In a positive step for bird conservation, President George W. Bush has announced a new national strategy to preserve key habitats for migratory birds. Speaking at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, Md., Oct. 20, he said that the birds "fascinate and bring joy to millions of our citizens."

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Bald eagles, once threatened, have rebounded due to conservation efforts.

In formulating the new policies, Bush drew upon recommendations from a report spearheaded by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in partnership with leaders from other conservation organizations, including the National Audubon Society, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, The Nature Conservancy and PRBO Conservation Science.

"Our birds have been pummeled by urban and agricultural sprawl, rampant pesticide use and wetland degradation for decades," said John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Many species today are down to just a third of their population sizes in the 1960s."

Fitzpatrick led the effort to draft the report to the White House, pointing out dramatic declines in bird populations and recommending six actions that the federal government could take to restore North American birds: Expanding private and public support for national wildlife refuges, increasing support for public-private conservation partnerships called Joint Ventures, expanding conservation incentives for private landowners, enhancing protections for coastal and marine migratory birds, partnering with Mexico to secure key wintering habitats and instituting a "State of the Birds" report to measure environmental health.

Bush named initiatives based on all six recommended actions. These included:

• Restoring 200,000 acres of habitats for migratory birds in national wildlife refuges by 2009 and raising $3 billion in public-private funding to help restore wildlife habitats in national parks;
• Adding three new Joint Ventures to help conserve birds along the Rio Grande corridor, in the Appalachian Mountains and on the northern Great Plains;
• Allocating $509 million in 2008 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Bill conservation programs that assist landowners in preserving habitat for migratory birds;
• Directing the secretaries of state and interior to increase participation in the "Agreement on Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels";
• Working with the Mexican government and nongovernmental organizations to restore and protect five priority habitats in Mexico with $4 million committed in fiscal year 2007; and
• Requesting a "State of the Birds" report from the secretary of the interior by 2009 to chart progress and identify bird species that need additional protection.

"We are impressed and heartened by these bold initiatives," said Fitzpatrick. "The president and his staff are closely following many direct recommendations of the conservation community."

To watch Bush's address on video or read the transcript, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071020-2.html.