Presenter: River Gates, Pacific Shorebird Conservation Coordinator, National Audubon Society, Latin America and the Caribbean and Alaska Programs

Title/Description: From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego: Audubon’s Conservation Impact across the Pacific Flyway

River will discuss the migratory connectivity of waterbirds along the Pacific Flyway, emphasizing the critical role of coastal estuaries and interior wetlands in Alaska and California’s Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. She will also highlight Audubon’s conservation initiatives across the Flyway that are making lasting impacts on the protection and restoration of migratory bird habitats.

Presenter Bio: River Gates joined Audubon in 2017 and has more than 20 years of experience in leading international shorebird conservation and research projects in the Pacific and East Asian-Australasian Flyways. She earned her M.S. in wildlife conservation from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2011, studying the breeding and migration ecology of Dunlin. River co-created the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy and serves as the coordinator for the partnership. She advises shorebird conservation programs more broadly through her service on the following executive councils: U.S. Shorebird Conservation Partnership, Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network’s Hemispheric Council, and Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group.