Welcome to Flight Plan

Our bold strategic plan will achieve new levels of impact for birds, people, and the planet.
American Avocets. Photo: Natalia Kuzmina/Alamy

We protect birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow.

±¬ÁϹ«Éç is responding to the greatest challenges facing birds and people today while anticipating the issues—and opportunities—of tomorrow. We remain focused on birds because we know their collective health reflects the health of our planet. What’s good for birds is good for the Earth.

For more than a century, ±¬ÁϹ«Éç has demonstrated strength, adaptability, and resilience through periods of change.

In my lifetime, North America has lost more than 3 billion birds. This is a catastrophe playing out on a planetary scale. We are reaching a tipping point for birds, magnified by the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. But if we act now—in this critical decade—we can reverse this trend.
—Dr. Elizabeth Gray, Chief Executive Officer

Flight Plan, our 2023–2028 strategic plan, represents a new era that builds on the strengths and lessons from our past. With it, we can meaningfully align our work as we attempt to "bend the bird curve," meaning that we are working to halt, and ultimately reverse, the decline of birds across the Americas. This work requires us to work efficiently across habitats and national borders, with partners and governments and local communities sharing the same resources as their local birds. 

The urgency of the moment demands much of us. This is a turning point for our planet and our organization, and ±¬ÁϹ«Éç is ready to meet the challenge. Flight Plan positions us to achieve meaningful and lasting impact—protecting birds, people, and our planet.

What Sets ±¬ÁϹ«Éç Apart

1
We follow the science
±¬ÁϹ«Éç’s recent investments in our science leadership are paying dividends. Tools like the Migratory Bird Explorer and studies like Survival by Degrees enable ±¬ÁϹ«Éç to make science-based decisions about the places that matter most for birds.
2
We embrace nonpartisanship.
Across the Americas, the political landscape is increasingly divisive. ±¬ÁϹ«Éç—a known centrist brand—plays a unique role as a convener that engages decision makers and supporters from across the political spectrum. We put policy over politics.
3
We pair grasstops diplomacy with grassroots advocacy.
±¬ÁϹ«Éç pairs grasstops diplomacy with a committed network of grassroots advocates. These critical supporters will influence decision makers in government and the private sector to achieve our 2028 milestones.
4
We inspire an expansive ±¬ÁϹ«Éç flock.
Our chapters and centers are hubs that connect individuals and communities to ±¬ÁϹ«Éç. Our lands and sanctuaries are living laboratories where we test and pilot innovative conservation projects. Our network spans the hemisphere.

Where We Will Work

We identified a total of 3.7 billion acres across the hemisphere representing key ecoregions in which ±¬ÁϹ«Éç would focus efforts to bend the bird curve. These are distributed across Forests (1.3B acres); Grasslands, Aridlands, and Tundra (1.3B acres); Wetlands & Coastal (550M acres), Marine (450M acres), and Urban (12M). Within these habitats, we have identified nearly 60 percent as current priorities reflecting current capacities and the remainder are potential future priorities to be evaluated during the operational blueprint development process.

How We Will Work for Maximum Impact

We will improve and expand habitat while tackling the impacts and causes of climate change. We will leverage public and corporate policies and funding to achieve gains in habitat and climate, while building a base of supporters inspired to change the world for birds. As a result, we are prepared to inspire, influence, innovate, and achieve unprecedented impact.