Virginia Tech wildlife science major Jarrett Wansley of Richmond, Va., was selected for a competitive STEP (Student Temporary Employment Program) position with the Appalachian Mountain Joint Venture this summer. Wansley, a senior, will be traveling up and down the East Coast where his responsibilities will range from performing vegetation sampling and bird-point counts to removing invasive plants at project sites. “This federal program is a paid internship and provides opportunities for students to receive some great experience in a field that is their professional interest,” said Todd Fearer, coordinator for the Appalachian Mountain Joint Venture. Wansley will also work with Virginia
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Bird conservation in the Appalachian Mountains received a big boost recently with the completion of a significant conservation acquisition in east Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau. The newly-acquired lands include over 120,000 acres of hardwood forest, rugged mountains, and pristine streams spread over three different areas. These forests link to an additional 66,000 acres of public lands, creating a total of 300 square miles of protected habitat for birds and wildlife. The acquisition was arranged by the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV), a regional public-private partnership. “This is a huge victory for the AMJV partnership, migratory and resident birds in the area,
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The new “Working Lands For Wildlife” (WLW) project announced yesterday by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will provide substantial benefits to birds and other wildlife, but will be especially beneficial to the imperiled Golden-winged Warbler. The WLW project will provide a huge boost for a Golden-winged Warbler conservation effort in the eastern U.S. involving dozens of organizations across ten states. The effort is being facilitated by the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV), and American Bird Conservancy (ABC). Partners include federal and state agencies, universities and not-for-profit conservation organizations. The Golden-winged Warbler effort is being carried out in the
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The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI), a coalition of federal and local agencies, organizations, citizens, and companies dedicated to restoring forests on coal mined lands in the Eastern United States, was honored in the first Presidential Migratory Bird Stewardship Award, which was announced by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on May 25, 2011. The award is designed to promote efforts and partnerships in federal agencies that lead to better migratory bird conservation. This first award was presented to the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining (OSM), which coordinates the ARRI initiative with major contributions from a variety of groups including American
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A broad coalition of conservation groups is asking Congress and the Obama Administration to create over 2,000 jobs and improve the environment by funding an innovative program to reforest former mining lands in Appalachia. Over one million acres in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains that were once forested now support mostly non-native shrubs and grasses following mining activities. When these mine lands were reclaimed, the soils were heavily compacted to prevent erosion, and seeded with grasses rather than native trees. The compaction was so severe that it has prevented trees from subsequently taking root naturally. “Small and large pilot
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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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The new AMJV 2022 Impact Report is now available for downloading and sharing! This beautiful report was designed by Liz (AMJV Outreach Specialist) to be handed out to congressional leadership…
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