Federal officials are promoting a new system of tracking the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. The plan is going into effect in part because officials expect bird flu will arrive in the U.S. this year.

The secretaries of Agriculture, Interior and Health and Human Services today released a plan to detect the avian flu if it arrives in the U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton says officials expect the flu to reach North America "at some point, possibly this year."

Wildlife experts have watched the disease spread among migratory birds around the world.

U.S. officials say they are boosting monitoring birds, testing water, and bird feces. The government also plans to quarantine and destroy any poultry flocks where the virus appears.

Commercial poultry companies already test every flock for bird flu.