The Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV), established in 1987 as one of the original six priority joint ventures under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, protects, restores and enhances high priority wetland/grassland habitat to help sustain populations of waterfowl, shorebirds, waterbirds and prairie landbirds.

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.

The PPJV is a dynamic partnership that functions as a network and seeks partners at the local, regional, national and international level.  The partnership involves Federal and State agencies, non-governmental conservation groups, private landowners, scientists, universities, policy makers, resource managers, corporations interested in conservation, communicators, Tribes and resource conservation districts, and land trusts among others.  The PPJV is constantly seeking additional needed talent and organizations or private individuals interested in prairie habitat conservation.

Joint Ventures formed under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan are one of the most visible conservation successes of the last century. 

JVs work for one simple reason: because partners have realized that they can achieve more through collaboration than they can accomplish by acting alone. 

Partnerships are the engines that drive the JV success.