Western Working Lands for Wildlife
Working Lands for Wildlife in the west includes a diversity of landscapes such as: Sagebrush Country; Great Plains Grasslands; and Central Grasslands and Savannas. Animal species include: Sage Grouse; Lesser Prairie-Chicken; and a variety of Migratory Big Game.
Resources
An Assessment of Native Seed Needs and the Capacity for Their Supply: Final Report (2023)
In our efforts to analyze the nation’s system of producing and using native plant materials for restoration and to identify the most impactful steps toward improving the supply, we were not helped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our meetings, presentations, and information gathering were slowed significantly, and the availability of our committee members, National Academies staff, and expert informants across the nation were drastically altered by the many changes to people’s professional and personal lives. “Nevertheless, we persisted.” We are now honored to release what we believe is a well- supported set of key recommendations for improving the native seed supply, backed by findings and conclusions reached through collecting input from native seed producers and users in the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors across the US.
Conservation Choices for Wildlife: Golden-winged Warbler and Other Forest-dependent Species
This guide outlines seven key conservation practices recommended to forest landowners who want to sustainably manage forests to benefit wildlife and forest health. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and conservation partners work with forest landowners to plan and implement these practices that benefit a variety of species, including the golden-winged warbler. This assistance includes the development of a custom forest management plan as well as financial support to help cover part of the costs of implementing the practices. Technical and financial assistance are available through the Farm Bill, the largest source of federal funding for private lands conservation.
Partnerships on Working Lands
Across the West, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is working with ranchers, federal and state partners, and other non-profit organizations to support conservation on working lands.
Working Lands for Eastern Hellbenders
This document describes Eastern Hellbender life history, habitat, and the Working Lands for Wildlife initiative's approach and goals. It also lists some of the conservation practices being used to promote aquatic habitat enhancement and restoration.
Working Lands for Wildlife: Northern Bobwhite, Grasslands and Savannas Framework for Conservation Action
Working Lands for Wildlife: Northern Bobwhite, Grasslands and Savannas Framework for Conservation Action is a 2022 publication by NRCS capturing a long-term, large landscape conservation plan to recover central and eastern grasslands for northern bobwhite and other wildlife species. To support the win-win approach of WLFW, this framework also includes anticipated outcomes for risk management and revenue enhancements for agricultural/forestry operations, as well as measured outcomes for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation.
Webinar: Native Warm-Season Grass Forages and Grazing Management for Bobwhites
Join us for a two-day webinar discussing native warm-season grass forages in the eastern U.S. and integrating grazing management for Northern Bobwhites.
Working Lands for Wildlife National Landowner Forum: Perspectives and Recommendations
In May 2016, 26 private landowners from across the country met in Denver, Colorado to talk with NRCS staff about what is working in the Working Lands for Wildlife partnership and what opportunities exist for improvement. Jointly coordinated by Partners for Conservation and NRCS, and including funding support from the Intermountain West Joint Venture, the 2-day meeting provided a forum to share stories of success and challenges in order to maximize outcomes with future opportunities.
Landscape Partnership Flagship Newsletter 2021
Welcome to the Landscape Partnership!
Steering Committee Member Profiles
Bios of all Steering Committee members and alternates in 2016.
Stream Habitat Improvement and Management - CPS 395
Maintain, improve or restore physical, chemical and biological functions of a stream, and its associated riparian zone, necessary for meeting the life history requirements of desired aquatic species.
Regional abundance and local breeding productivity explain occupancy of restored habitats in a migratory songbird
Ecological restoration is a key tool in offsetting habitat loss that threatens biodiversity worldwide, but few projects are rigorously evaluated to determine if conservation objectives are achieved. We tested whether restoration outcomes for an imperiled bird, the Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera; GWWA) met the assumptions of the ‘Field of Dreams’ hypothesis or whether local and regional population dynamics impacted restoration success. From 2015 to 18, we surveyed 514 points located in recently restored successional habitats. We used new- and published data on the survival of 341 nests and 258 fledglings to estimate GWWA breeding productivity. Occupancy and colonization of restored habitats were significantly higher in our Western Study Region (Minnesota and Wisconsin) than our Eastern Study Region (Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey), a pattern that mirrored broader regional population trends. At local scales, productivity was high in Eastern Pennsylvania (> 3 independent juveniles/pair/year) but low in Central Pennsylvania (1 juvenile/pair/year) while both Western and Central Minnesota hosted intermediate productivity (between 1 and 2 juveniles/pair/ year). Productivity and occupancy covaried locally in the Eastern Study Region, while occupancy was high in the Western Study Region, despite intermediate productivity. These differences have profound implications for restoration outcomes, as GWWA possessed robust capacity to respond to habitat restoration in both regions, but this capacity was conditional upon local productivity where the species is rare. Our findings suggest that, even when restoration efforts are focused on a single species and use comparable prescriptions, interactions among processes governing habitat selection, settlement, and productivity can yield variable restoration outcomes.
Beef, Grass, and Bobwhites – Quail Management in Eastern Native Warm-Season Grass Pastures
This technical bulletin is targeted to technical advisors working with cattlemen and women in the eastern U. S. who are interested in managing for bobwhites. The authors combine a review of the literature, current research and first-hand experience to present this first-of-its-kind technical manual integrating grazing and bobwhite management in the eastern U. S. Published by NBTC and funded by WLFW.
Western Landscapes
Working Lands for Wildlife in the west includes a diversity of landscapes such as: Sagebrush Country; Great Plains Grasslands; and Central Grasslands and Savannas. Animal species include: Sage Grouse; Lesser Prairie-Chicken; and a variety of Migratory Big Game.
Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warbler Habitat on Grazed Forestland and Montane Pastures in the Appalachians
This is a supplemental document that provides information on managing grazed forestland and montane pastures in the Appalachians to develop and restore habitat for Golden-winged Warblers. This guide should be used in conjunction with the Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warbler Habitats in the Appalachian Region, which includes general information that applies to all habitat types in the Appalachian region.
Decision Support Tools to Inform the Rehabilitation and Management of High Graded Forests
Abstract Numerous forests in the eastern United States have been degraded due to past exploitative timber harvesting known as high grading. High graded forest stands may not improve without active re- habilitation and may require targeted silvicultural treatments. This study focuses on high graded mixed-oak (mixed-Quercus spp.) stands and aims to develop a model that can identify past high grading and to determine modifications that may improve forest management recommendations provided by the prominent decision support tool, SILVAH. We present a model that uses standard forest inventory measurements and does not require knowledge of preharvest stand conditions to predict with moderate to high accuracy whether a stand was high graded, which could be par- ticularly useful for nonindustrial private forests. Results indicate that modifications to SILVAH may be necessary to improve its utility for prescribing silvicultural treatments in high graded stands. Study Implications: High graded forest stands are often not readily apparent and likely require specific forest management practices. We present a tool that uses standard forest inventory meas- urements to predict past high grading, which can be used to inform and prioritize forest manage- ment decisions. We also present suggested modifications to the prominent decision support tool, SILVAH, that may improve its ability to prescribe optimal silvicultural treatments for high graded stands. Results from this study provide forestry professionals/landowners working in the mixed- oak forests of the northeastern United States with tools to inform forest management decisions that aim to return degraded stands to healthier and more productive states.
Seeing past the green: Structure, composition, and biomass differences in high graded and silviculture-managed forests of similar stand density
Forests of the eastern United States (US) mostly comprise a mix of stands managed following silvicultural principles and stands managed with exploitative timber harvesting practices. These stands can have similar stand densities (e.g., basal area per hectare) but vary vastly in structure, composition, and biomass and carbon storage. High grading, a prevalent exploitative timber harvesting practice in the eastern US, is of particular concern because it can negatively affect future forest health and productivity. This study quantifies differences in forest structure, composition, and biomass and carbon storage between high graded stands and stands that received a seed/establishment cut of a uniform shelterwood regeneration sequence treatment, which is a comparable and well-established silvicultural method used to regenerate mixed-oak forests. It focuses on mixed-oak forests (mixed-Quercus), where the effects of high grading have been understudied, and uses a sample with broader spatial coverage than previous studies. The sample comprised nine stands that were known to have been high graded 8–15 years ago and nine stands that received the seed/establishment cut of a uniform shelterwood regeneration sequence. Stand were systematically sampled using fixed-area plots. Field measurements were collected and used to calculate metrics describing forest structure and function. The structure of high graded stands was characterized by a higher proportion of trees with poor health and/or form compared to shelterwood stands, with 18.3 % less acceptable growing stock and trees with lower crown compaction. Diameter distributions of high graded stands were characterized by numerous small trees and few large-diameter trees. Spatial variability of overstory trees was contingent on the tree size range evaluated, with a larger variability of sawtimber-sized trees (trees ≥ 29.2 cm in diameter at breast height) in high graded stands. High graded stands also had 2.2 times fewer oak trees (Quercus spp.) in the overstory canopy, 17,897 fewer seedlings per hectare (ha), and 45 Mg/ha less biomass than shelterwood stands. These results indicate that high grading generally degrades mixed-oak forests and impairs their long-term capacity to supply vital ecosystem services such as habitat for specific wildlife species, carbon storage, and high-quality wood products.
Ducks Unlimited: Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia 2021 Conservation Report
2021 Conservation Report from Ducks Unlimited
2022 Was a Busy Year for the Working Lands for Wildlife Hellbender Program
2022 was a busy year for the Working Lands for Wildlife hellbender program.
New analysis highlights conservation challenges and opportunities on Western public lands
Recently published science applies remote-sensing tools to BLM-managed rangelands and provides an unprecedented record of how the vegetation across this enormous area has changed over the past 30 years.
