The Manomet Center announced early this month that Dr. Rob Clay will be the new director of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Executive Office.

 

WHSRN is a voluntary consortium working across the Americas to protect and manage the hemisphere’s most important habitats for migratory shorebirds – many species have shown sharp population declines in the past two decades. The Network currently includes 88 sites in 13 countries, and over 250 organizations from Alaska to Argentina. Manomet operates the WHSRN Executive Office as part of the Shorebird Recovery Program.

 

“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 Shorebird Recovery Program Director Stephen Brown.

 

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.”

 

– Dave McGlinchey