A new report just released by the National Wildlife Federation considers climate change to be the greatest threat to migratory birds. Key migratory bird habitat is shrinking and shifting, and the timing of some birds’ journeys is no longer lining up to coincide with when their food sources are abundant. Climate stressors are expected to cause large contractions in the ranges of even some of the common and widespread species we enjoy today. Some bird species will be pushed closer to extinction. Migratory species, such as most birds, face the unique challenge of climate change affecting the multiple habitats they
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Through the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and a federal grant, New York State purchased 296 acres in the towns of Stockport and Stuyvesant in Columbia County that will help protect the world-renowned scenery of the Hudson River Valley while maintaing and improving habitat for migratory waterfowl and marsh birds, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens announced today. Little Nutten Hook in the towns of Stockport and Stuyvesant was purchased from the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, Inc., and will be added to the Stockport Flats portion of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve. DEC partnered
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Through voluntary conservation, American farmers, ranchers and forestland owners are restoring and protecting habitat for seven at-risk wildlife species, including an AMJV priority species the golden-winged warbler. Working Lands for Wildlife is a partnership between USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that helps producers make voluntary improvements to their lands that benefit wildlife and their agricultural operations. Millions of acres of habitat for these species were created or managed through this and other similar NRCS-led efforts. This includes work on private and public lands in the Appalachians to create and enhance 18,000 acres of
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Landowners with Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts that expire on Sept. 30 have the opportunity to re-enroll acreage without competing in the general CRP sign-up, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). CRP is a land conservation program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). Many choices are available to landowners for automatic acceptance back into CRP through the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP). Landowners statewide may enroll whole or partial fields in the pollinator habitat practice and establish wildflowers. These wildflowers are important for bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. Pollinator species are a
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The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recently launched two webpages dedicated to the Safe Harbor Program and red-cockaded woodpeckers, also known as RCWs. The Safe Harbor Program web page(www.ncwildlife.org/rcwsafeharbor) provides an overview and outlines the benefits of the voluntary program, which was created in 2006 to encourage private landowners to undertake voluntary land conservation measures that benefit RCWs. The page explains in greater detail the process of enrolling private land into a Safe Harbor Agreement and also provides information on the various land-management activities that can be done to make properties more suitable for RCWs and other wildlife species while protecting landowners
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The Nature Conservancy completed a major restoration project in the high-elevation forest of West Virginia’s Randolph County this month, planting 34,000 red spruce trees in land that is now part of the Monongahela National Forest. The trees were planted over a three-week period on the slopes of Mount Porte Crayon, about 30 miles from Elkins. The project was funded by a $250,000 climate adaptation grant from the Wildlife Conservation Society and is part of a larger effort by the Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative to bring back West Virginia’s iconic mountaintop forests. “These little spruce trees are only about 12-18 inches tall now, but when
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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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