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Working With Your Neighbors
You can have a much greater impact on the ecological health of your area by joining efforts with your neighbors to protect local land
and water resources and to create larger habitats for the long-term sustainability of the area’s plants, animals, and other organisms.
Wildlife management associations, habitat groups, watershed coalitions, and cooperatives organize adjacent or nearby landowners and
other citizens with common goals to plan and discuss best practices for the sustainability of habitats and wildlife populations.
Why is working together important to birds and the environment?
Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation are the leading causes of population declines in birds, other wildlife, and plants. About
2 million acres of wildlife habitat in the United States are converted to residential and commercial use every year. Ranchettes and
country homes are often built on land that previously provided valuable habitat for wildlife. Many birds of conservation concern need
territories of vast, unobstructed habitat to survive. The decline of many grassland and wetland bird species can be attributed primarily
to the loss of habitat, either by complete destruction or patch isolation. Efforts to retain or restore broad tracks of rich habitat are
crucial to the survival of both common birds and more specialized species.
While implementing the best landscaping practices on an individual property can help support wildlife and protect natural resources, a
more effective approach is to link adjacent properties through a broader management plan. A community effort uniting the efforts and
goals of your neighbors to create and manage a habitat will benefit wildlife and people.
Community organizations also provide opportunities for social interaction and a forum for presentations by experts in the field.
Partnerships with public administrations, government agencies, nonprofit groups, schools, and businesses can strengthen the efforts
of habitat enhancement organizations. Federal habitat incentive programs can assist landowners in the planning, funding, and management
of restoration or enhancement of habitat, including wetlands.
Getting Started: What You Can Do
- Join a cooperative association that is interested in sustaining habitats and wildlife populations. Check with local
environmental organizations, such as your Audubon chapter or county extension agent, to see if such a group exists is your area.
If not, form a group of your own.
- Invite like-minded neighbors over for dinner or dessert to discuss how you can work together to protect wildlife and your quality of
life through the management of a particular habitat.
- Contact local agencies and environmental groups (see the incentive programs listed under “Helpful Links” below) to inform them of
your ideas and to see what support they can offer.
- Select a few species of greatest conservation concern in your area, and make a plan to attract and sustain them on adjacent
properties.
- Assess existing resources and information, create a program, and implement the plan.
- Publicize your efforts and outreach to the community throughout the process.
- Monitor your impact.
Helpful Links
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