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
Read More
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
Read More
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
Read More
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
Read More
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
Read More
Did you know that your yard, office patio, or city park could provide important habitat for dozens of plants and animals? Today, The Nature Conservancy and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology launched Habitat Network, a free online citizen-science platform that invites people to map their outdoor space, share it with others, and learn more about supporting wildlife habitat and other natural functions in cities and towns across the country. Forty million acres of U.S. land are covered by lawn–usually non-native grass that has minimal ecological function and costs property owners more than $30 billion to maintain. Habitat Network offers alternate solutions
Read More
Click here to view and download the 2023 AMJV Partnership Year in Review!
Read More
The 2023 AMJV Impact Report is now available for downloading and sharing! Starting in 2022, this beautiful report has been designed annually by Liz Brewer (AMJV Outreach Specialist) to…
Read More
by Liz Brewer, AMJV Outreach Specialist Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV), in partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), and the West Virginia…
Read More