Pacific Birds U.S. Partnership Grants

Pacific Birds U.S. Partnership Grants is sponsored by Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture. These grants support projects in Alaska, Hawaiʻi, and the western portions of Washington, Oregon, and northern California that benefit native birds and their habitats.

Pacific Birds U.S. Partnership Grants - Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture Skip to primary navigation We will not hold a Partnership Grants funding cycle in 2025. Please check back in future years. If you have a project in the U.S. that benefits native birds and their habitats, we encourage you to apply for a Pacific Birds Partnership Grant.

We support projects that align with the goals of our conservation priorities : Coastal Habitats, including Coastal Wetlands in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska and Hawaiʻi Wetlands, and Western Forests, specifically Oak and Prairie. Pacific Birds helps partners identify, prioritize, and implement conservation actions that benefit birds and the habitats they need.

These actions include but are not limited to conserving habitat, inspiring action for bird conservation, developing and synthesizing data, increasing organizational capacity, and creating and sustaining partnerships that enact local or regional habitat conservation work.

Proposals led by Indigenous peoples, organizations, and communities working to advance Indigenous priorities within the scope of this opportunity are encouraged to apply. Projects must be located within these regions of the Pacific Birds service area: Alaska, Hawaiʻi, and the western portions of Washington, Oregon, and northern California.

Grant applications will be accepted up to a maximum of $15,000 but most awards will be in the range of $5,000 to $10,000. While match funding is not required, projects that include match will receive additional consideration. We welcome new partners to our grants program.

Please contact us if you have questions. We recommend that you speak to your Conservation Coordinator about any proposed applications before submission. Cultivating Cultural Burning Practices in Willamette Valley Oak-Prairie Landscapes Expand Awardee: Long Tom Watershed Council Tribes and Indigenous-led organizations from around the Pacific Northwest are revitalizing cultural burning practices and exchanging knowledge with one another.

The project will contribute to the refinement of cultural burning practices and processes in the Willamette Valley by funding local cultural burn practitioners and out-of-region cultural burn leaders to engage in two days of learning and burning in 2024 or 2025.

Culturally-embedded land tending practices including the intentional use of fire have inherently maintained the rich biodiversity of Willamette Valley oak and prairie landscapes for millennia. Revitalization of these cultural practices and directing resources toward the communities who carry them out are essential if the restoration and preservation of these landscapes are to be successful.

Conservation Assessment for Dabob Bay Natural Area Expand Awardee: Northwest Watershed Institute Dabob Bay is recognized as one of the most biologically diverse and high-quality estuarine embayments remaining in Puget Sound and is of great importance to a diversity of PNW bird species.

For this project, the Northwest Watershed Institute will work closely with the Department of Natural Resources and other partners to provide an updated and expanded GIS map-based assessment, based on NWI’s 2022 assessment, that prioritizes parcels within the July 2024 expanded boundaries of Dabob Bay Natural Area, based on landowner interest in selling and ecological importance.

The soon-to-be expanded boundary includes an additional 90 parcels, for a total of over 300 private parcels within the Dabob Bay Natural Area boundaries.

Kachemak Heritage Land Trust and First Alaskans Institute Collaborative Partnership and Conservation Project Expand Awardee: Kachemak Heritage Land Trust The project is a collaborative co-stewardship project spearheaded by KHLT planning for work with the First Alaskans Institute (FAI), as well as the Port Graham Native Corporation and Kenaitze Indian Tribe, IRA to incorporate Indigenous stewardship practices into the land trust’s conservation toolbox.

KHLT will work with Kenai Peninsula Alaska Native landowners who are interested in selling their Native Allotments as well as local tribes to purchase and rematriate lands, so that they may be maintained according to tribal conservation values.

By adopting stewardship practices from those at the First Alaskans Institute, the Paluwik Native Corporation, and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, KHLT hopes to bridge its current land management practices and those used by the organization’s Indigenous partners to protect coastal wetlands and preserve critical habitat for vulnerable migratory bird species that live and breed here.

Protecting Alaska’s Priority Coastal Wetlands to Sustain Resilient Coastal Communities Expand Awardee : National Audubon Society Alaska’s coastal wetlands link together a network of globally important stopover and nesting sites for migratory waterbirds. These wetlands are increasingly at risk due to local development projects including transportation infrastructure, harbor upgrades, and dredging for fill materials.

For this project, Audubon Alaska will work with partners to participate in and build broad, diverse, and impactful working groups that represent a diversity of interests in public land use and protection (e.g., outdoor recreation, hunting, and fishing, ecosystem protection), and empower them to communication about management and protection of Alaska’s critically important coastal wetlands.

The project will specifically focus on local communities where development projects within Important Bird Areas are proposed on the Pacific Americas Flyway (e.g., Mendenhall Wetlands, Odiak Slough).

Lokowaka Pond Wetland Restoration Expand Awardee: ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative The Lokowaka Pond Wetland Restoration project will sustainably benefit wetland habitat and provide critical habitat for endemic and migratory waterbirds at Lokowaka Pond, in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.

The project will also build local capacity by bringing together conservation experts, local groups, and volunteers to support wetland conservation actions while amplifying the importance of these habitats for Threatened and Endangered (T&E) waterbirds in Hawaiʻi.

Specifically, the project will create a thriving habitat for Hawaiian waterbirds by removing invasive plants and outplanting native species, implementing predator control, and carrying out educational outreach to expand public awareness of the benefits of wetlands restoration, conservation, and Indigenous agroecology such as loko iʻa (Native Hawaiian fishponds).

Wetland Warriors of the Pacific Expand Awardee: Learning Endeavors This project will inspire action for bird conservation across the Hawaiian Islands through a multi-faceted education and community science initiative. Learning Endeavors (LE) will develop a Wetland Warriors statewide online course covering Hawaiian wetland ecology, bird conservation, citizen science opportunities, priority local wetlands, and cultural perspectives.

Online course participants and LE partners will receive a kit with resources including a monocular, a field guide, and printed resource materials to continue their education outside of the course. LE Partners will also host field tours at local wetlands allowing for bird observation, community science data collection, and, if available, volunteer opportunities to participate in restoration.

Keawāwa Wetland Enhancement for the Endangered ʻAlae ʻula and ʻAeʻo Expand Awardee : Livable Hawaii Kai Hui Livable Hawaii Kai Hui works to protect, preserve, and restore the natural resources of East Honolulu, Oʻahu.

This project aims to enhance and expand an ongoing restoration effort for ʻaeʻo (Hawaiian Stilt; Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) and a genetically significant subpopulation of ʻalae ʻula (Hawaiian Moorhen; Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis ). It will transform an important cultural site into a community hub, fostering a practice centered around the mālama (care) of Hawaiian freshwater species and promoting their abundance.

The project goals include: (i) enhancing the restoration of the ʻalae ʻula subpopulation by controlling invasive plant species, (ii) creating mudflats to provide additional habitat for the ʻaeʻo, and (iii) fostering community connections with these waterbirds by sharing information about their cultural and ecological significance.

Supporting Salish Sea Estuary Bird Monitoring & Pacific Flyway Partnerships Expand Awardee : Ecostudies Institute There is a lack of baseline knowledge about the status and habitat preferences of many estuarine bird species in the Salish Sea – knowledge that is key to understanding the impacts of restoration activities, a rapidly shifting climate, and future conservation actions.

The Salish Sea Estuaries Avian Monitoring (SSEAM) Framework aims to elucidate fine-scale avian habitat associations in the Puget Sound region, by using a standardized study and sampling methods that allow data to be pooled across sites to yield broad-scale results.

In the current phase, funded by Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), we have begun connecting with partners, implementing protocols at new and existing locations, and building a long-term database. This grant will support project setup, training, and coordination, and help the team engage with partners across the Pacific Flyway.

The project will also include data collection for spring waterfowl, shorebird migration, and breeding seasons (April-June 2025). Working Together to Increase Alaskan Land Trust Impact Expand Awardee: Southeast Alaska Land Trust and Kachemak Heritage Land Trust Alaska’s land trusts are ready to strengthen their informal partnership by establishing a statewide land trust association.

Alaska’s five land trusts and one agricultural land trust will work with The Conservation Fund, The Land Trust Alliance, and other partners to identify common conservation goals, solidify partnerships, and develop a framework for a statewide organizational structure that addresses best practices, mutual aid, training, fund development, and advocacy.

Wigi Forever—A Conservation Land-Back Partnership with the Wiyot Tribe Expand Awardee: Friends of the Dunes Building on successful partnerships previously supported by Pacific Birds, Friends of the Dunes will engage the Wiyot Tribe as a long-term conservation partner for the entire Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Conservation Area, while continuing to steward this 357-acre, wetland-rich property.

In addition to the environmental justice benefits, this project will also have tangible benefits for the conservation of coastal wetlands and mudflats and the many bird species these habitats support.

Inter-Tribal Ecosystem Restoration Partnership Peer-to-Peer Learning Summit Expand Awardee: Lomakatsi Restoration Project Lomakatsi Restoration Project through the Inter-Tribal Ecosystem Restoration Partnership (ITERP) will host the ITERP Peer-to-Peer Learning Summit in November in Sunriver, Oregon.

The event aims to elevate tribal partnerships in collaborative forest and watershed restoration and increase tribal inclusion in restorative forestry agreements and aquatic restoration initiatives that empower partnerships to co-manage, co-invest, and collaborate on a landscape scale.

Incorporating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK), ecocultural restoration, habitat conservation, cultural fire, and cultural resource protection into collaborative ecosystem resilience initiatives is mutually beneficial and makes projects more successful.

The Tribal Summit provides a historic opportunity for addressing these needs and establishing a framework to support ongoing collaboration among tribes and with other agencies and organizations working across Oregon to build ecosystem and community resilience to the mounting impacts of climate change.

Exploring Opportunities for Working Land Protection in Douglas County Expand Awardee : Oregon Agricultural Trust Creating Connected Wetland Habitat on the Shores of Pearl Harbor Expand Hui o Ho`ohonua (HOH) is already working on restoring and connecting wetland bird habitat in the `Ewa region of O`ahu, around Pearl Harbor, but current funding via the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Coastal Resilience Fund and the USFWS National Coastal Wetland Conservation grants does not address key aspects of shoreline wetland restoration including community engagement, maintenance of restored habitat, wetland bird monitoring, education and predator control.

This project seeks to address the identified gaps and create sustainable, holistic strategies to carry out restoration and maintenance work. Waterbird Habitat Improvements at Makauwahi Cave Reserve Expand Awardee: Makauwahi Cave Reserve Project proposes removal of invasive species, outplanting and predator control and important wetlands at Makauwahi Cave Reserve for the benefit of T&E waterbirds and shorebirds.

There will also be increased avian monitoring and the propagation of 2,000 additional native wetland plants and preferred Nēnē ( Branta sandvicensis ) feeding and nesting plants on adjacent uplands. Relatively little management work occurring to benefit Nēnē on Kauaʻi. This is a key site for their recovery, and could inform and inspire similar habitat improvements elsewhere if outplanting are successful.

Inspiring Action for Bird Conservation in Coastal Wetlands, Oak & Prairie Habitats, and Hawai’i Wetlands Expand Kennedy Creek Coastal Wetlands Partnership Expand Awardee: Audubon Washington Kennedy Creek Estuary in South Puget Sound supports significant concentrations of migratory shorebirds and waterfowl and is within an Important Bird Area.

Altered water flow caused by Highway 101 has led to habitat erosion, prompting Audubon Washington to convene partners around land acquisition and restoration projects. Pacific Birds is supporting a feasibility study related to estuary restoration.

Kākahaʻia Community Restoration Project Expand Awardee: Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center The Kākahaʻia Community Restoration Project is a collaborative effort to restore a 40-acre coastal wetland ecosystem in Hawaiʻi. Ka Ipu Makani Cultural Heritage Center and partners will conduct a scoping process that will guide restoration of a portion of Kākahaʻia National Wildlife Refuge.

Collaborative relationships and Indigenous Knowledge are integral to this landscape restoration which will also support threatened and endangered waterbirds. The partnership award supports community meetings and events and will fund an ethnohistorical study and a conceptual restoration design.

Establishing the Willamette Valley Fire Collaboration Program Expand Awardee: Ecostudies Institute The Willamette Valley project will build additional capacity to implement prescribed fire on Tribal and private lands.

Thirty partners will be involved in various ways in the development of an ecological fire crew and regional coordination team; in regional training opportunities; and in increased burning on non-federal lands and increasing capacity for burning on federal lands. The long term goal of this project is to establish a regional fire collaborative that centers on Indigenous people and their priorities, and that improves land and community.

Inspiring Stewardship of Alaska’s Coastal Wetlands Through Place-based Education Expand Awardee: Copper River Watershed Project The Copper River Watershed Project will conduct wetland-themed education programs, including student and teacher professional development outings onto the Copper River Delta.

Participants will assist with data collection on wetland ecosystems, work with the U.S. Forest Service to maintain Dusky Canada Geese nest islands, and monitor for invasive species. Expanding Capacity for Endangered Wetland Bird Rehabilitation on Kauaʻi Expand Awardee : Hawai‘i Wildlife Center (Fiscal Sponsor for SOS) Save our Shearwaters (SOS) is the only facility on Kauaʻi licensed to rehabilitate all native Hawaiian birds.

In recent years, the need for rehabilitation of wetland birds has increased significantly and continues to rise as imperiled populations fight anthropogenic threats. To address these threats, this grant award will allow SOS to grow their operations, rehabilitate a greater diversity of birds, and continue to be a resource for threatened and endangered waterbirds on Kaua‘i.

They will construct a waterbird pen and a waterfowl conditioning pool, purchase incubators, and conduct outreach. East Cascades Oak Partnership: Implementation Expand Awardee: Columbia Land Trust Coastal Wetland Community Outreach and Ecological Enhancement Expand Awardee: The Wetlands Conservancy The Wetlands Conservancy recognizes the impacts of climate change and its visible, significant impacts on the Central Oregon Coast.

They will engage community members, students, and landowners in conversation and action about coastal wetlands and their importance to migratory birds and other species. They are also fostering a relationship with The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in order to learn about First Foods, and how specific land management practices can support Indigenous cultural practices.

Awardee: Partnership for Umpqua Rivers This award will further the capacity and growth of the Umpqua Oak Partnership, located in a stronghold for Oregon white oak. An extensive group of partners are motivated to grow this developing conservation effort in the Umpqua.

Collaborating with new and existing members, the partnership will organize and facilitate local meetings; conduct tours; finalize and begin implementation of the Strategic Action Plan; create landowner outreach; and develop a funding strategy.

Reclaiming Wigi–Humboldt Bay: Dune and Wetlands Habitat Conservation Partnership with the Wiyot Tribe Expand Awardee: Friends of the Dunes Friends of the Dunes will engage the Wiyot Tribe as a long-term conservation partner for the bayside parcels of the existing Samoa Dunes and Wetlands project, while continuing to steward the entire 357-acre property and completing the transfer of open dune, coastal wetland, and coastal forest habitats of the Samoa Dunes and Wetlands to the Bureau of Land Management for long-term conservation management.

Friends of the Dunes will also partner with the Wiyot Tribe and Humboldt State University on an exciting new conservation acquisition in southern Humboldt Bay, on a wetland-rich coastal property that includes Great Egret and Great Blue Heron roosting areas.

Soil Enrichment Trials in Degraded Coastal and Wetland Sites on Kahoʻolawe Expand Awardee: Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission The island of Kahoʻolawe has been severely degraded from wind and rain erosion due to the introduction of grazing ungulates and wildfires. Soil studies have shown that much of the remaining soil on Kahoʻolawe lacks many components of a healthy soil profile.

Project partners will develop a novel technique that uses biochar to improve the health of the soil in three coastal and wetland project sites on Kahoʻolawe. These sites are currently undergoing restoration efforts to stabilize dune structures and increase the native biota, improving habitat for native Hawaiian birds.

Building Tribal Partnerships to Advance Conservation of Oak Habitat and Oak‐Associated Birds in Southern Oregon and Northern California Expand Awardee: Klamath Bird Observatory Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON) conserves oak habitats in southern Oregon and northern California.

KSON’s Strategic Conservation Action Plan outlines the need for increased engagement with Indigenous people in restoring oak woodland habitats–as an act of restorative justice and as a means for realizing the multiple ecological and social benefits that come from incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into restoration planning and evaluation.

This project will engage with Tribal governments, leaders, and communities through outreach to all Tribe(s) within the KSON geography and in-depth efforts to engage the geographically appropriate Tribe(s) in an upcoming proposal for restoration implementation and development of the Monitoring Strategy.

Kasilof River “Dinosaur Parcel” Acquisition and Protection Plan Expand Awardee: The Conservation Fund The Conservation Fund is working to permanently protect 309 acres of coastal wetland habitat in the Kasilof River Flats Important Bird Area (IBA)—an Audubon global priority IBA—located on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

The estuarine delta and near-shore areas provide habitat for seabirds, while tidal ponds and sloughs provide important stopover feeding areas for migrant waterfowl and shorebirds. 165 bird species have been observed in the Kasilof River Flats, including 37 state Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The property will be added to the Alaska State Parks system.

Wetland Infrastructure Improvement for Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge Expand Awardee: Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges This project will enhance the water infrastructure on Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest and most important wetlands on the Island of Kauaʻi. It will improve the habitat of five endangered or threatened endemic species in addition to a number of migratory species.

Since 2011, the Refuge has had severe avian botulism outbreaks due to an outdated water supply system, impacting at least 1,600 birds. Project funding will support the cost of acquiring and installing new water infrastructure across the kalo loʻi (taro fields) and wetland management units, helping to reduce and mitigate the incidence of avian botulism outbreaks.

Building Prescribed Fire Capacity throughout the Willamette Valley Expand Awardee: Long Tom Watershed Council This project will build prescribed fire capacity on Tribal and private lands, working in close collaboration with federal and public lands partners in the Willamette Valley.

Collaborating with two Tribes, and more than 30 partners, the Long Tom Watershed Council will move forward the establishment of a five-person year round ecological fire team and regional prescribed fire coordinator; regional training opportunities; close collaboration with Tribal and federal partners; and increased burning on non-federal lands.

The partners are committed to developing a regional prescribed fire program that centers Indigenous people and their priorities, and improves land and community health.

Oregon South Coast Tide Gate Collaborative Development and Capacity Building Expand Awardee: Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers This project aims to develop a more cohesive and strategic approach to restoration, conservation and adaptive management practices in Oregon’s South Coast wetlands and estuaries.

It will bring Watershed Councils, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Tribes, agencies, NGOs, and landowners together in a new collaborative to identify additional partners and potential projects, secure funding, and provide outreach for local officials and stakeholder groups. Project support will facilitate the development of an initial governance structure and strategic approach for the new collaborative.

Waialeʻe Lako Pono Coastal Wetland Restoration Project Expand Awardee: North Shore Community Land Trust Waialeʻe Lako Pono is a multidisciplinary, collaborative effort to restore a 25-acre coastal wetland agroecosystem and surrounding area in Waialeʻe, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.

In an effort to restore lako pono (social-ecological abundance) at Waialeʻe, the North Shore Community Land Trust will be undertaking a planning process to guide the long-term implementation of the project, with a particular focus on endangered native Hawaiian birds.

This planning process will entail measuring environmental baselines, consulting with experts, partners and the public in a series of meetings, workshops and field visits, and producing a long-range restoration work plan.

East Cascades Oak Partnership—Moving Management Forward Expand Awardee: Columbia Land Trust The East Cascades Oak Partnership (ECOP) will advance oak management by developing a management decision-making tool that is responsive to stakeholder values and needs and considers the diverse way oak systems present in the East Cascades.

The management decision tool will consider people in the suite of ways they interact with oaks: residential and working lands, fire suppression and hazard abatement, and first foods.

Enhancing Protection of a Key Wetland for a Cryptic, Endangered Wetland Waterbird (Hawaiian Gallinule) Expand Awardee: Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) There is a critical need to fill knowledge gaps about endangered Hawaiian waterbirds, since these species will require active management in perpetuity.

This project will identify causes of mortality for endangered Hawaiian Gallinule chicks, using radiotelemetry to determine which management actions best protect gallinules at their most vulnerable life stage. Results will be shared with wetland managers statewide and submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal.

Using the Oak Accord to Break Through the Barriers of Effective, Landscape-Scale Oak Conservation Expand Awardee: The Willamette Partnership The Oak Accord will design a more sustainable and durable model of delivering resources to support restoration of functional oak habitat in Oregon.

This includes creating a collaborative conservation model with local, state and federal partners that will more effectively connect the financial and technical resources to landowners.

It also includes the design of a business model for the Oak Accord that will help it meet the growing demand (from both landowners and from higher level regional strategic and funding plans) for its role in oak conservation in the Willamette Valley and throughout the state.

Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Acquisition and Restoration Partnership Expand Awardee: Friends of the Dunes The Samoa Dunes Acquisition and Restoration Partnership is composed of nine partners with an interest in conserving a 356-acre property on the north spit of California’s Humboldt Bay.

Connected to currently conserved land, the acquisition and restoration will benefit the Western Snowy Plover, Peregrine Falcon, and a diverse suite of other species. Once acquired and restored, the property would be turned over to the Bureau of Land Management for ongoing management and would be accessible to the public.

Conservation Assessment for Dabob Bay Natural Area Expand Awardee: Northwest Watershed Institute The Northwest Watershed Institute will work with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Jefferson Land Trust to identify priority parcels for acquisition and restoration in the Dabob Bay Natural Area, rich in tidelands, mudflats, feeder bluffs, coastal forests, eelgrass beds and other high-value habitats for birds.

Landowner interest, ecological values and other criteria will be considered in the parcel-level assessment. The project will result in increased landowner awareness about the area’s conservation values, more focused conservation targets, and potentially more funding support.

ʻAlae ʻUla Research Expand Awardee: Oregon State University This project will help fill information gaps and provide additional capacity to work on endemic waterbirds on Kauaʻi, especially the ʻAlae ʻUla (Hawaiian Common Gallinule). It will also allow for increased botulism surveys and predator control actions at Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge.

An Innovative Communication Strategy for Oak and Prairie Conservation in Oregon Expand Awardee: Willamette Partnership The Willamette Partnership will convene Oregon’s existing local oak and prairie partnerships to identify common communications needs, evaluate audiences and develop messages and tools related to oak and prairie conservation.

The end result will be a communications strategy that can be used not only by the five participating partnerships but others working to conserve oak and prairie.

The Botulism Alert System: An Approach to Minimize and Contain Botulism Outbreaks in Waterbirds and Shorebirds Expand Awardee: University of Hawaiʻi The Hawaii Wildlife Ecology Lab will develop a waterbird botulism database to assess mortality due to botulism o utbreaks and assess outbreak trends.

Building on previous efforts, the project will also create a Botulism Alert System for the Hawaiian Islands so outbreaks can be quickly identified and minimized.

East Cascades Oak Partnership Capacity Building Expand Awardee: East Cascades Oak Partnership (ECOP), Columbia Land Trust History and Change in Tidal Wetlands of the Willapa Bay Estuary Expand Awardee: Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, run by Washington State Department of Ecology, will use project funds to evaluate tidal wetland change in Willapa Bay.

This project is part of a larger partner effort to provide the data and maps needed for habitat and restoration projects that consider sea level rise, tidal connectivity and future change. The project will result in a digital map of historic tidal wetland vegetation in Willapa Bay, analyze current tidal wetland connectivity and compare it to maps from the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership’s Tidal Wetland Loss Layer.

Strengthening Partnerships and Creating a Virtual Presence for Oʻahu Wetland Wildlife Sanctuaries Expand Awardee: Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) DOFAW’s Wildlife Program has been hosting school and community groups on Oʻahu’s Wetland Wildlife Sanctuaries for several years.

This project will raise awareness about Hawaiʻi’s endemic waterbirds and the values of wetlands ecosystems and wildlife sanctuaries. With partners, DOFAW will create story maps and a virtual tour to expand their outreach capabilities that have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Advancing the Conservation of Oak Habitat and Oak-associated Birds in Southern Oregon and Northern California Expand Awardee: Klamath Siskiyou Oak Network (KSON), Klamath Bird Observatory Southcentral Alaska Migratory Bird Wisdom Keepers’ Workshop Expand Awardee: Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) The Wisdom Keepers Project seeks to keep Indigenous Knowledge about migratory birds alive and share it with tribal subsistence users in Southcentral Alaska.

The lead project partner, Chugach Regional Resources Commission, is hosting a virtual workshop to gather traditional information about migratory bird harvest, subsistence use, and conservation. Based on the input of elders and the workshop participants they will create an artistic field guide for subsistence users.

Kawainui Restoration Ponds Enhancement Expand Awardee: Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) DOFAW, with the help of community members, will enhance eight acres of habitat in Kawainui Marsh State Wildlife Sanctuary on Oʻahu. Kawainui Marsh is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and Hawaiʻi’s largest remaining wetland.

The project will benefit three endangered waterbirds: the ae’o (Hawaiian Stilt), ʻalae keʻokeʻo (Hawaiian Coot) and the ʻalae ʻula (Hawaiian Common Gallinule).

Coordination of Umpqua Oaks Partnership Expand Awardee: Partnership for Umpqua Rivers Mānā Plain Coastal Wetland Partnership Initiative Expand Awardee: Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau Federation This project will characterize the environmental conditions at Mānā Plain, an expansive former wetland on Kauaʻi.

Partners will identify State-owned marginal agricultural lands that have the potential to sustain a functioning coastal wetland ecosystem and then narrow down potential locations for restoration projects. This will diversify agricultural land use, improve water quality and provide bird habitat.

"The 2020 Pacific Birds Partnership Grant was incredibly valuable, not just to our organization, but to habitat conservation in the Humboldt Bay Region. This grant catalyzed a landmark conservation project that protected coastal dune forest, freshwater and saltwater wetlands, native dune mat, and bayfront habitats.

The support we received also led to a durable conservation coalition for the sustainable management of the ecological jewel that is the Somoa Dunes and Wetlands Conservation Area. We are grateful for Pacific Birdsʻ profound investment in such a transformative conservation project that will steward the biodiverse habitats of Humboldt Bay long into the future."

- Mike Cipra, Executive Director, Friends of the Dunes Uniting Community & Conservation through Wetlands and Waterbirds: Hui O Hoʻohonua Hui o Hoʻohonua (HOH) is an organization based in the area that is focused on restoring and connecting the remaining wetland bird habitat.

By reconnecting these patches of habitat, they hope to create a corridor of restored habitats including preserves, fishponds, and parks from the Honouliuli Watershed to the USFWS Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge Complex. In 2023, they received funding from a Pacific Birds Partnership Grant to better incorporate community engagement and education in their restoration work.

2024 Pacific Birds Partnership Grantees Congratulations to the 2023 Partnership Grantees! 2024 Pacific Birds Partnership Grants RFP is Open Our 2024 Partnership Grants RFP is open! We are interested in projects that will help conserve birds and their habitats and relate to our conservation priorities.

The deadline to apply is July 1, 2024. 2023 Pacific Birds Partnership Grantees Congratulations to the 2023 Partnership Grantees! 2023 Pacific Birds Partnership Grants RFP is Open Our 2023 Partnership Grants RFP is open!

We are interested in projects that will help conserve birds and their habitats and relate to one of our three conservation priorities. Expanded Bird Rehabilitation on Kauaʻi Will Benefit Waterbirds A 2022 Pacific Birds Partnership Grant has been supporting the expanded capabilities of a rescue and rehabilitation group on Kauaʻi, allowing them to provide better services for waterbirds.

Water is Everything at Hanalei Infrastructure improvements being made at Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge are improving water quality and habitat for Hawaiʻi’s endemic waterbirds, such as the ʻAlae keʻoke ʻo or Hawaiian Coot and ʻAlae ʻula or Hawaiian Gallinule. Congratulations to the 2022 Partnership Grant Awardees Congratulations to the 2022 Partnership Grant awardees!

Eight organizations, and many associated partners, will help advance conservation with coordination, planning, and outreach and communications projects. 2022 Partnership Grants RFP is Now Open The Pacific Birds Partnership Grants application period for 2022 is May 20-June 30th. We welcome project ideas related to one of our three conservation priorities.

On-the-Ground and Virtual Conservation on Oʻahu During the 2020-2021 school year, students at Le Jardin Academy were able to experience on-the-ground wetlands conservation within a State Wildlife Sanctuary, and the State Division of Forestry and Wildlife had a direct connection with future stewards of Hawaiʻi’s land and waters. Get the latest stories and news delivered to your inbox. U.S. Coordinator: Monica