2023 UPDATE: This year, we will be taking a pause from accepting new applications to solicit feedback from current participants, assess needs, and develop new resources to support certified cities. Please keep an eye out for a workshop later this year where we will roll out more information on our application, portal and new resources. Applications will open again in 2024. In the meantime, pencil in a fall 2023 Bird City Texas workshop to be held in October for certified and interested cities.
Bird City Texas is in its third year, and we are proud of the certified communities and many more working towards their certification to be places where birds thrive, and people prosper. As threats to habitat loss increase and bird populations decline, committing to urban conservation for our birds is vital! We look forward to continuing to engage with and support cities already certified through the Bird City Texas program. Thank you for all you do to educate the community and protect the places our feathered friends need.
If you have any questions and would like to talk about Bird City Texas and our pause on new applications this year, please reach out any time.
Chloe Crumley (chloe.crumley@audubon.org), Audubon Texas
Judit Green (judit.green@tpwd.texas.gov), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
This community-focused certification program was created to help people protect birds and their habitats where we live, work, and recreate. The criteria required to attain certification are designed to be impactful and efficient against habitat loss and other harmful factors impacting birds.
Research shows that bird-friendly habitat increases property values, helps control insects, and generates tourism dollars. Where birds thrive, people prosper. From urban centers to rural towns, each community can provide important habitat for birds, and certified communities will receive recognition and community benefits as a result of these efforts.
Science-based bird conservation initiatives and community-centric action will:
- Enhance and restore habitats
- Increase native plant coverage in Texas for the benefit of birds and people
- Reduce population-level threats
- Increase public awareness of the benefits and challenges of bird conservation
- Promote environmental stewardship in Texas cities
Audubon Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department certified the first 4 communities in the Bird City Texas program last year: Bastrop, Dallas, Houston, and Port Aransas. Three new communities were certified in January 2021: Galveston, San Antonio, and Surfside Beach.
