but their populations are declining rapidly. Since 1970, North America has lost nearly three billion birds, and monarch butterfly and bat populations continue to fall. Protecting migratory habitat supports clean water, carbon storage, and local livelihoods while helping prevent species from being listed under the Endangered Species Act, which preserves access and multiple-use of public and private lands.
The Foundation and Forest Service partners with organizations across the Western Hemisphere—including Ducks Unlimited, Bat Conservation International, the Monarch Joint Venture, and Point Blue Conservation Science—to:
Together, these efforts strengthen ecosystems, sustain rural economies, and help keep wildlife off the endangered species list.
.jpg)
We train educators across the United States to lead students and community groups in hands-on science, habitat restoration, and conservation of monarch butterflies and migratory birds.
From the Great Lakes to the Great Plains, breeding and stopover sites are vital for monarchs migrating to Mexico and for birds traveling between the Caribbean and Latin America. These workshops strengthen local conservation capacity and create new learning and career opportunities.
CRIMBI connects partners along the Pacific Coast, as far north as Alaska and as far south as Chile, to support shorebird conservation. The concept behind CRIMBI is think globally, act locally.
In Bolivia, the Forest Service IPT and partners supports Armonía’s work at Barba Azul Ranch, where sustainable grazing creates vital stopover habitat for Buff-breasted Sandpipers. The project links productive ranching with wildlife conservation, offering a regional model for grassland management.
Outreach and education efforts seek to raise awareness of migratory birds and foster public support for conservation goals.
Shorebird monitoring project to inform conservation efforts, started in 2011
CRIMBI partners developed and coordinated an 13-country citizen science shorebird monitoring project.To date, over one million shorebirds have been surveyed at more than 2000 sites in 13 countries by 50 organizations with more than 600 volunteers. Data analysis from the survey informs land managers on how to best protect shorebirds and their habitat.
IPT supports Mississippi State University in advancing the monitoring and scientific understanding of migratory birds in the Gulf of America. With $198,000 in total funding, this project includes:
● Establishing Motus radio telemetry towers
● Tagging migratory birds in Mississippi and Alabama to track movements along their migratory range
● Community engagement in the Jackson, MS metro area
The Gulf of America coastal region serves as a critical flyway for North America’s 300 migratory bird species, providing habitat and refueling resources for up to 2 billion birds annually. Mississippi and Alabama coasts contain essential grasslands, marshes, and forests that support migratory species throughout the breeding and non-breeding seasons.
USFS IPT awarded $50,000 to the Peregrine Fund to support long-term monitoring of wintering grassland birds on restored South Texas lands, with a focus on the endangered Aplomado Falcon.
Monitoring insights will guide adaptive grassland management to maximize habitat quality while sustaining productive ranching operations. Grasslands are a vital economic engine for rural communities across the Great Plains and the Desert Southwest. Maintaining resilient grasslands ensures benefits such as clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, and a stable ranching economy that supports thousands of American families. More than 30 migratory grassland bird species, three-quarters of which are rapidly declining, depend heavily on private lands and federal grasslands across these regions.
USFS IPT is continuing its partnership with the University of Maine to thermally map Maine waterways essential for Atlantic salmon and Eastern Brook Trout. An additional $140,353 was added to the joint venture, bringing total project funding to $198,853. Atlantic salmon and Eastern Brook Trout rely on cold waterways to spawn and survive. Data collected through this initiative will help land managers prioritize stream restoration and enhancement activities, ensuring the continued availability of cold-water habitat.
Atlantic salmon stocks support the U.S. economy, valued at $4 billion annually, and Maine hosts the only remaining wild U.S. populations, which are currently on the brink of extinction. Through these projects, IPT and its partners are protecting valuable forest and aquatic resources, supporting local communities, and strengthening conservation efforts in Maine and beyond.
USFS IPT has awarded $45,000 to Bat Conservation International for the Agave Restoration Initiative, supporting habitat restoration in the Trans-Pecos region. This work addresses key challenges impacting three nectar-feeding bat species, including the endangered Greater Long-nosed Bat.
These bats are essential pollinators for agave plants, which are critical not only for healthy desert ecosystems, but also for the production of commercially valuable agave-based products such as tequila and mezcal, as well as for ranching operations dependent on resilient desert vegetation. By improving agave habitat, this initiative strengthens pollination services that support local livelihoods and high-value supply chains.