by Allison Vaughn, Communications

In 2004, CAS was a founding member of the Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative, an organization dedicated to all wild bird conservation. As a step-down organization from the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, MoBCI plays an important role in habitat improvement in Missouri, as well as larger role working to protect birds throughout their life cycle. Bill Mees is the MoBCI Steering Committee Representative. Before his tenure on MoBCI, Bill applied for and received a 2014 MoBCI grant for prairie restoration at CANS. The rest is history!

MoBCI’s strength is in the annual grants program as well as the Jerry Wade Youth Habitat and Education Program that offers small grants to educational groups wanting to enhance bird habitat. Every year, MoBCI hosts a two-day conference in Columbia, which is a great opportunity for sharing ideas, learning about what other organizations are doing to help birds, current research, and overall camaraderie.

The theme of this year’s conference is 20 Years of MoBCI: A Retrospective of MoBCI History and Conservation Impacts. The conference will be held at the Columbia Country Club on Thursday-Friday, August 22-23, 2024. As the agenda and registration become available, we’ll be sure to post it here!

To learn more about MoBCI, visit www.mobci.net.