Advancing habitat conservation with
people-focused, large-scale solutions.
Our Mission
Conserve and enhance bird habitats at meaningful scales through capacity building, science, communications, and strategic partnerships.
Our Mission
Conserve and enhance bird habitats at meaningful scales through capacity building, science, communications, and strategic partnerships.
Our Approach
We are a self-directed partnership with shared conservation priorities governed by a management board composed of federal agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, industry, nongovernmental organizations, private landowners, agricultural producers, and tribal representatives.
People-Driven Conservation
The IWJV prioritizes people in conservation. Our approach brings together diverse perspectives, ensuring that local communities, landowners, and partners play a central role in shaping and implementing conservation solutions.
Science-Guided Solutions
We balance habitat conservation with multiple natural resource benefits. By using science to inform decisions, we ensure that conservation efforts are both effective and sustainable for people and wildlife alike.
Expanding Our Impact
Since 1994, the IWJV has focused on conserving and enhancing bird habitats. Over time, we have evolved our strategies, stretching the boundaries of the 30-plus-year Migratory Bird Habitat Joint Venture enterprise to support conservation at larger scales.
We refine our operations through a tiered planning approach: a strategic plan that defines our focus, an implementation plan that outlines actions, and an annual plan that sets yearly priorities and budget. This structure keeps the IWJV nimble, supporting partners and driving real-time conservation innovation in a changing landscape.
Our Parnership Philosophy
Lasting Conservation Starts with People and Partnerships
The IWJV believes that lasting conservation in the West begins with people—those who steward working lands, from multi-generational land managers to first-time ranchers and conservation professionals. By integrating diverse knowledge and science-driven solutions, we create sustainable outcomes for both communities and habitats.
our Relevancy to Partners
Our partnerhip work is made possible through a strong and diverse network of people.
We support collaboration that balances diverse human interests, functional habitat, and the conservation and management of wildlife. We maintain relevancy by:
Creating collaboratives that connect diverse perspectives
Investing in capacity building through partnerships
Engaging agricultural producers in conservation efforts
Focusing on solutions with multiple benefits
Strengthening funding and administration of programs
Ensuring federal funding reaches local communities
Building partnerships researchers and managers
Expanding impact through science, funding, and outreach
Investments in people and communities
The IWJV helps partners deliver effective conservation by investing in people.
We leverage base U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funding received through the joint venture line item in the annual Appropriations Bill with a variety of other funding sources, including, but not limited to: The Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service programs, ConocoPhillips, and Rocky Mountain Power.
The IWJV core staff and 50-plus field delivery capacity partner positions are supported with this funding; their work triggers on-the-ground conservation actions. This work would likely not happen without the additional partnership capacity created through the IWJV.
Strategic, on-the-ground conservation at scale
Keeping Water Around
Learn how Sean Claffey is using simple restoration techniques—and teaching them to others—to fix working wet meadows in sagebrush country.
Cue for the Creek
Hear about Ryen Neudecker, who is working with ranchers in Montana’s Blackfoot Valley to heal those waterways for both fish and cows.
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