Projects
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Gopher Tortoise
The gopher tortoise is a large burrowing tortoise that occurs in upland pine forests of the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is one of five tortoise species native to North America and the only tortoise species east of the Mississippi River. The sex of individual tortoises can usually be determined by shell dimensions. A male tortoise has a greater degree of lower shell concavity, and a longer gular projection. However, the sex of tortoises at maturity size is difficult to determine (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1990).
The Literature Gateway Project
Forest management affects wildlife habitat by altering the structure and composition of vegetation communities. Every wildlife species uses a specific set of resources associated with different species and ages of forest trees (e.g., nesting cavities, den sites, acorn crops, fruit resources) to survive and reproduce. Forest managers, wildlife conservation groups, policy makers, and other stakeholders often need to review the literature on forest bird-vegetation relationships to inform decisions on natural resource management or ecosystem restoration. The literature gateway facilitates the exploration of this literature, helping users find references on a diverse range of management-relevant topics that have been compiled by subject experts based on searches of >60 different sources spanning the past 50+ years.
Camp Wiahkowi Dam Removal
The Friends of the Winooski River completed the removal of Camp Wihakowi Dam (Vermont) in 2020.
NOAAFIreBird
The Firebird Project brings together a variety of stakeholders to address waterbird conservation along the Gulf Coast. Here you can find out about the many on-going projects under the Firebird umbrella.
Assessment and Restoration of Southern Appalachian Brook Trout
This project will complete an assessment of brook trout in-stream habitat, water quality, and fish distribution information in all Jocassee Gorges streams during the first two years of the project.
Brook Trout Restoration and Expansion
This project will restore and improve stream and riparian habitat within a 2,357 foot project area located in the headwaters of Garth Run which was severely impacted by catastrophic flooding that occurred in 1995.
Cerulean Warbler Forest Management Project
The Cerulean Warbler project was initiated to allow the scientific and management communities to test forestry methods and use experimental harvesting of timber to enhance Cerulean Warbler habitat.
Chiapas/Appalachian/Pacific Alliance
Many of the bird species that breed in the AMJV spend the fall and winter months in Mexico and Central and South America. Our partnership is committed to work with international partners to design and implement efficient and effective conservation projects for priority species on their migratory pathways and wintering areas.
Forestlands Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warblers
Combing through habitat literature and conducting two years of surveys for the presence of Golden-winged Warblers at forest stands, the AMJV and partners developed best management practices for providing breeding habitat for Golden-winged Warblers through timber harvesting.
Restoring Coal-Mined Lands to Create Habitat for Imperiled Birds
AMJV and the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative are partnering up to re-establish habitat on previously mined land to create greater breeding grounds for declining bird species in the Appalachian Region. Using ARRI’s Forestry Reclamation Approach, this collaboration is replanting trees on disturbed sites in heavily populated bird areas to restore the function and form of habitats that existed prior to mining.
Interior Highland Shortleaf Pine Initiative
The Interior Highlands region of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma once supported vast expanses of shortleaf pine-bluestem woodlands, as well as mixed stands of pine-oak and oak-pine which were maintained by frequent fires. Over the past century 53% of these open pine stands have been significantly altered due to forest structural changes caused by eliminating fire from the ecosystem and conversion to other agricultural uses. This caused a significant decline in several priority bird species including the Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman’s Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, Prairie Warbler, Whip-poor-will and federally endangered Red-Cockaded Woodpecker which all rely on open pine forest stands with a diverse grass and forb understory.
Promotion of Prescribed Fire
The use of prescribed fire as a habitat management tool is vital for many of the priority birds in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region. Most species evolved to live in fire-mediated habitats that were common prior to European settlement. Fire suppression in these habitats is considered a significant factor in the declines of many grassland-shrubland bird populations. Promotion and protection of this management practice is important to achieving the CHJV’s population goals for these species.
