The backbone of each migratory bird joint venture is its implementation plan. The plan guides the actions and investments taken by the joint venture. The most recent PPJV plan is from 2005. We delayed revising our plan for several reasons, including a desire to see how climate change research evolved and to allow the revision of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan to be completed. The time is now right to move forward and revise/update the PPJV Implementation Plan.
Consequently, we began the planning process for the 2015 PPJV Implementation Plan (2015 Plan) at the joint PPJV Management Board and Technical Committee summer meeting in Pierre, South Dakota this past August. At that meeting, the Management Board tasked the Technical Committee with developing a recommendation of how to proceed with the update by the beginning of the 2015 calendar year. The 2015 Plan will strategically direct the PPJV technical and management activities for at least the next 5 years. To do so well, the Plan will incorporate changes in farm policy, technology, funding, climate change, and science, while emphasizing the socioeconomic issues and opportunities as they relate to the overall goals.
The 2015 Plan is an opportunity to build on the strong foundation provided by the 2005 Plan by addressing information gaps and leveraging partnerships to achieve common priorities. Members of the Technical Committee have convened small group meetings across the PPJV landscape to discuss how to proceed with the planning process. To date, meetings have been held in Minneapolis, MN; Fergus Falls, MN; Clear Lake, IA; Bismarck, ND; and Brookings, SD. Group discussions have focused on addressing short term habitat goals, research needs, and document organization. Additionally, there have been discussions on the need to facilitate conservation actions by developing step-down state action plans or tactical plans. We hope to complete the planning process by the end of December 2015.
For additional information, contact Sean Fields, PPJV Science Coordinator.