Governor Pawlenty has proclaimed the second Saturday in May as Bird Conservation Day in Minnesota

Bird Conservation Day will help to celebrate 427 species of birds that have been recorded in Minnesota as well as the significant amount of bird enthusiasts Minnesota has.

Recently, The Minnesota DNR Nongame Wildlife Program, Audubon Minnesota and other bird conservationists came together to launch a statewide, all-bird conservation initiative in the Minnesota. The collaborative effort, called Bird Conservation Minnesota (BCM), is a voluntary partnership of agencies and organizations with an interest in the conservation of all wild bird species and their habitats.

Along with the DNR, BCM brings together bird conservationists from more than 160 partners.

“The strong connections among this wide diversity of these bird conservation organizations and individuals in the state to help ensure the conservation of Minnesota’s rich and diverse avifauna” said Carrol Henderson, Supervisor of DNR’s Nongame Wildlife Program.

“Minnesota has a wonderful suite of organizations, agencies and companies that are concerned about bird conservation,” said Dr. Scott Lanyon, director of the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum and chair of the BCM Coordinating Council. “The goal of Bird Conservation Minnesota is to facilitate communication and cooperation between these various groups so that all can be more successful in the process. I anticipate that BCM will identify, and help to address, critical bird conservation issues that are not on any conservation group’s radar screen and are in danger of ‘falling through the cracks’.”

BCM plans to build public support through education, tourism and bird-friendly communities to ensure that a well-informed public understands the importance of conservation and birds.