The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences has named Dr. Rob Clay as the new director of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) Executive Office.

WHSRN is a voluntary consortium working across the Americas to protect and manage the hemisphere’s most important habitats for migratory shorebirds. The Network currently includes 88 sites in 13 countries, and over 250 organizations from Alaska to Argentina.

Dr. Clay has been working on the conservation of birds throughout the Western Hemisphere for over 20 years. Prior to joining Manomet, Clay worked for Birdlife International as Senior Conservation Manager in the Americas Secretariat, where he supervised the development, management, and fundraising for conservation programs. He focused on the conservation of migratory birds, particularly grassland birds and globally threatened species, and worked regularly with the WHSRN staff and partners. Clay also served on the WHSRN Hemispheric Council. He will begin his new role in May and will be based in Asuncion, Paraguay, where he has lived for 15 years.

“I am very excited to be joining what is widely recognized as one of the most successful flyway-scale site networks in the world,” Clay said. “Working with the many WHSRN partners throughout the Americas, I’m optimistic that together we can redress the worrying declines in so many shorebird populations.”

Many shorebird species have shown sharp population declines in the past two decades.  WHSRN uses science and the cooperation of its members in an effort to halt the declines and to ensure the long-term survival of these birds. WHSRN provides training, capacity building, and visibility for all member sites. The Network’s immediate goals include supporting existing sites, and enrolling new qualifying sites, especially in Central and South America.

“We are delighted to have someone of Rob’s experience and stature taking over the leadership of WHSRN, and look forward to great progress advancing shorebird conservation with our partners across the Hemisphere,” said Manomet’s Shorebird Recovery Program Director Stephen Brown.

With headquarters located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences has more than 30 scientists and support staff working from the north slope of Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina. Through research and collaboration, Manomet builds science-based, cooperative solutions to environmental problems.

Originally founded as the Manomet Bird Observatory, the Center is celebrating 45 years of conserving the natural world for the benefit of wildlife and human populations. For more information or to learn how to become involved, visit www.whsrn.org or www.manomet.org.