“Hear that?” Dr. Jeff Larkin bent his ears to a nearby cluster of trees amid a sea of briars. “There’s one in there,” Larkin said excitedly. We were on the trail of a golden-winged warbler, a black-bibbed songbird, which winters in South and Central America and spends its springs and summers here in Appalachia where it breeds, nests and raises its young. Larkin, professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and forest bird habitat coordinator for American Bird Conservancy, has tracked golden-winged warblers for years. And like many others, he has witnessed the bird’s population peril. The
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The AMJV partnership is working to provide technical and financial opportunities for private landowners to improve habitat on their property that benefit birds and other wildlife. A new area on our site is dedicated to providing resources to private landowners interested in a variety of conservation projects, partnerships, and programs, including: Cerulean Warbler Appalachian Forestland Enhancement Project – This project, part of the NRCS Regional Conservation Partners Program (RCPP), is allowing partners to work with private landowners to enhance forest habitat using sustainable forest management practices on private lands for Cerulean Warblers and other wildlife. Another component will work with private landowners to
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For the first time in AMJV history, private landowners participated in our annual Capitol Hill visit. Mike and Laura Jackson from Pennsylvania, who used NRCS’ Working Lands for Wildlife to enhance young forest habitat on their property for Golden-winged Warblers and other wildlife, went to Washington D.C. with AMJV Coordinator Todd Fearer. During their time in the capital, the Jacksons visited with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leadership as well as some of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation to highlight the benefits of such conservation programs for both enhancing the value of their lands and providing critical habitat that will
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Focal Landscapes and Integrating Findings of National Bird Plans into Future Conservation Efforts The AMJV Management Board met on May 11-12 in Blacksburg, Virginia and held discussions ranging from identifying focal landscapes to incorporating findings of national bird plans and reports into future AMJV coordination efforts and on-the-ground conservation. The meeting, which was attended by about 25 resource managers representing federal, state, and non-governmental conservation organizations throughout the Appalachians, also included a field trip to view shelterwood harvests and habitat management activities at Jefferson National Forest. Major highlights and action items included: Focal Landscapes: Staff proposed using a focal landscapes approach
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AMJV Science Coordinator Becky Keller recently attended a one-day meeting in Portland, ME that explored opportunities to work together with forest landowners and industry to conserve at-risk and listed species on private working forests. The meeting brought together private forest landowners and representatives from the National Alliance of Forest Owners, forest industry, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Region V. In Region V, approximately 9 of every 10 forested acres are privately held, making private and public sector cooperation an important goal for effective conservation. Those in attendance recognized the need to share conservation investment in at-risk species
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The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is seeking public input on a draft of its new Ruffed Grouse and Young Forest Strategic Plan. The draft plan, written by wildlife biologists with input gained during a series of public meetings held last year, calls for partnerships to increase the amount of young forests that are critical for grouse populations. The plan is available for public review online at www.fw.ky.gov. Comments will be received until July 8. Once found across Kentucky, grouse are now limited to the eastern mountains of the state. Grouse need a combination of a young forest’s heavy ground
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Click here to view and download the 2023 AMJV Partnership Year in Review!
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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…
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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…
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