Something to Sing About for Golden-Winged Warblers

Transcript

MALONGOWSKI: The golden-winged warbler has been declining for several decades now, due to dwindling breeding habitat in North America.

Brian Smith is a Biologist and the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture Coordinator for the American Bird Conservancy. He calls the new initiative another piece of the puzzle. Over the past decade, there have been major conservation efforts on public land for the song bird, but this will focus on conserving habitat on private properties.

SMITH: It could be anything from designing a timber harvest that is both sustainable and provides income for the land owner, but also, follows practices to insure that we get good habitat on the ground for the species to potentially fenced off areas that are being overgrazed... and basically increase the amount of shrub cover on the edges of these large forest patches that they tend to use.

MALONGOWSKI: Over the next few years, the groups hope to establish between eight and 10,000 acres of land to preserve the Golden-winged warbler. Smith says the number may sound conservative, but says the species live on fairly small patches of land.

The bog turtle, which is an endangered species in PA, will also get aid through the project.

For the Allegheny Front, Iím Kate Malongowski