Our mission is to plan for and facilitate bird habitat conservation, research, and outreach in an effort to ensure sustainable populations of priority bird species in the Edwards Plateau and Oaks and Prairies Bird Conservation Regions in Oklahoma and Texas.
Our Partnership
What is the Oaks and Prairie Joint Venture?
The Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture (OPJV) is a regional, self-directed partnership of government and non-governmental organizations and individuals working across administrative boundaries to deliver landscape-level planning and science-based conservation, linking on-the-ground management with national bird population goals. The OPJV activities focus on a broad spectrum of bird conservation activities including biological planning, conservation design, conducting “on-the-ground” conservation delivery projects, organizing outreach, research, and monitoring, creating decision support tools, and raising money for these activities through partner contributions and grants within the Oaks and Prairies Bird Conservation Region (BCR) and the Edwards Plateau BCR.
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A Model for Success
Texas and Oklahoma have a diverse array of existing avian-related conservation initiatives. However, to tackle landscape-scale conservation challenges, these efforts need to be tied together with a unifying vision, common goals, and a collective approach to landscape planning and delivery of on-the-ground conservation. The partner-based format of Joint Ventures is ideally suited to developing strategies for impacting avian species at a regional level and leveraging partner dollars to make it happen.
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Partner Organizations Represented on the OPJV Management Board
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Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
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Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
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US Fish and Wildlife Service
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US Department of Agriculture– Natural Resources Conservation Service
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Audubon Texas
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The Nature Conservancy
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National Wild Turkey Federation
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Native Prairies Association of Texas
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Sutton Avian Research Center
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Texas Wildlife Association
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American Bird Conservancy
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Pheasants Forever Inc./Quail Forever
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Noble Research Institute
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Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association
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Quail Coalition
Many other organizations and individual partners work together in Technical Teams to compile information, prioritize needs, identify funding for priorities, and conduct on-the-ground restoration, education, management, research, and bird population monitoring.
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To learn more about Joint Ventures, click the button below.