WHY BEING A BIRD CITY
IS GREAT
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MISSION
Bird City Wisconsin works hard to implement is mission:
To encourage all communities in Wisconsin to implement sound bird conservation practices by offering public recognition to those that succeed in (a) enhancing the environment for birds and (b) educating the public about the interactions between birds and people and about the contributions birds make to a healthy community.

RATIONALE
While bird watchers and nature lovers understand the importance of protecting birds and creating healthy urban habitat, many others need a little convincing. For those people we offer the top 10 reasons to become a Bird City:
  1. COMMUNITY PRIDE: Present the positive image that people want for the place where they live and conduct business.
  2. CONSERVATION REPUTATION: Promote and grow your community's environmental reputation by participating in a state-wide conservation program and by displaying our beautiful Bird City Wisconsin signs in your community.
  3. SAVE MONEY: without birds we would have to spend more money on pest control and keeping natural systems in balance.
  4. MAKE MONEY: In 2011, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimate that spending by birders generated $107 billion in industry output, 666,000 jobs, and $13 billion in tax revenue!
  5. ECOSYSTEM HEALTH: Sustain healthy natural ecosystems by helping to maximize the number of native species in your community.
  6. FAMILY & EXERCISE: Birding and spending time in nature gets the whole family outside for fresh air, exercise, and relaxation!
  7. UNDERSTAND NATURE: Birds teach us about the interconnectedness of humans and nature and show how vulnerable wildlife can be to human actions.
  8. IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT: Managing green space to benefit birds creates not only better habitat for birds but also improves conditions for a host of other species... including people!
  9. DO IT FOR PEOPLE: Build community spirit, foster new public-private sector partnerships, and make your community a nicer place to live.
  10. DO IT FOR BIRDS: Conservation actions combat population declines in Wisconsin's birds and the other species that use the same habitats.
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THE FAMOUS BIRD CITY LOGO
     Thanks to incredible artwork and hundreds of signs around the state, one of the most recognizable things about Bird City Wisconsin is the program's logo. Bird City Wisconsin is deeply indebted to Tom and Mary Uttech for creating and donating the logo and symbol for our organization. Tom Uttech has emerged as one of the most widely admired landscape painters in America. The logo started with Tom's water colors and was crafted by Mary, art director for QP, published by the American Society for Quality, into a striking logo that masterfully captures the urban habitat that Bird City Wisconsin was founded to protect and improve. The Uttechs live near Saukville, WI, and are active members of the Wisconsin birding and conservation community.


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Above Photo: Members of the Wisconsin Audubon Council join members of the Bird City Wisconsin Steering Committee  on Oct. 23, 2010, at the Goose Pond prairie outside Madison, Wis. Representatives of Audubon chapters statewide rallied to celebrate their success in launching Bird City applications from Stevens Point, Green Bay, Lake Geneva, Williams Bay, Oshkosh and Hales Corners. The Goose Pond Sanctuary is among 3,000 acres preserved by the Madison Audubon Society.
(Click Photo above to enlarge)
Bird City Wisconsin and TogetherGreen
THE HISTORY OF BIRD CITY WISCONSIN
For the 80 percent of Americans who live in urban areas, enjoying nature often means watching birds. Urban dwellers may encounter Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls, and Mourning Doves, but careful observation can also reveal Common Nighthawks circling the skies or a screech-owl perched in the backyard.
Bird City Wisconsin, which is modeled on the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA, was created by a coalition of Wisconsin conservation and birding organizations to ensure that Wisconsin’s urban residents maintain healthy populations of birds and grow an appreciation for them.
The Bird City Wisconsin idea came into being during a 2003 meeting of the Urban Habitat Committee of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative (WBCI). The committee saw the potential for an intensive model for bird-focused urban conservation and education that followed the general framework of recommended actions and public recognition that made Tree City USA so successful across the nation. What followed was several years of refinement and a search for the right home.
In 2009, WBCI members received a planning grant for Bird City Wisconsin through the TogetherGreen program, an alliance between the National Audubon Society and Toyota. The grant was awarded to the Milwaukee Audubon Society.