Grassland birds are the most rapidly declining guild of birds in North America, exhibiting greater than 50% loss in total abundance since 1970. While the reasons for these declines are manifold, one oft-overlooked factor is the landscape-level loss of keystone species across the Great Plains. In this webinar, Dr. Henry Pollock of the Southern Plains Land Trust will delve into the recent ecological histories of three keystone species of the Great Plains: the bison, the prairie dog, and the beaver. All three of these ecosystem engineers have enormous impacts on bird biodiversity, and all three have suffered precipitous population declines since 1800. Pollock will explore the implications of their declines for grassland birds, as well as the potential for re-wilding of these keystones to rescue declining bird populations.