What do the declining numbers indicate for human health, prosperity and quality of life?
They tell us we need to pay closer attention to the resources and environmental quality that are essential to all people and wildlife. Birds require healthy habitats. So do we. Birds require clean air and clean water. So do we. When we take care of what the birds need, we’re often taking care of ourselves. The declines we are seeing show we’re not doing a good enough job in safeguarding wetlands, forests, and grasslands that all provide critical benefits to people and wildlife. And they warn us to act more quickly on increasing threats from global warming, the spread of invasive species, expanding and spreading sprawl, industrial agricultural practices, and poorly controlled energy development.
