Wildlife populations across the country are suffering from habitat loss caused by urban sprawl, drought, wildfires, invasive species, pollution, and other threats. When humans fragment natural landscapes that provide habitat to so many species of plants and animals, we isolate wildlife from the food, water and shelter they need for survival.
We must act now to restore and protect wildlife habitat
in North American flyways.
The Flyway Cities Coalition is an innovative approach towards creating healthier environments for people and wildlife living in wildlife habitat corridors, or “flyways.” Targeting key urban areas throughout the United States, each city’s Coalition brings together the efforts of local stakeholder groups, magnifying their individual strengths as they work towards common sustainability goals. Flyway Cities Coalitions will restore viable habitat for native wildlife and plant populations, educating others about local and regional environmental issues, and encouraging communities to engage in projects that create a better urban environment for everyone.
Coalition members—including elected officials, city and county planners, state and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, nature centers, educational institutions, faith-based organizations, volunteers, and local civic groups—will forge new partnerships and magnify the good work they are already doing in their communities. Wildlife gardeners will learn how their yards connect to the larger landscape, and how their efforts at home can help species and habitats found far beyond their own fences.
Flyways Cities Coalitions Benefit Communities
- Providing opportunities for people to connect with nature right at home.
- Enabling people to contribute positive solutions to the negative issues of habitat fragmentation and global warming.
- Bringing people outdoors to connect with nature and to lead healthier lifestyles.
- Creating a network of like-minded individuals who can share their ideas and experiences.
Flyways Cities Coalitions Benefit Wildlife
- Connecting habitats that support migrating wildlife through the different seasons.
- Creating landscapes that provide the food, cover, and water needed by wildlife.
- Providing important habitat for wildlife forced into new ranges by global warming.
- Ensuring that native plants – vital as food for wildlife – continue to thrive in changing times.
The Flyway Cities Coalition will work city-by-city to create connected areas of native habitat for all types of wildlife. Restoring contiguous habitat in flyway corridors can help wildlife adjust to habitat loss and fragmentation, and to the range shifts that may result from global warming effects in their current habitats. Keeping connected habitat available in the flyways is critical to the survival of many species, both migratory and resident, and is part of maintaining healthy populations over time. |
 |
