Washington office.

In a historic effort to broaden international wildlife conservation planning, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of State brought together decision-makers from throughout the Western Hemisphere to develop strategies for cross-boundary conservation of migratory species and collaboration on wildlife conservation issues.

The Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Conference took place in Termas de Puyehue, Chile, on October 6, 7, and 8, 2003. Attendees included representatives from 25 countries in the Western Hemisphere as well as members from over 40 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and wildlife conservation stakeholders. The products of the meeting included a detailed, prioritized list of issues needing international collaboration; an emerging matrix of tools available from NGO's, international conventions, and government bodies to address these identified needs; and a call for an interim forum to build upon the momentum of the conference.

This interim forum will be headed by a committee composed of five government representatives from various regions of the Western Hemisphere, four representatives from the NGO conservation community, and representatives from applicable international conventions. The conference's country representatives unanimously elected Herb Raffaele, Chief of the Service's Division of International Conservation, to chair the interim committee and to ensure that the progress in international collaboration for wildlife conservation made at the conference continues.

Endangered migratory species of the Western Hemisphere that are likely to benefit from enhanced collaboration between nations include imperiled species of cranes, sea turtles, neotropical migratory birds, whales, bats, dugongs, and waterfowl, to name just a few.