Resources

Learn more by visiting these links to workshop and engagement session recordings, and partner organization websites.

Prior Workshops

Workshop 1 · 7-8 JULY 2020

Phase 1: Identifying Causes of Bird Declines

This virtual workshop convened 122 virtual attendees from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, representing NGOs, state agencies, U.S. joint ventures, and academic institutions, to garner their expert wisdom on the best approaches available for identifying limiting factors.

Workshop 2 · 1-3 December 2020

Phase 2: Linked Populations: Migratory Connectivity and Demographics

This virtual workshop convened over 300 virtual attendees to to build a vision for new science on priority species that focuses on identifying linked populations, understanding limiting factors, and pinpointing specific causes of decline.

Workshop 3 · 27-29 July 2021

Phase 3: Developing the Process of Recovery for North American Birds

This virtual workshop brought together a total of 511 participants to explore how social science, communications and co-production can be incorporated into recovery of species on the brink and to eliminate the implementation gap. we developed a process for advancing species towards sustainable population recovery, beginning with “On-Alert Species.”

Prior Engagement Sessions

Session 1 · 13 December 2021

Development of the R2R Guidance Document

The R2R Guidance Document developed during this session illustrates the Road to Recovery process that is in development to recover bird species on the brink of endangerment through a process that encompasses natural science, social science, co-production and communications. The phases of the Road to Recovery process included in this document provides examples presented during the third workshop in July 2021.

Session 2 · 10 June 2022

R2R Introduction and Listening Session for State Governments

R2R recognizes the fundamental role state agencies and land-management entities play in successfully recovering bird populations. Ken Rosenberg, lead author on the Science paper, outlined our continuing R2R growth and Edwin Juarez (AZ Game and Fish) and Sarah Kendrick (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; previously Missouri Department of Conservation) outlined calls to actions specifically for states to address rapid species’ declines and further engage with R2R via research, RAWA, SWAPs, and Southern Wings.

Session 3 · 12 August 2022

Developing the Process of Recovery for North American Birds

This session focused on 4 pilot species (Lesser Yellowlegs, Evening Grosbeak, Golden-winged Warbler and Yellow-billed Cuckoo) initially funded by the R2R initiative to help move species through the recovery process. We heard lightning talks by each focal species working group through which they outlined: 1) where their species is in the recovery process, 2) the objectives of their R2R-funded pilot project, and 3) how they anticipate application of the R2R process will advance the recovery of their species.

Mountain Plover photo by Michael Wunder

The road to Recovery

Guidance and Goals Documents

Almost two years ago, the loss of nearly 3 billion birds from the North American avifauna was documented. The Road to Recovery initiative’s vision is to use targeted and actionable science to recover declining bird populations before they become endangered or extinct. We must take a species-specific approach to mitigate threats and ensure sustained recovery of the most at-risk species. Bird conservation is often inextricably linked to human dimensions via shared resource concerns, as such we need to embrace the human dimensions in the recovery process. We need to challenge ourselves to learn to incorporate the social sciences, co-production and communications in each step of the recovery process.

Collaborations and Partnerships are Critical to Our Success

Collaborations with diverse conservation initiatives like Partners in Flight (PIF) and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) are critical to our success. R2R will work closely with established PIF working groups to understand science gaps, increase social science capacity, and advance the efforts of species working groups. Likewise, R2R will collaborate with NABCI’s Sub-committees to strategically meet conservation targets across the full-annual cycle, advance human dimensions and address environmental justice issues as they relate to bird conservation. These collaborative efforts will provide a unified approach to recover On-Alert Species.

"Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species -- man -- acquired significant power to alter the nature of the world."

-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

"Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species -- man -- acquired significant power to alter the nature of the world."

-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring