The Great Lakes Islands Alliance (GLIA) is pleased to host this free meeting for Great Lakes island leaders, residents, and advocates. The target audience includes birders and anyone interested in learning about birds and how to support their conservation on islands!

Presentation Description:

Great Lakes islands are critically important places for a variety of bird species, such as land birds (e.g., sparrows, warblers), waterbirds (e.g., herons, loons, plovers), and waterfowl (e.g., ducks, geese, swans).  Unfortunately, these species face a variety of threats on a local, regional, and global scale.  Maintaining a variety of habitats – forests, wetlands, grasslands, beaches, and even residential backyards – will play a role in bird conservation by providing feeding, nesting, wintering, and migratory stopover sites.

This meeting will feature a leading international organization, Audubon Great Lakes, providing a general overview of the status of Great Lakes bird species and why islands are seen as key places for conservation.  We will then showcase two Great Lakes island communities and how they are working to support bird conservation.  Islands are also witnessing an increased interest in birding which can have an added economic benefit.

Presenters: 

Tom Prestby is a conservation manager at Audubon Great Lakes.  He helps build conservation partnerships to protect various bird species and has experience working on natural and manmade islands in western Lake Superior and Lake Michigan’s Green Bay.  Learn more about Tom here.

Pam Grassmick is a fourth-generation Beaver Islander who has been instrumental in leading many environmental initiatives on the island, including the Beaver Island Birding Trail and annual Warblers on the Water event.

Lisa Brohl is chair and founding member of the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy.  Lisa will discuss protection of birds through a variety of activities, including monitoring (banding) and preservation of natural areas.

About GLIA:

The Great Lakes Islands Alliance (GLIA) is a voluntary, bi-national network of island leaders, residents, and advocates.  Our mission is to “encourage relationship building, foster information exchange, and leverage resources to address shared challenges and embrace opportunities to benefit islands.” In addition to our core purpose of connecting our islands to one another, GLIA strives to provide you access to leading experts from around the region, nation and world on topics important to island communities. Learn more about GLIA by visiting our website: https://glialliance.org

If you have any questions about GLIA or this webinar, please email Peter Huston at phuston@stewardshipnetwork.org