Protection of neotropical migrants as a major focus of wildlife management

Due to their funding source, wildlife management programs devoted most resources to game species management, and ignored large scale biodiversity initiatives, such as the protection of neotropical migrant land birds. Neotropical migrants are, however, a major focus of the new field of conservation biology, whose proponents consider the field more inclusive than wildlife management, and consider wildlife management a subdiscipline on the scale of forestry or range management. However, the relationship between conservation biology and wildlife management is evolving toward a partnership. Preserving biodiversity requires protection and management of public land, infrastructure of trained professionals in existing agencies, and the support of the wildlife management agency constituency. I suggest the relationship could be improved by 1) conservation biologists giving greater consideration to the value of traditional wildlife management techniques such as hunting; 2) coordinating regulatory protection of neotropical migrants in existing agencies, primarily fish and wildlife agencies; 3) developing and incorporating management of neotropical migrants into existing land and population management actions; and 4) developing stable funding for nongame wildlife programs.