W H A T I S I T ? A N D W H A T D O E S I T D O ?

A Migratory Bird Joint Venture

In This Module

�  Definition of a Joint Venture �  History of Joint Ventures �  Location and Number �  PLJV history related to the formation of JVs �  The transition from waterfowl to "all bird" �  What Joint Ventures do �  How they are evaluated �  More resources

What Is a Joint Venture?

A Joint Venture (JV) is a self-directed partnership of agencies, organizations, corporations, tribes, or individuals that has formally accepted the responsibility of implementing national or international bird conservation plans within a specific geographic area or for a specific taxonomic group, and has received general acceptance in the bird conservation community for such responsibility.

Additionally, Joint Ventures have been widely accepted as the model for collaborative conservation in the 21st century. They use state of the art science to ensure that a diversity of habitats is available to sustain migratory bird populations for the benefit of those species, other wildlife, and the public.

Since the first Joint Venture was established in 1987, JV partnerships have invested $5 billion to conserve 17.3 million acres of critical habitat.*

* From the USFWS website

Joint Ventures Focus on Waterfowl

The Joint Venture concept was launched in 1986 in response to alarming waterfowl population declines reported at the time. Six Joint Ventures were formed immediately in 1987-88 (Arctic Goose, Lower Mississippi Valley, Prairie Pothole, Atlantic Coast, Central Valley and Gulf Coast).

In October 1989, PLJV was formed as the seventh JV. Roughly 40 people were in attendance at the first meeting in Lubbock, where eight individuals representing five states, the two FWS regions and Duck's Unlimited were selected to be on the steering committee. Phillips Petroleum also requested membership and began conversations about funding a granting program. Earliest conceptual map showing the extent/focus of PLJV

from the 1986 North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

John Yoss (pictured above on right), was on the PLJV Management Board representing Phillips Petroleum. Just two months earlier, Phillips Petroleum had signed a $1.3 million agreement to provide funding for habitat projects over the next five years.

PLJV immediately began work on habitat projects, with the Armstrong playa in Texas being the first habitat project completed. Bill Armstrong (pictured on the left) was the first landowner to grant PLJV and the state of Texas an easement on his 640-acre property to manage as wildlife habitat. The Armstrong Playa was dedicated on March 15, 1990.

Habitat Conservation Begins First Project Completed in 1990

Funding PLJV Projects Expanding the Partnership Model

In 1990, PLJV broke the mold for Joint Ventures by formally including a corporation on its Management Board. On January 24, a $1.3 million, five-year partnership agreement was signed by John Witmire, Phillips Petroleum Vice President of North American exploration and production (left), and USFWS Director John Turner (right). Since then, this energy company has donated more than $2 million to fund habitat, science and education projects throughout the PLJV region.

"All Bird" Conservation

Beginning in 1986, Joint Ventures were founded under the auspices of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) and only focused on waterfowl. Shortly thereafter, other bird conservation initiatives were formed, such as Partners in Flight (PIF), but without habitat delivery arms as developed by NAWMP.

A decade later, these other bird initiatives started looking for implementation arms, which kicked off a process of Joint Ventures transitioning from focusing only on waterfowl to "all bird" entities. In addition to NAWMP and PIF, Joint Ventures now also implement for the US Shorebird Conservation Plan and Waterbird Conservation for the Americas along with other regional initiatives, such as the Sage Grouse Initiative and Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative.

A Changing JV Landscape

As "all bird" conservation was being framed, continental leaders began mapping implementation units that later became known as bird conservation regions (BCRs). Many Joint Ventures began a process of changing boundaries to deliver conservation at these meaningful scales, including PLJV. In some areas, JV boundaries were used as BCR delineations.

Joint Venture Boundaries Change and Expand Joint Ventures adapted to the all bird movement by individual JVs expanding their size or whole new JVs forming to fill in nearly the entire United States and most of Canada.

Today there are 18 Joint Ventures in the United States.

PLJV Shifts Boundaries & Scope to All-Bird

2001 PLJV Management Board that oversaw the transformation to "all-bird” Backrow: Pat Langley (R2, FWS), Richard Hatcher (ODWC), Rod Johnson (TNC), Bill Johnson for Ruben Cantu (TPWD), Barth Crouch (Pheasants Forever), Joe Kramer (KDWP) and Tuss Erickson (Phillips Petroleum). Front row: Tim Mitchusson (NMDGF), Paul Gertler (R6, USFWS), Ross Melinchuk (Chairman, DU), Alex Chappel (CDOW), Loren Smith (Texas Tech, Univ.) and Larry Cosper (USFS). Photo by Mike Carter.

Same Mission, Different Ways

�  Joint Ventures all have the same basic mission, but tend to execute it in different ways, which is often a reflection of the landscape they operate within.

�  Some JVs are enormous such as Intermountain and Atlantic Coast while others are small like Rainwater Basin. Size, however, does not drive the differences; Rainwater Basin and San Francisco are both very small JVs, but are worlds apart in stakeholders and issues.

�  Some JVs focus on breeding grounds such as Northern Great Plains, while others focus on wintering grounds like the Gulf Coast.

�  Some JVs are known for focusing on science, while others are known for their communications. There is no right or wrong, only what works.

�  Most JVs work under the auspices of the USFWS, but a few have developed different models such as Rio Grande and Appalachian, which are staffed by American Bird Conservancy employees, and PLJV, which is a fully formed non-profit.

Evaluating JV Performance

National efforts to provide a bit more consistency in how Joint Ventures function has led to the JV Matrix, which is used to guide and evaluate performance. The JV Matrix is a document that describes performance from "minimal" to "comprehensive" content across seven categories:

�  Organizational Performance �  Biological Planning �  Conservation Design �  Habitat Delivery �  Monitoring �  Research �  Communications, Education and Outreach

JV's work to achieve comprehensive content across all seven categories and receive funding relative to their performance in meeting these standards.

How the Work Gets Done

�  All Joint Ventures are staffed by a full-time coordinator, then other staff as desired by the Management Board and as funding allows. Science staff may include biologists, GIS support and researchers to ensure that the Joint Venture is guided by sound science. In addition, science technical committees are usually organized to assist the management board and staff in biological planning, conservation design and evaluation.

�  Approximately one-third of the Joint Ventures, including PLJV, have committed to communications by hiring communication coordinators. PLJV is the only one that hosts a staff policy position.

�  Other committees, focus groups, geographic or taxonomic groups, and structures are encouraged when they will assist the Management Board in accomplishing the mission of the Joint Venture.

Dedicated to Bird Habitat Conservation

The initial PLJV logo was used during the first decade of PLJV operations.

In 2002, we redesigned the logo to reflect our changing boundaries and broader scope.

PLJV has gone through many changes but remains an organization devoted to bird habitat conservation.

More Resources

For more information about bird conservation initiatives or Joint Ventures, visit the websites below.

�  North American Waterfowl Management Plan �  U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan �  Waterbird Conservation for the Americas �  Partners in Flight �  Migratory Bird Joint Ventures �  Playa Lakes Joint Venture