In 1995, the wildlife conservation agencies of the United States, Mexico, and Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Canada/Mexico/US Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation and Management. This agreement formally brought together for the first time the three nations of North America, consolidating a continental effort for wildlife and ecosystem conservation and management.
The Trilateral Committee facilitates and enhances cooperation and coordination among the wildlife agencies of the three nations in projects and programs for the conservation and management of wildlife, plants, biological diversity, and ecosystems of mutual interest. The Trilateral also facilitates the development of partnerships with other associated and interested entities. Delegations from each country come together annually for discussions on a wide range of topics, from joint, on-the-ground projects to issues of law enforcement to the development of information databases.
Discussions take place under the auspices of working tables that report to an executive body comprising the directors of the three wildlife agencies. Because the issues important to the three nations change, working tables are established and discontinued as needed. Currently, there are six active working tables: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), Ecosystem Conservation, Executive, Law Enforcement, Migratory Birds, and Species of Common Conservation Concern.