A new video series by the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative highlights the importance of proper forest management in improving a diversity of habitat for birds and other wildlife. The series focuses on several Ohio private landowners detailing their experiences managing and improving conditions of their woodlands and the beneficial changes in the bird community following such actions. “With fewer sources of natural disturbances such as a forest fire, active management plays a crucial role in creating and maintaining early-successional forest, or young forests, on the landscape,” said Matthew Shumar, Program Coordinator for the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative. “When responsibly planned and
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By Kylie Schmidt, Reforestation Coordinator, Green Forests Work Given the overlap of the Appalachian coal basin and Cerulean Warbler focal areas, mined land reforestation offers an excellent opportunity to address two of the three most significant threats facing Cerulean Warblers in its breeding range: the loss of mature deciduous forest and forest fragmentation. Cerulean Warblers require contiguous forest for breeding, but surface mining in the core of the Cerulean Warbler breeding range has reduced this suitable breeding habitat, creating degraded grasslands and shrublands with limited natural regeneration. To convert these grass- and shrub-lands, which often consist of exotic and invasive
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By Kyle Aldinger, West Virginia RCPP Coordinator, National Wild Turkey Foundation West Virginia has more forest cover (78%) and more Cerulean Warblers (36% of the global population) than any other state involved in the Cerulean Warbler Appalachian Forestland Enhancement Project. This means private landowners in the Mountain State, who own over 88% of the land, have a tremendous opportunity to enhance their woodlands to benefit this imperiled bird species and a number of other forest flora and fauna that use the same habitat. As with any new project, a critical early step is to reach out to these prospective participants. Hard-working
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By Amanda Duren, Pennsylvania Cerulean Warbler Partnership Coordinator, American Bird Conservancy Through the Cerulean Warbler Appalachian Forestland Enhancement Project, Pennsylvania was charged with a goal of improving habitat for Cerulean Warblers on more than 7,000 acres in the state. Since the project started in May 2015, exciting progress has been made toward achieving that goal and, hopefully, reversing the decline of this imperiled species. Last February, the Pennsylvania Cerulean Warbler Regional Conservation Parternship Program (RCPP) team conducted our first outreach mailing to Pennsylvania’s forest landowners to help identify those interested in participating in the program. About 1,000 mailings were sent to landowners
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By Todd Fearer, AMJV Coordinator The North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s (NABCI) 2013 State of the Birds Report on Private Lands stresses the importance of landowner assistance programs that promote enhancement and restoration activities in eastern forests. The report goes on to state that for interior forest birds such as the Cerulean Warbler, contiguous areas of viable working forests can serve as buffers against development and ensure long-term population health of the species. On May 5th, 2015, the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV) finalized an agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for our Cerulean Warbler Appalachian Forestland Enhancement Project. Modelled after
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The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently released a report detailing how wildlife can benefit through the application of sustainable forestry practices, according to the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI). The report, titled Sustainably Managing Forests Creates Golden-Winged Warbler Breeding Habitat, highlights proven conservation strategies for the bird based on sound forestry management. Forests in the eastern United States have matured substantially over the past 50 years. Many wildlife species that depend on young forest habitats in the region, including the golden-winged warbler, have been on a long term decline. The golden-wing population in the Appalachians has declined 66 percent since
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