During the 1980s and 1990s, Canada, the United States and Mexico began working together to recover declining waterfowl populations through an international partnership called the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
Thanks to this ongoing conservation partnership, and the implementation of the Plan through the Species and Habitat Joint Ventures, many waterfowl populations have rebounded since 1986.
NAWMP Science Support Team
The NAWMP Science Support Team (NSST) is a technical advisory body that reports to the NAWMP Plan Committee. The NSST’s purpose is to strengthen the biological foundations of the NAWMP, and to facilitate continuous improvement of conservation programs. This group is the primary mechanism for scientific communication between the Habitat Joint Ventures, the Plan Committee and federal wildlife agencies.
In October 2015, the NSST and TriST (Tri-initiative Science Team for landbirds, shorebirds and waterbirds) joined forces to work collaboratively as TrUST, the Transitional Unified Science Team (now termed UST, as it is no longer transitional).
Chiefly, this Unified Science Team (UST) is working on the Avian Conservation Assessment Database initially developed by Partners in Flight. Although mostly a U.S. initiative, some Canadian participation occurs.