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To better measure its success in achieving its bird conservation priorities and mandates, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Migratory Bird Program initiated a Focal Species strategy for migratory birds. The Focal Species strategy involves campaigns for selected species to provide explicit, strategic, and adaptive sets of conservation actions required to return the species to healthy and sustainable levels.

The goal of the Focal Species strategy is to measure the success in achieving bird conservation and to increase accountability. This is one of several ways that the Service measures bird conservation success. The Service remains committed to landscape-scale, integrated bird conservation for the full array of species of management concern. The Focal Species approach is just one component of the Migratory Bird Program and complements other work on migratory birds and their habitats.

To select Focal Species, the Migratory Bird Program identifies species from the Birds of Management Concern list that need investment because they: 1) have high conservation need, 2) are representative of a broader group of species sharing the same or similar conservation needs, 3) act as a potential unifier for partnerships, and/or 4) have a high likelihood that factors affecting status can be realistically addressed.

Focal Species are identified over the short term to receive specific attention. These species/populations are not the only ones that meet the criteria, but are species the Migratory Bird Program will focus conservation efforts over the next five years.