Marianas Avifauna Conservation

The Marianas Avifauna Conservation (MAC) program started in 2004. This project is intended to provide the birds of the Mariana archipelago with the best possible chances for long-term survival. Its objectives are preserving, maintaining, and establishing self-sustaining populations of native birds secure from the threat of the brown tree snake. To rapidly address this threat, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has asked institutions with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for assistance with long-term conservation efforts aimed at protecting native avifauna on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The CNMI has specifically requested the following assistance:

• Development of techniques to capture, acclimate, hold, transport, and breed in captivity all of the bird species found in the CNMI.
• Establish captive populations of selected species that can be used as a source population for possible reintroduction back to Guam or Islands in the CNMI where brown tree snakes have been controlled or eradicated.
• Translocate birds to islands in the Mariana archipelago that are free of the brown tree snake to establish self-sustaining satellite populations.
• Identify when additional populations, either captive or wild, should be established.
• Develop public education programs that will assist the conservation of local avifauna.
• Develop a fundraising program to assist conservation efforts.