North America has lost 3 billion birds in the past 50 years and a recent report from the North American Bird Conservancy Initiative shows that populations are still decreasing.
Marnie Urso, the senior policy director for Audubon Great Lakes, a bird conservancy organization, says this is a warning sign.
“They're an indicator species telling us that something is up in our environment and we need to pay attention,” Urso said. “The good news is we know that conservation works.”
Urso says conservation is proven to help stabilize populations and bring birds back.
With 50% of Michigan’s historic wetlands gone, Urso says Audubon is asking state lawmakers for wetland conservation funding.
“We have a deep decline in Michigan of birds that rely on wetlands,” Urso said. “This is a really important opportunity to bring some of that back.”
Urso says the organization is hoping Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources will consider raising prices for hunting and fishing licenses to increase the state’s conservation budget.
According to Urso, conserving wetlands has a wide scope of benefactors.
“Wetlands are key for communities. They help reduce flooding. They help make sure that we have a climate resilient future in addition to being a key habitat for birds and wildlife,” Urso said. “Addressing that for birds is also going to help address that for people and communities throughout the state.”
The Black tern is one species facing a deep decline in population. Urso says Audubon is paying close attention to the species during their efforts to conserve wetlands.
“If we're getting Black terns and if we're able to stabilize them," Urso said. "We're able to stabilize the entire ecosystem."
Climate change is a big reason for ecosystems disappearing, Urso says. Because of that, Audubon is advocating for Michigan to use more renewable energy.
“That's the biggest way we can address climate change,” Urso said. “There's great opportunities in Michigan to do that with things like community energy, which helps decrease costs, increase reliability, and get more clean and renewable energy on the grid.”
