One species that enjoys the West Virginia Appalachian environment for breeding is the golden-winged warbler, but habitat has been hard to find. There was great excitement when Idun Guenther, a wildlife biologist with the state’s Department of Natural Resources, spotted two golden-winged warbler males on the private property of Julia and Estil Hughes. The Hughes partnered with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on a landscape initiative called Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW). Through NRCS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, habitat for a variety of species on privately owned land is restored. “Collaborating with partner agencies is an excellent way
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The Appalachian Region is known for its extensive tracts of mature hardwood forest and high biodiversity, including that of songbirds. The region is a stronghold for the cerulean warbler, containing about 75 percent of the population. The West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, in collaboration with the Cerulean Warbler Technical Group, National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV), and researchers and managers from universities, state agencies, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and private landowners in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, recently completed
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In May 2015, scores of scientists from dozens of research institutions descended on a patch of forest in central North Carolina, taking samples of everything from ants and mites to other microbes – samples they hope will offer a glimpse into the future of forest ecosystems. This flurry of data collection represents the largest and most robust warming experiment conducted in a forest ecosystem. The project is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of the Interior’s Southeast Climate Science Center, based at North Carolina State University (NCSU). The heart of the experiment is a collection of so-called
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It was a scene that warmed many hearts. A bald eagle incubating two eggs in a falling snow, unwilling to budge as the nest turned white. As the flakes piled high, the bird was blanketed. Only its head could been seen, periscoping above the snow. The images captured in early March on the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Eagle Cam spotlighted the sacrifices parents make, and showed a lot about the resilience of bald eagles, and why they have been so successful in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. And as the Game Commission releases its annual mid-year report on bald-eagle nests statewide, the preliminary
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In 2004, Partners in Flight produced the North American Landbird Conservation Plan, providing a continental synthesis of the priorities and tasks to guide landbird conservation to protect remaining populations and reverse long-term population declines. In 2015, natural resource and conservation partners – including the AMJV – are coming together to update this landmark plan, which will include revisions to both the methodology and resulting vulnerability scores of Species Assessment as well as publication of new and innovative products. Since the majority of the AMJV’s priority species are landbirds, the revision of this Plan will be a cornerstone to the ongoing AMJV
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In January, the AMJV partnership received an $8 million Regional Conservation Partnerships Program award for it Cerulean Warbler Appalachian Forestland Enhancement Project. This project will allow partners to work with private landowners to enhance 12,500 acres of forest habitat on private lands for Cerulean Warblers and other wildlife, demonstrating the benefits of active forest management for conserving priority species. Approximately 1,000 acres of reclaimed mine lands will also be restored to forestland, including planting 5000 blight-resistant American Chestnuts donated by The American Chestnut Foundation. AMJV staff and partners in the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and Kentucky are currently
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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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