Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture

The Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture, or LMVJV, is a self-directed, non-regulatory private, state, federal conservation partnership that exists for the purpose of implementing the goals and objectives of national and international bird conservation plans within the Lower Mississippi Valley region.  It is one of about 24 joint ventures in the United States that has formed to help implement the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), passed in 1989 to reverse the continent-wide decline of waterfowl.  Like all the bird joint ventures, the LMVJV plays a key role in recommending projects for funding under the NAWCA standard and small grants programs.  

The LMVJV partnership is focused on the protection, restoration, and management of those species of North American avifauna and their habitats encompassed by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP); North American Land Bird Conservation Plan; United States Shorebird Conservation Plan (USSCP); North American Waterbird Conservation Plan (NAWCP); and Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI). Collectively, these national and international plans are recognized as the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI).

Joint Venture planning, implementation, and evaluation are specific to Bird Conservation Regions (BCR's) as defined by the U.S. NABCI Committee. The LMVJV’s primary geographic focus is the two BCR's lying entirely or mostly within the LMVJV administrative boundary - the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and West Gulf Coastal Plain. However, Joint Venture planning, implementation, and evaluation extends in varying degrees to the limits of the Joint Venture's administrative boundary.