General Resources and Publications
In the working lands library, you will find project reports, presentations, peer-reviewed studies, and more.
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.
Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warbler Habitat on Abandoned Farmlands in the Appalachians
This is a supplemental document that provides information on managing abandoned farmlands 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.
Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warbler Habitat on Minelands in the Appalachians
This is a supplemental document that provides information on managing minelands 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.
Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warbler Habitat in Deciduous Forests of the Appalachians
This is a supplemental document that provides information on managing deciduous forests 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.
Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warbler Habitats in the Appalachian Region: A Guide for Land Managers and Landowners
This guide is intended to provide land managers and landowners with regional, habitat-specific strategies and techniques to begin developing and restoring habitat for Golden-winged Warblers. This document includes general information that applies to all habitat types in the Appalachian region and should be used along with supplemental documents dedicated to the management of specific regional habitat types (deciduous forests, minelands, abandoned farmlands, grazed forestland/montane pastures, utility rights-of-way, forest and shrub wetlands) most important to Golden-winged Warblers.
Golden-winged Warbler Status Review and Conservation Plan
The Golden-winged Warbler Status Review was initiated over a decade ago when David Buehler, John Confer, and Ron Canterbury were funded by the US Fish & Wildlife Service to elaborate on what was originally a status assessment begun by Chuck Hunter in 1999. Over time, that original project received input from others and underwent numerous stalls, revisions, and reviews. The continuous stream of new information that so rapidly outpaced the writing of the document is actually a tribute to the tremendous dedication and energy of the Golden-winged Warbler Working Group and its partners. In this version of the Status Review, survey and trend estimates have been updated to include 2009 BBS trend information. Genetic data were updated to include birds sampled during the 2010 breeding season. We are pleased finally to release the Status Review, at the same time acknowledging that new research and conservation action will just as quickly outdate much of the information it summarizes. We prefer to think of this document as a Status Transition to a more hopeful future.
Golden-winged Warbler Non-breeding Season Conservation Plan
The Golden-winged Warbler Non-breeding Season Conservation Plan (Chapter 4 of the Goldenwinged Warbler Conservation Plan) describes the non-breeding ecology of the Golden-winged Warbler and proposes concrete actions to maintain habitat throughout its stationary nonbreeding range (hereafter winter range). The plan is intended for use by conservation practitioners, land managers, and governmental agencies both in North America and Latin America. This plan provides guidance on where conservation investment in Latin America will have the greatest impact on Golden-winged Warbler habitat and recommends conservation actions to address the specific threats to habitat retention in the winter range. This plan is also intended for use at the country level for all Latin American countries within the Golden-winged Warbler winter range. For each country, this plan prioritizes areas where conservation action should begin immediately, defines five-year conservation goals, and proposes a conservation strategy to meet those goals by the year 2020.
Golden-winged Warbler Poster
This poster from the Golden-winged Warbler Working Group provides simple ways to help the Golden-winged Warbler, as well as outlines threats to Golden-winged Warblers during migration and the nonbreeding season.
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.
Multiscale drivers of restoration outcomes for an imperiled songbird
Habitat restoration is a cornerstone of conservation, particularly for habitat-limited species. However, restoration efforts are seldom rigorously monitored at meaningful spatial scales. Poor understanding of how species respond to habitat restoration programs limits conservation efficacy for habitat-restricted species like the Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera, GWWA). We provide one of the first concerted assessments of a national conservation program aimed at restoring songbird habitat across its breeding range. We studied GWWA response to forest habitat restoration across two broad regions with opposing population trajectories and assessed factors driving species use of restored habitats across multiple spatial scales. From 2015 to 2017, we conducted 1,145 (n = 457 locations) and 519 point counts (n = 215 locations) across the Appalachian Mountains and Great Lakes (respectively) within restored habitats. Warbler abundance within restored habitats across the Great Lakes varied with latitude, longitude, elevation, forest type, and number of growing seasons. In the Appalachian Mountains, occupancy ( ^ ψ) varied with longitude, elevation, forest type, and number of growing seasons. Detections were restricted to areas within close proximity to population centers (usually <24 km) in the Appalachian Mountains, where GWWAs are rare ( ^ ψ= 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.20–0.25), but not in the Great Lakes, whereGWWAs remain common ( ^ ψ= 0.87, 95% CI: 0.84–0.90). Our study suggests that, even when best management practices are carefully implemented, restoration outcomes vary within/across regions and with multiscale habitat attributes. Although assessments of concerted habitat restoration efforts remain uncommon, our study demonstrates the value of monitoring data in the adaptive management process for imperiled species.
Silvopasture Establishment in Pine (AL)
Job sheet
Prescribed Grazing-CSP (AR)
Job sheet
Filter Strips-Wildlife (IL)
Job sheet
Prairie & Savanna Restoration (MO)
Job sheet
Field Borders-Wildlife (IL)
Job sheet
647 Early Successional Habitat Management
674 Early Successional Habitat Management Job Sheet. This job sheet was modified for Bobwhite management in the Southeastern United States.
338-Prescribed Burning
338-Prescribed Burning. This job sheet has been modified for Bobwhite Quail management in the Southeastern United States. Caution: Prescribed burning should be conducted only by those who are trained and experienced in its use. The landowner is responsible for obtaining all permits and clearances as required by law.
666-Forest Stand Improvement for Bobwhite Quail
666- Forest Stand Improvement. This job sheet has been modified specifically for the management of Bobwhite Quail and other early successional species in the Southeastern United States. • Follow state Best Management Practices (BMPs) for forestry and all applicable laws and regulations. Creating and maintaining open canopy pine savanna with the implementation of proper thinnings in combination with frequent prescribed fire and/or brush management (see job sheets for Prescribed Burning for Bobwhite Quail-338 and/or Brush Management for Bobwhite Quail-314) will provide the required conditions needed for a host of species dependent or favored by early successional habitat such as quail, deer, turkey, songbirds, small mammals, native grasses and wild flowers, pollinator insects and plants.
