Audubon Pilots Adopt-a-Flyway Recognition Program to Enhance 700 acres of Migratory Bird Habitat in Minnesota

Roseville, Minn. (July 28, 2026) — Earlier this month, Audubon Higher Mississippi River was awarded $840,000 from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund to launch the Undertake-a-Flyway pilot program to incentivize habitat restoration and bird-friendly administration throughout non-public, public, and Tribal lands in Minnesota. By offering monetary and technical help, Audubon hopes to empower landowners to acknowledge the worth of their land inside the Mississippi Flyway and encourage voluntary motion to enhance 700 acres of essential migratory chook habitat by 2030. 

Since 1970, North American chook populations have declined by almost one-third resulting from habitat loss, air pollution, local weather change, and different pressures. Migratory species signify among the steepest losses, partly as a result of they depend on a related community of high-quality habitat to full their journeys. The Mississippi Flyway is the biggest chook migration hall on the continent, utilized by nearly half of North America’s chook species, and subsequently an necessary focus space for habitat conservation.  

“The Mississippi Flyway helps greater than 325 chook species throughout their migratory flights every spring, with the mighty Mississippi River serving to them preserve their routes,” stated Sarah Hewitt, Senior Conservation Supervisor for Audubon Mississippi River. “Nevertheless, the habitats these species rely on for gasoline and relaxation are declining resulting from quite a lot of components, making it harder annually for migratory birds to meet their wants throughout their epic journeys—which results in inhabitants loss and decreased reproductive success if they make it to their breeding grounds.” 

Since most chook habitat in North America is privately owned, voluntary recognition applications are important to addressing the decline of migratory chook populations and reaching conservation outcomes at scale. Audubon created the Undertake-a-Flyway pilot program in Minnesota to incentivize bird-friendly land administration and cut back fragmentation in areas recognized as essential stopover and breeding habitat for migratory birds.  

Members who voluntarily enroll in this system will achieve public recognition in addition to monetary and technical help to implement bird-friendly administration practices really useful by Audubon vary and forest ecologists. These practices might embody prescribed fireplace, native prairie and tree plantings, brush administration, and rotational grazing. Audubon ecologists can even use autonomous recording items to evaluate this system’s influence on track chook species in Minnesota, reminiscent of the Bobolink and Wooden Thrush.  

“We need to see this program uplift the significance of conserving our piece of the Mississippi Flyway to the general public and empower landowners to boost and create habitat that migratory and breeding birds can thrive in,” Hewitt stated. “Linked and wholesome habitats are key to supporting the chook species that use the Mississippi Flyway.” 

Audubon can even assist in-person workshops to coach the general public on bird-friendly land administration alongside companions from MN Grazing Lands Conservation Affiliation, American Chicken Conservancy, and City Chicken Collective. 

The official rollout of the Undertake-a-Flyway pilot program in Minnesota will occur this fall, however  land managers can begin reaching out now about enrollment. 

For extra details about the Undertake-a-Flyway program in Minnesota, please contact Dale Gentry, Director of Conservation for Audubon Higher Mississippi River, at Dale.Gentry@Audubon.org.