A cooperative partnership
to deliver the full spectrum of bird conservation
emphasizing voluntary stewardship

Code of Procedure

Coordinating Council - The Coordinating Council, which represents the broad coalition of diverse groups interested in bird conservation, will guide, integrate, and coordinate WBCI activities to ensure accomplishment of the WBCI goals and objectives. It will annually determine priorities for bird conservation in Wisconsin, work to increase and focus funding and resources, and provide consultation to WBCI partners regarding allocation of bird conservation funds. The Council will work to create a match grant program for which WBCI endorsers can compete through formal proposals to the Council. The Council will act on behalf of the entire membership by providing oversight of WBCI operating budgets, as well as WBCI standing committees.

The Council shall select a Chair and Vice-Chair. The Chair and Vice-Chair have responsibility for organizing and conducting Coordinating Council meetings and signing any official WBCI communications. The Chair shall appoint at-large members. All memberships shall be reviewed every year. Membership on the Coordinating Council shall be limited to those organizations that have a statewide responsibility or role in bird conservation and are critical to the accomplishment of WBCI goals and objectives. Initial membership of the Coordinating Council is limited to one representative from the following organizations:

Ducks Unlimited National Wild Turkey Federation Pheasants Forever Ruffed Grouse Society The Nature Conservancy USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service U.S. Forest Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service University of Wisconsin System Wisconsin Audubon Council Wisconsin Conservation Congress Wisconsin County Forests Association

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wisconsin Joint Venture Steering Committee Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association Wisconsin Partners in Flight Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society Wisconsin Society for Ornithology Wisconsin Waterfowl Association Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association (three at-large organizations)

The Coordinating Council shall meet at least twice a year. The Council shall hold an annual meeting at which the full WBCI membership can be updated and provide input on WBCI activities, progress on objectives, and future plans.

Initiative Coordinator - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shall provide a coordinator to assist the WBCI Coordinating Council and partners achieve the goals and objectives of the initiative. The duties of the coordinator include:

• Gather relevant bird conservation information that will help WBCI committees complete their objectives.
• Advise the WBCI Coordinating Council and standing committees on avian conservation issues.
• Develop WBCI funding proposals.
• Organize and staff WBCI Coordinating Council and committee meetings.
• Prepare and distribute WBCI communications.

Standing Committees - The following committees are established as standing committees. All committees shall report to the WBCI Coordinating Council. Each committee is responsible for listed duties and any other duties assigned by the Coordinating Council. The Coordinating Council chair shall appoint the committee chairs and vice-chairs. Membership on standing committees shall be open to all WBCI members, as well as other individuals or organizations that can help accomplish the duties assigned to each committee. Minutes of all committee meetings shall be kept and made available upon request.

• Research and Monitoring - The duties of the research and monitoring committee are to:
  
  • Regularly review existing bird population monitoring efforts in Wisconsin, both formal and informal.
  • Identify any deficiencies in monitoring activities and make recommendations to how best to address problem areas.
  • Establish working groups for the following major natural communities: prairie, savanna, & agricultural; forests and barrens; wetlands & shorelines; and urban/suburban.
  • Review continental, regional, and state bird population data to identify which species are experiencing significant declines or are overabundant in Wisconsin and recommend changes to the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.
  • Identify which bird species are in most need of management attention because of serious declines or overabundance issues.
  • Investigate opportunities and take action to incorporate bird surveys into ongoing statewide, regional, or county resource assessments (e.g. statewide forest inventory assessments).
  • Identify information that is unknown or lacking that limits our ability to effectively manage and conserve birds and bird habitats in Wisconsin.
    
• Outreach - The goals of the outreach committee are to :
  
  • Raise awareness for decision-makers and the general public and promote bird conservation in Wisconsin.
  • Promote and coordinate statewide participation in International Migratory Bird Day.
  • Create and maintain a statewide communication plan identifying audiences, messages, and message delivery channels (Internet, television, newspaper, regional magazine, radio, personal appearance, workshop, brochure, display, etc.).
  • Recommend to the Coordinating Council opportunities for public outreach including, but not limited to, outdoor festivals, outdoor skills classes, state and regional wildlife management seminars and conventions, landowner organization meetings, interpretive program curriculum materials, and environmental organization conferences or meetings, etc.
  • Seek out and coordinate efforts with any existing communication and outreach teams working in other states.
  • Among educational institutions, promote opportunities for students to be involved in bird-related conservation, research, education, celebration, or other pertinent activities.
  • Education Subcommittee goal: To educate students and their teachers across Wisconsin about birds and the conservation issues they face.
    
• Habitat Assessment and Management - The habitat assessment and management committee shall be composed of the chair and vice-chair of each of its subcommittees. The duties of the habitat assessment and management committee are to:
  
  • Integrate subcommittee recommendations into a single habitat assessment for each of Wisconsin's 16 ecological landscapes. Each assessment shall identify trends in habitats, management opportunities, and priorities.
  • Provide bird habitat assessment information to statewide, county and local land planning activities.
    
    The subcommittees of the habitat assessment and management committee are (1) Prairie, Savanna and Agricultural, (2) Forest and Barrens, (3) Wetlands and Shorelines and (4) Urban/suburban. Each subcommittee shall prepare recommendations to the habitat assessment and management committee. In preparing recommendations, each subcommittee shall:
    
    • Collaborate with and seek to consolidate the information being gathered by WBCI partners.
    • Identify the programs and where the best opportunities exist to address the habitat needs of species needing management attention.
    • Provide the assessment information to land managing partners for consideration and integration into current and future planning efforts.
    • Employ a "gap" analysis to see what habitat is protected and what needs protection.
    • Identify what partner organizations can contribute to the management, protection, monitoring, and research of bird habitats in each ecological landscape (e.g., federal farm programs, Managed Forest Law, County Forest Plans, WDNR Master Plans, Forest Service Plans, non-government organizations, and other land management agency and university plans).
    • Provide specific guidelines on how to manage habitats to benefit different bird guilds.
• Important Bird Areas - The duties of the Important Bird Area (IBA) committee are to:
  
  • Identify Wisconsin's most important bird areas (IBAs) and recommend strategies to ensure these areas are maintained.
  • Work with the Research and Monitoring committee to develop a site-specific IBAs monitoring system to document changes to birds and habitat.
  • Coordinate Wisconsin IBA activities with national and international IBA programs.
    
• Issues - The duties of the issues committee are to:
  
  • Keep WBCI partners up-to-date on relevant current events, including diseases, pesticides, tower kills, cats, etc through regular communication, including the issuing of white papers.
  • Recommend strategies to address problems (e.g. how best to reduce overabundant populations that are in conflict with other wildlife and humans.)
    
• Bird-related Recreation - The duties of the bird-related recreation committee are to:
  
  • Coordinate formation of a bird trail system throughout Wisconsin.
  • Compile and distribute information on bird-related recreation within Wisconsin.
  • Facilitate meetings of bird-related recreation businesses to strengthen the connection between businesses and bird conservation efforts.
    
• Ad Hoc - The chair of the Coordinating Council may appoint Ad Hoc committees as needed for specific tasks or issues not being addressed by WBCI standing committees.