SYMPOSIUM PRESENTER TITLE: Immediate avian response to restoration in lower Green Bay ABSTRACT: Lower Green Bay was once recognized as one of the most productive locations for birds and other wildlife in the Great Lakes, including scores of migrating shorebirds and waterfowl and an abundant population of breeding marshbirds. During decades of industrialization, invasive species colonization, and other severe impacts, use of the area by migrating and breeding birds plummeted. However, restoration projects in the past decade including the Cat Island Restoration Project and Ken Euers Nature Area Restoration within the Lower Green Bay & Fox River Area of Concern (AOC) have already showcased extremely positive responses from migrating and nesting birds, including Federal and State listed species, demonstrating that “if you build it, they will come”. Other AOC restoration projects that are currently in planning or design phases offer additional potential to help bring lower Green Bay back to its premiere historical track record as a migratory stopover and nursery for key bird species. This presentation will detail immediate avian response to restoration at Cat Island and Ken Euers, as well as Sensiba State Wildlife Area (SWA) and Oconto Marsh SWA just north of the AOC, and will describe long-term management challenges to ensure restored habitat remains ideal for bird use in an age of invasive species and climate change impacts. BIO: Tom Prestby is the Wisconsin conservation manager at Audubon Great Lakes. He manages habitat restoration projects and bird research, monitoring, and stewardship projects in Wisconsin, particularly in Audubon's strategic priority areas of Green Bay and the St. Louis River Estuary and in the Important Bird Area Program. Tom is based in Green Bay, WI.