Work covered under this grant will focus on two species of greatest conservation need in west virginia: the eastern whip-poor-will (antrostomus vociferus) and the chuck-will s-widow (antrostomus…

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 awarded the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources $175,271.86 under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) on January 31, 2026, to conduct acoustic and field research on nightjar occupancy and habitat use across reclaimed mine lands and managed forests in southern West Virginia.

The project addresses knowledge gaps regarding Eastern whip-poor-will and Chuck-will's-widow occupancy, habitat partitioning, and prey abundance in Boone, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Wayne, and Wyoming Counties through June and July field surveys in 2026 and 2027. The study deploys 104 autonomous recording units (52 per site) across two study areas—Lyme Timber Company properties with variable retention harvest and unharvested reference areas, and Tomblin Wildlife Management Area, a reclaimed surface mine. ARU placement is stratified by forest type, elevation, distance from riparian areas, and cover type. The project also collects avian point-count data and vegetation structure samples, with analysis employing single-season occupancy models, ANOVA, and logistic regression to identify factors differentiating occupancy between species, determine how forest structure affects occupancy, compare species use of reclaimed versus timber-managed sites, and develop occupancy maps for management prioritization.

Performance runs January 31, 2026, through December 31, 2028. West Virginia University serves as a sub-recipient, responsible for identifying factors that differentiate occupancy between the two nightjar species using acoustic data, with sub-award award date of April 30, 2026.

Work covered under this grant will focus on two species of greatest conservation need in west virginia: the eastern whip-poor-will (antrostomus vociferus) and the chuck-will s-widow (antrostomus carolinensis). Scheduled to run from january 31, 2026, to december 31, 2028, the core objective is to address knowledge gaps regarding nightjar occupancy, habitat partitioning, and prey abundance in southern west virginia, particularly in reclaimed mine lands and forests managed by institutional owners. Currently, there is no published research assessing nightjar occupancy and use of reclaimed mine lands in appalachia. The project s core objectives are: (1) identify factors differentiating occupancy between the two species (2) determine how forest structure and composition affect occupancy (3) compare species occupancy between reclaimed mine lands and timber-managed sites and (4) develop maps identifying occupancy hot spots for management prioritization. Work will be conducted in boone, lincoln, logan, mcdowell, wayne, and wyoming counties in southwestern west virginia. The study design will utilize autonomous recording units (arus) for surveying from june to july in 2026 and 2027, with recording timed coinciding with moon phase, when birds are most likely to be vocalizing. A total of 104 arus (52 per site) will be placed across two study areas: lyme timber company properties, focusing on variable retention harvests versus unharvested reference areas and tomblin wildlife management area, a reclaimed surface mine with a mosaic of open and forested habitats. ARU placement will be stratified based on factors including forest type, elevation, distance from riparian areas, and cover type (reclaimed mine or managed forest). In addition to acoustic data, the project will collect detailed avian point-count data to evaluate diurnal species occurrence at each ARU location vegetation structure will also be sampled. Data analysis will employ single-season occupancy models, anova, and logistic regression to understand relationships between nightjar occurrence and environmental variables, including vegetation parameters.results are expected to contribute to the very limited body of knowledge on nightjar occurrence in mined landscapes. The grant will support one M.S. Student, who will oversee refining research goals, data collection, and analysis, and will produce a thesis that will form the basis for subsequent publication(s) in peer-reviewed journal(s). BI-annual progress reports detailing accomplishments will also be produced.