Pacific Coast Joint Venture
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Coast Joint Venture (PCJV) is a partnership established in 1991 between governments, organizations, and conservation groups along the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada, established to protect and enhance wetlands important to migratory birds, within the framework of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan
(NAWMP). Participants include the provincial government of British Columbia
in Canada, and the state governments of Alaska
, California
, Hawaii
, Oregon
and Washington in the United states. The venture's scope covers an area from San Francisco Bay
to Alaska, west of the Coast Mountains
, and it was the first joint venture of the NAWMP to have an international scope.
Between 2001 and 2004, Ducks Unlimited Canada
and the Canadian Wildlife Service
ran a project supported by PCJV partners to identify and map estuaries in British Columbia that would be targets for conservation. These are located in an expanse covered by the PCJV of 220,000 km² of landscape, 460,000 km² of seascape, and over 30,000 km of shoreline.
In California, the Joint Venture focuses on coastal northern California
, specifically in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Trinity, and Siskiyou Counties. The project in Washington focuses on bird habitats in its western and coastal regions, specifically the bays and straits of northern Washington, the southern Puget Sound
and Hood Canal
, the Olympic Peninsula
, the southern Washington coast, and the Lower Columbia River
.
In British Columbia, the partnership is focused on the east coast of Vancouver Island
and the Fraser River
delta. with a goal to "protect, restore, and enhance the natural integrity of coastal wetlands". It also launched Operation Orange, a scientific survey to track spartina, which is "choking the Pacific shoreline and endangering native species". The project also extends to Washington, where the Washington State Department of Agriculture, The Nature Conservancy
, and the Puget Sound Joint Venture team track spartina in Puget Sound and the Georgia Strait. Program execution is conducted by Ducks Unlimited Canada in British Columbia.
North American Waterfowl Management Plan
The North American Waterfowl Management Plan is an international plan to conserve waterfowl and migratory birds in North America. It was established in 1986 by Canada and the United States, and expanded to include Mexico in 1994....
(NAWMP). Participants include the provincial government of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in Canada, and the state governments of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and Washington in the United states. The venture's scope covers an area from San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
to Alaska, west of the Coast Mountains
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...
, and it was the first joint venture of the NAWMP to have an international scope.
Between 2001 and 2004, Ducks Unlimited Canada
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It currently has approximately 780,000 members, mostly in the United States and Canada.-Introduction:Ducks Unlimited was...
and the Canadian Wildlife Service
Canadian Wildlife Service
The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS is a branch of the Department of the Environment, also known as Environment Canada, a department of the Government of Canada....
ran a project supported by PCJV partners to identify and map estuaries in British Columbia that would be targets for conservation. These are located in an expanse covered by the PCJV of 220,000 km² of landscape, 460,000 km² of seascape, and over 30,000 km of shoreline.
In California, the Joint Venture focuses on coastal northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, specifically in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Trinity, and Siskiyou Counties. The project in Washington focuses on bird habitats in its western and coastal regions, specifically the bays and straits of northern Washington, the southern Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
and Hood Canal
Hood Canal
Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins, of Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Hood Canal is not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway—it is a natural waterway.-Geography:...
, the Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
, the southern Washington coast, and the Lower Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
.
In British Columbia, the partnership is focused on the east coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
delta. with a goal to "protect, restore, and enhance the natural integrity of coastal wetlands". It also launched Operation Orange, a scientific survey to track spartina, which is "choking the Pacific shoreline and endangering native species". The project also extends to Washington, where the Washington State Department of Agriculture, The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
, and the Puget Sound Joint Venture team track spartina in Puget Sound and the Georgia Strait. Program execution is conducted by Ducks Unlimited Canada in British Columbia.
External links
- Pacific Coast Joint Venture
- Pacific Coast Joint Venture Project Portal at the Conservation Registry