Public lands alone are insufficient to address the needs of most at-risk wildlife species in the U.S. As a result, a variety of voluntary incentive programs have emerged to recruit private landowners into conservation efforts that restore and manage the habitats needed by specific species. We review the role of one such effort, Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW), initiated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Using two at-risk species in the eastern U.S. (where private lands dominate), we show the substantial potential that WLFW has for restoring and maintaining needed habitats. Monitoring how effective these efforts are on populations of the target species has been challenging, and both monitoring and implementation are being modified in response to new information. Identifying landowner motivations is essential for developing long-term relationships and conservation success. As WLFW projects develop, they are moving toward a more holistic ecosystem approach, within which the conservation goals of at-risk species are embedded.

Aldinger, K. R., T. M. Terhune II, P. B. Wood, D. A. Buehler, M. H. Bakermans, J. L. Confer, D. J. Flaspohler, J. L. Larkin, J. P. Loegering, K. L. Percy, A. M. Roth, and C. G. Smalling. 2015. Variables associated with nest survival of Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) among vegetation communities commonly used for nesting. Avian Conservation and Ecology 10(1): 6.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00748-100106

Understanding the role of disease in population regulation is important to the conservation of wildlife. We evaluated the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii exposure and Sarcocystis spp. infection in 46 road-killed and accidentally trapper-killed fisher (Martes pennanti) carcasses collected and stored at -20 C by the Pennsylvania Game Commission from February 2002 to October 2008. Blood samples were assayed for T. gondii antibodies using the modified agglutination test (MAT, 1 : 25) and an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT, 1 : 128). For genetic analysis, DNA samples were extracted from thoracic and pelvic limb skeletal muscle from each carcass to test for Sarcocystis spp. using 18s-rRNA PCR primers. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 100% (38 of 38) of the fishers tested by MAT and in 71% (32 of 45) of the fishers tested by IFAT. PCR analysis revealed that 83% (38 of 46) of the fishers were positive for Sarcocystis spp. Sequence analysis of 7 randomly chosen amplicons revealed the fisher sarcocysts had a 98.3% to 99.1% identity to several avian Sarcocystis spp. sequences in GenBank. Data from our study suggest that a high percentage of fishers in Pennsylvania have been exposed to T. gondii and are infected with Sarcocystis spp.

Based on microhistological examinations of feces, Cervus elaphus (elk) from a reintroduced herd on the Cumberland Plateau in southeastern Kentucky exhibited an annual diet of grasses (24%), forbs (27%), and browse (32%). Diets shifted seasonally, possibly in response to availability and palatability. Forbs dominated the summer diet (34%), whereas grasses, forbs, and woody browse accounted for approximately equal portions of the fall diet. Grasses (40%), and browse (46%) dominated the diet during winter and spring, respectively. Grasses were eaten less during spring (10%) than during any other month. Nutritional quality does not appear to be limiting in this growing population.

McNeil, D. J., C. J. Fiss, E. M. Wood, J. Duchamp, M. Bakermans and J. L. Larkin 2018. Using a natural reference system to evaluate songbird habitat restoration. Avian Conservation and Ecology 13(1):22. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01193-130122