Detroit Bird Alliance

Detroit Bird Alliance, doing business as Detroit Audubon Society I, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Detroit, Michigan, that receives federal grants as a prime recipient and subrecipient for wetland habitat conservation, migratory bird population monitoring, and community greenspace restoration work. The organization does not hold federal contracts and operates entirely through the federal grant channel, with recent awards split between a direct prime cooperative agreement with the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 and subrecipient positions under National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grants.

Detroit Audubon's customer base consists exclusively of Interior Department Fish and Wildlife Service entities — Region 3 (one prime award) and Region 9 (two subrecipient awards) — accounting for 100% of recorded federal activity. The organization's three recent awards total $307 thousand obligated across 2024, 2025, and 2026, with one award per year. The prime award is a cooperative agreement from Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 running through December 2027 for black tern population restoration and monitoring at St. Clair Flats in Michigan. Over the award period, the organization will install thirty artificial nesting platforms annually, deploy thirty nest cameras per year (fifteen on natural nests, fifteen on platforms), conduct nest-success analysis using camera data to determine platform efficacy, and execute public-awareness campaigns including outreach events, habitat tours, and branded materials. The work is performed in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Audubon Great Lakes, which supply mud-boat logistics and GIS data management support. The two subrecipient grants, both from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, support Detroit Bird City park habitat restoration — one award (February 2024) converted 23.6 acres of Detroit city parks into native-flower meadow habitat with pollinator and migratory-bird focus; the second award (August 2025) expands that effort to 70 acres of meadow restoration and native-plant installation across multiple Detroit parks, removing invasives and deploying nature-based stormwater and carbon-sequestration infrastructure. One award faces ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months and will require recompete activity.