When James Taylor performs at Virginia Beach on May 22, he will be singing for the birds. A portion of the proceeds from the concert will go to the Southern Tip Partnership to protect migratory bird stopover habitat on the southern tip of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a member of the partnership which includes the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, the Virginia Departments of Conservation & Recreation and Game & Inland Fisheries and The Nature Conservancy. Together, they have protected and now manage more than 28,000 acres of land in the area.
Recently arrived snow geese at the new addition to the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Eddy Edwards/USFWS
"The new 159-acre parcel has already proven its value to migratory birds," says Mark Sweeny, refuge manager. The refuge addition will be managed to provide important habitat for certain birds that nest in grasslands. Funding for the acquisition came from the sale of Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, also known as federal duck stamps.
Recovery champions Mitchell Byrd, Bryan Watts, and Robyn Niver. Credit: USFWS
Robyn Niver in the Service's New York Field Office and Doctors Mitchell Byrd and Bryan Watts of the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary are the Northeast Region's 2007 National Recovery Champions. Niver works on recovery of imperiled species like Chittenango ovate amber snails, bog turtles, Indiana bats and Karner blue butterflies. Byrd and Watts promoted the recovery of the bald eagle, especially in the Chesapeake Bay area.
John Sewell (left) and Clayton Socabasin of the Passamaquoddy Tribe—Indian Township Reservation collect data on fish populations in a Tribal Wildlife Grant-funded project. Credit: DJ Monette/USFWS
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has announced that $360 thousand in grants will go to three Native American projects in the states of Maine and Rhode Island to help pay for important conservation projects. The grants are part of $6.2 million awarded to 38 Native American projects in 18 states to fund a wide range of conservation projects nationwide.
