About Us

Welcome to our web site! We are a public/private partnership dedicated to the conservation of bird habitat in selected portions of the 11 western states stretching from Canada to Mexico.

Established in 1994, as the tenth U.S. habitat joint venture, we are committed to implementing the habitat goals of major North American bird conservation initiatives.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to facilitate the long-term conservation of key avian habitat including planning, funding, and developing habitat projects that benefit all biological components of Intermountain ecosystems.

We achieve our mission by developing partnerships with private and public landowners who support habitat conservation. The Joint Venture promotes the restoration and maintenance of all bird populations; fosters the protection, restoration, and enhancement of wetlands, riparian habitats, and the widely diverse uplands characteristic of the region.

Since 1999, we have evolved and expanded our vision to embrace all bird habitat conservation. This includes habitat for waterfowl, shore birds, wading birds, and song birds as well as other game and non-game avian species.

FY 2008 IWJV Annual Operational Plan

Key Avian Initiatives

Our work centers on implementation of the conservation goal and objectives of five major bird initiatives. These include:

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), an international agreement developed in 1986, recognizes the recovery and perpetuation of waterfowl and other wetland wildlife that depend on the restoration of wetlands and associated ecosystems throughout North America. As a result, it established cooperative initiatives (joint ventures) to reverse declines in wetland habitats and associated wildlife.

Partners in Flight (PIF) is a cooperative effort involving partnerships among federal, state and local government agencies, philanthropic foundations, and other individuals interested in bird conservation not covered by existing conservation initiatives. Their goal is to focus resources on the improvement of monitoring, and inventory, research, management, and education programs involving birds and their habitats.

The U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan (USSCP) is a partnership which involves organizations throughout the United States committed to the conservation of shorebirds. The organizations and individuals working on the plan have developed conservation goals for each region of the country, identified critical habitat conservation needs, and proposed education and outreach programs to increase awareness of shorebirds and the threats they face.

The North American Waterbird Conservation Plan (NAWCP) was developed to create a cohesive, multi-national partnership for conserving and managing waterbirds (seabirds, wading birds, gulls, terns, pelicans, marshbirds) and their habitats throughout North America. Their goal is to produce a plan whose implementation results in maintaining healthy populations, distributions, and habitats of waterbirds in North America, throughout their breeding, migratory, and wintering ranges.

The National Sage Grouse Conservation Planning Framework was developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) in 1996 which involves eleven western wildlife agencies and the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management.  This effort recognizes the approximate thirty percent decrease in sage grouse populations noted since 1980 as well as the multiple petitions to list various sub-species of sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act.  This partnership recognizes the loss of inherent productivity in the sagebrush biome which affects sage grouse, migratory birds, resident wildlife, and the western livestock industry, and their work is centered on conservation strategies to restore these values to a healthier state.