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 Piping plovers are classified as Near Threatened by The World Conservation Union (IUCN) due to habitat loss and destruction. The beaches where the plovers nest are often also recreational locations for people. Additionally, these beaches frequently flood due to poor water management.
Denver Zoo financed participation of two bird keepers, Jennifer Nixon and Jessica Meehan. The goals of this project are to band and monitor the population of plovers in the Great Lakes area, monitor and protect nests, and salvage any abandoned eggs for incubation.
The egg salvage program has been underway since 1992. Researchers take eggs from abandoned nests, incubate them, hand raise the chicks, and then release the fledglings. Hhand-raised chicks are released near similarly-aged wild chicks. In 2006, 17 captive-reared chicks were released. Since 1992, five captive-reared chicks have returned to breed; two of these nested in 2006.
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