1987
The PPJV was established as one of the first six regional Joint Ventures under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP).
1988
“Concept Plan for Waterfowl Habitat Protection – U.S. Portion of Prairie Potholes and Parklands” was released. In addition to waterfowl, this 15-year Plan noted the value of wetland and upland habitats for many other types of birds.
1989
The first PPJV Implementation Plan was completed, outlining management actions to benefit at least 10 key duck species as well as migratory nongame birds that breed in the region.
1989
Habitat and Population Evaluation Team (HAPET) offices were established in Bismarck, ND and Fergus Falls, MN to assist in the coordination and guidance of waterfowl management activities in the PPJV.
1987 – 1993
Flagship projects were established in each state, along with monitoring and evaluation to track success. The PPJV recognized the importance of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and issued a resolution calling for all Joint Ventures and the NAWMP U.S. Implementation Board to secure support for CRP.
1995
A new Implementation Plan was released that emphasized the importance of working with private landowners and USDA conservation programs. It also recognized the need to improve knowledge about prairie bird species in addition to waterfowl. A Technical Committee was created that brought together expertise in waterfowl and non-waterfowl migratory bird research and management.
1995 – 2000
Explosive growth occurred in conservation and Joint Ventures. The North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) received increased Federal appropriations resulting in diverse partnerships and meaningful wetland conservation. National plans for landbirds, waterbirds, and shorebirds were being developed. The NAWMP was updated in 1998, and in 1999 a group of PPJV Management Board members and the Coordinator concluded that the 1995 Implementation Plan was ahead of the curve (particularly in the non-waterfowl arena). The Management Board accepted their recommendation to continue on course.
2002
In a landscape of 118 million acres, the PPJV protected, restored, or enhanced nearly 6 million acres of habitat during the first 15 years of the partnership.
2005
The PPJV finalized a new Implementation Plan, recognizing that the common thread running through each national bird plan, with respect to the prairies, is the protection of existing wetlands and native grasslands. The Plan also recognized that waterfowl (and other wetland/grassland dependent species) utilize habitats on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, so coordinating with the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture would be important moving forward.
2005 – 2013
The PPJV continued to develop and advance ground-breaking scientific tools that helped inform landscape conservation and evaluation. The NAWMP was undergoing a revision and climate change was surfacing as a driver of landscape change, so the PPJV Management Board delayed an update of the 2005 Implementation Plan. The PPJV began the update in 2012 with the completion of the NAWMP Revision and advancements in climate change science.
2012 – 2021
The USFWS received enhanced funding from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund in response to alarming grassland and wetland loss rates in the U.S. PPR and serious declines in a wide range of bird species.
2016
The PPJV Management Board welcomed two private landowners to provide important insights to the JV. The inaugural landowner appointments eventually led to representation from the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition and the South Dakota Grassland Coalition.
2017
The PPJV finalized an updated Implementation Plan, building on a foundation of accumulated knowledge that provided context for the future direction of the partnership. State Tactical Plans were incorporated to step down the goals and objectives for each of the PPJV states.
2020
The Great American Outdoors Act was passed, ensuring that the Land and Water Conservation Fund would be fully and permanently funded. Four LWCF Conservation Areas within the PPJV stand to benefit from this additional funding.
2021
The PPJV expanded communications capacity and embarked on a communications plan update to inform the 2022 Implementation Plan update.