English 
Español 
Each year Partners in Flight (PIF) recognize exceptional contributions to the field of landbird conservation through an annual awards program that recognizes contributions to leadership, investigations, public awareness, stewardship, and the David N. Pashley Lifetime Achievement Award.
We are elated to share that the 2019 recipient of the Group PIF Stewardship Award is SJV partner Terra Peninsular. Executive Director Cesar Guerrero Ávila accepted the award during the virtual VII North American Ornithological Conference, held in August 2020.
Terra Peninsular, based in Ensenada, Baja California, is dedicated to protecting the ecosystems and landscapes of the Baja California Peninsula, as well as in Sonora and Sinaloa states. Through direct land protection, adaptive management, bird monitoring and conservation planning, sustainable tourism, and community engagement, Terra Peninsular has worked to protect the unique birds and habitats of the region by working directly with local communities.
The Terra Peninsular team poses along one of the beaches they work on in Ensenada, Mexico (© Terra Peninsular).
It also leads the San Quintín Bird Festival, the largest bird festival in the Baja California Peninsula and one of the largest in northwest Mexico. Since its founding in 2001, Terra Peninsular has created over 14,000 acres of private natural protected areas, supported nearly 100,000 acres of Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network sites, collaborated with the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas in Mexico to protect 4,000 acres of coastal habitat, and supported the designation of over 13,000 acres of protected wetlands for inclusion on the list of Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance.
Local artist and craft sale at the Bird Festival (© Terra Peninsular).
Because the area in which Terra Peninsular works is diverse not only ecologically, but also in human uses and needs, they have built diverse and unlikely partnerships to address issues including mining and pesticides. One of the ways in which they have been so successful in forging partnerships with local communities and businesses is by focusing on issues that affect not just birds and wildlife, but people as well, such as water quality and public health. Through collaboration with local and international partners, Terra Peninsular has created a sense of pride and ownership of natural resources and habitats among youth, hunters, agricultural industry, local community members, and other non-traditional stakeholders in Baja California, building a conservation constituency for the future.
Terra Peninsular has served as a key partner for the Sonoran Joint Venture, helping facilitate the participation of our Mexican partners in SJV-sponsored meetings on both sides of the border. We are proud to count them as a partner and congratulate them on this richly-deserved recognition.