Join the Prairie Conservation Action Plan (PCAP) for a Native Prairie Speaker Series webinar with Jacy S. Bernath-Plaisted, applied conservation scientist with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. During the talk titled: "North America’s grassland birds: past declines, current challenges and future solutions" she will provide an overview on the topic of North America’s grassland birds, their unique ecology, past declines and vulnerability, the diverse challenges this group faces and opportunities and possibilities to conserve and manage these species across the working landscapes of the Great Plains.

About the Speaker: Jacy grew up in rural Michigan where he developed an early appreciation and respect for the natural world. Throughout his early career, Jacy worked on a wide array of ecological research projects spending time in the sagebrush of Wyoming, the backcountry of Sierra Nevada, the endangered Florida Scrub and Long Point Bird Observatory on the shores of Lake Erie. In 2015, Jacy completed his master’s degree at the University of Manitoba where he studied the effects of energy development on grassland birds. After completing his doctoral degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2024, Jacy came to Bird Conservancy as an Applied Conservation Scientist—a position that has given him the opportunity to blend his scientific background with his strong interest in the conservation of grasslands and the wildlife and ecosystem services that they support. Jacy likes to spend his free time outdoors and enjoys hiking, camping, birding, running and cycling.