(November 1, 2024)-- Today marks American Bird Conservancy’s (ABC) official 30th anniversary, a celebration of the many programs, people, and partnerships creating a brighter future for the bird species most in need across the Western Hemisphere. After three decades of taking bold action to conserve wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas, ABC’s mission-driven work has benefited more than 3,000 bird species to date — around 30 percent of the world’s total — that have been recorded at sites protected by ABC and its dozens of partners.

As we celebrate ABC’s 30th anniversary this fall and envision the next 30 years of bird conservation, we’re also excited to unveil a new logo that better expresses who ABC is today. Since 1994, our hummingbird logo has symbolized ABC’s commitment to conservation. Agile, assertive, and unique to the Western Hemisphere, hummingbirds reflect our mission: “To conserve wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.” Our new logo brings this legacy to life, representing the 165 hummingbird species now benefitting from ABC’s programs, and is a nod to the habitats we work to protect across more than 15 countries.

“No other bird conservation organization has achieved as much on-the-ground habitat conservation as ABC,” said Larry Selzer, current ABC Board chair and longtime ABC Board member. “The organization is focused, disciplined, and fearless. Clear, tangible results combined with the highest ratings from charity rating organizations is a winning combination. It is an honor to work with the staff and Board — their commitment to delivering superior results with integrity and respect gives me hope for the future of birds.”

With a steady focus on its mission and on delivering results, ABC puts a high priority on ensuring that all support received is used to make a positive difference for birds and their habitats on the ground. Dedicated supporters, an expert staff, an independent and experienced Board of Directors, and a strong and diverse network of partners have provided ABC with a powerful formula for success.

ABC’s 30th anniversary is a great occasion to take a look at how the organization has delivered on its mission. Some high-impact accomplishments, achieved by working together with dozens of partners, include:

• Establishing a 1.1 million-acre network of 100+ protected areas in 15 countries. The Latin American Reserve Network — supported by ABC and managed by 59 on-the-ground partners — provides protected habitat for more than 80 of the most endangered birds in the Americas, including the Antioquia Brushfinch, Blue-throated Macaw, and Short-crested Coquette. Many migratory birds, including the Wood Thrush and Cerulean and Golden-winged Warblers, also use the habitat in these protected areas. Ongoing international search efforts for bird species considered lost to science continue here and in other locations.

“When we started ECOAN in 2000, I told people that when it comes to saving nature, the solution is to work with local stakeholders and local communities, because they need to be part of the solution,” said Tino Aucca, President of ECOAN (Peru), one of ABC’s longest-standing partner groups. “Engage them to be allies by providing them capacity-building, jobs, leadership, and hope with real and concrete actions on the ground. Most organizations didn’t want to hear that. But happily, ABC did. ABC was the first international group to hear my message and support our work. Now, see where we are after 24 years working as a great family.”

• Planting more than 7.7 million trees in bird reserves and buffer areas in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Peru, resulting in improved habitat for birds and a range of benefits to people, from carbon sequestration to water conservation.

“As a Board member originally from Ecuador, I have been continuously impressed by the depth of ABC's collaboration with partner organizations across Latin America,” said Maribel Guevara, ABC Board member and Director of the ECOador International Film Festival. “In recent decades we have seen a huge number of local organizations created to protect birds in the region, and ABC has been the leader in helping them build new reserves to protect habitats and build institutional stability to steward those areas for the long term. I am so appreciative of ABC staff for making me feel welcome in the organization, and making me feel my opinion is valued and that they care for my people and my land.”

• Taking bold action with partners to prevent the extinction of birds in Hawai’i, known as the “bird extinction capital of the world.” This work has included translocations of ‘Ua’u (Hawaiian Petrel) and ‘A’o (Newell’s Shearwater) to a predator-free site on Nihoku, where both are now successfully breeding; the completion of a 5,600 foot predator-proof fence on Moloka'i to provide seabirds a nesting location above projected sea-level rise; and the establishment of a thriving new population of Millerbirds on Laysan Island. ABC is also involved in the critically important “Birds, Not Mosquitoes” project to save the state’s 17 remaining honeycreeper species. This multi-agency partnership is dedicated to decreasing the incidence of deadly avian malaria by reducing populations of the disease-carrying mosquitoes.
• Improving management of more than 9.3 million acres of habitat to reverse population declines of migratory birds, much of which was accomplished by working with the Migratory Bird Joint Ventures (JVs) — networks of partners including federal and state agencies, nonprofit groups, tribes, and private landowners. ABC’s habitat work, increasingly focused in priority geographies called BirdScapes, is part of our response to the groundbreaking 2019 study (co-authored by ABC) showing that nearly 3 billion birds have been lost from United States and Canada breeding populations since 1970. ABC is also helping expand the Motus Tracking Wildlife Network to better equip researchers in studying the migratory pathways of birds. A few examples of species that are benefiting from ABC-led efforts to improve their habitats are Kirtland’s and Golden-winged Warblers, Long-billed Curlew, Northern Bobwhite, Red Knot, Snowy Plover, Swallow-tailed Kite, and Western Meadowlark.
• Addressing the top human-caused threats to birds in habitats across the Americas. ABC programs have played a leading role in testing products that prevent collisions and helped pass bird-friendly building ordinances in 27 municipalities; in encouraging millions of cat owners to keep their cats indoors; in the cancellation or restriction of 15 different pesticides that are toxic to birds; and the halting or mitigation of wind energy projects in at least 17 locations where risks to birds were unacceptably high — in keeping with our philosophy that renewable energy is essential in the fight against climate change, yet must be sited in areas where impacts on birds will be
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