President Trump’s proposed 2018 federal budget would gut major programs and protections for birds and America’s public lands, putting decades of conservation achievements at risk. With so much on the line, it’s imperative that we send Congress a loud, unmistakable message that such extreme cuts will not stand.

Drastic reductions in the proposed federal budget would scale down on-the-ground conservation at a time when one-third of migratory bird species, including the Kentucky Warbler (shown), are already in decline. Birds are sensitive indicators of environmental health as a whole, and the loss of migratory birds signals a potential crisis that Congress must act now to reverse.

But that’s not all: Three federal agencies critical to bird conservation—the Department of Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency—are facing drastic budget cuts that will significantly reduce federal bird protections.

If we want migratory birds to bounce back, it’s critical that Congress prioritize and fund the following:

• The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, critical to the restoration of habitat for migratory birds throughout the Western Hemisphere.
• Migratory Bird Joint Ventures, North American regional partnerships that work across political boundaries and levels of government to achieve conservation success for birds and their habitats.
• Endangered Species Act, in order to fully recover endangered and threatened bird species.
• Farm Bill conservation programs, like Conservation Reserve Program, which preserve habitat for birds by providing conservation incentives to private landowners.
• EPA’s Pesticides Program, critical to protecting birds from deadly pesticides like neonicotinoids used in agriculture.

Please act now! Tell your Senators and Representative: Make protecting migratory birds and the conservation programs they depend on a priority. Thank you.