This issue of Living Bird magazine features an article about efforts to protect the saltmarsh sparrow and its habitat. The saltmarsh sparrow is found exclusively on the East Coast, where it nests in high marsh habitat. But high tides and storm surges are increasingly flooding saltmarsh sparrow nests and the marshes they depend on – the saltmarsh sparrow could become one of the first bird species to go extinct due to rising seas.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been engaged in saltmarsh sparrow conservation for more than a decade and is increasing its efforts to protect and restore marshes on wildlife refuges, collaborate with researchers, and help states and landowners to conserve the saltmarsh sparrow. The article highlights FWS projects in New Jersey, Delaware and Massachusetts, as well as our work with the Atlantic Joint Coast Venture, a partnership working to protect saltmarsh sparrows and other native birds across the regeion.

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Saltmarsh sparrow.
Credit: Peter Paton

A film crew from BBC’s The Travel Show visited Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, which straddles the border of Virginia and North Carolina, to learn about its history and management. Refuge Manager Chris Lowie gave a tour of Lake Drummond and Washington Ditch, one of many channels dug to drain the swamp for commercial interests centuries ago.

Lowie showed how staff use water control structures to rewet the swamp, which lessens flood risk to nearby communities, dampens effects of wildfire and drought, and improves water quality for wildlife and people. A $3-million project funded by federal Hurricane Sandy recovery and resilience money was completed in 2016, with 12 new structures built on the refuge.

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New half-moon water control structures like the one shown here allow staff at Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge to manage water levels to rehydrate peat soils and reduce flooding of nearby communities.
Credit: USFWS

News Release




Credit: Stephanie Zollshan/ Berkshire Eagle

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