The wildlife conservation initiative (WCI) will better understand occurrence of at-risk species on private, working forests, develop opportunities for longer-term monitoring of individual and…

The National Council for Air and Stream Improvement Foundation (NCASI Foundation) was awarded a $150,000 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 9 Headquarters under the agency's Adaptive Science program (CFDA 15.670). The award will support NCASI Foundation's Wildlife Conservation Initiative (WCI) through June 2028.

Under the WCI, NCASI Foundation will conduct surveys, monitoring, and data collection on private working forests to better understand the occurrence and habitat needs of at-risk species. Specific projects include surveys of the Diana fritillary butterfly, insect pollinator communities, migratory birds, bats such as the little brown bat and tricolored bat, and aquatic turtles. Data gathered on species distributions and their relationships to forest characteristics will be shared with partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Alliance of Forestry Owners, and private land managers. This collaborative model aims to enhance information sharing and adaptive conservation strategies for at-risk wildlife dependent on privately-owned forest lands.

The wildlife conservation initiative (WCI) will better understand occurrence of at-risk species on private, working forests, develop opportunities for longer-term monitoring of individual and communities of at-risk species in working forest landscapes, and relate those species and communities to stand and landscape-level forest characteristics. Projects to be supported may include: surveys of the at-risk diana fritillary butterfly on private working forest land. Surveys of insect pollinator communities in working forest stands of varying ages. Examining the role of private working forests play in providing habitat for migratory birds across their full life cycle in the eastern U.S. Conduct surveys and habitat work on important BAT species, including the long-eared BAT, little brown BAT, and tricolored BAT. Survey turtles and other aquatic species, including wood turtle, western pond turtle, and alligator snapping turtle. The WCI provides important data on the distribution and ecology of at-risk species. This collaborative conservation model has greatly enhanced information gathering and sharing with national alliance of forestry owners (nafo), national council for air and stream improvement (ncasi), US fish and wildlife service, other partners, and owners and managers of private working forests.