October 5, 2018
The Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative (MoBCI), a partnership of organizations that work together to conserve, restore and protect bird populations, celebrated “The Year of the Bird” at their 16th annual conference held in Columbia, Mo. August 24-25.
This conference unites bird enthusiasts from a wide array of diverse groups. It provides a unique platform for organizations to learn about, discuss and formulate solutions for the challenges faced in achieving the desired outcome of improving Missouri for birds and those that appreciate them. MoBCI’s grant program enables them to put over $200,000 dollars of bird conservation work on the ground annually.
The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation supported the event with $500 going toward offsetting the conference costs. Our assistance, combined with proceeds from their silent auction and moderate registration fees, allowed MoBCI to provide an additional challenge cost share grant where $4,000 of funding was matched with $4,000 of partner agency and organization funding. This helped secure a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant that will enable significant wetland-related work to occur at Schell-Osage Conservation Area.
