Description of award and activities to be performed: the aces office of research and agricultural experiment station (AES) enable and encourage faculty creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Illinois $591,758 under the Cooperative Forestry Research program (CFDA 10.202) on October 1, 2025, to support forestry research activities through the ACES Office of Research and Agricultural Experiment Station.

The funded work evaluates how forest management activities affect moth abundance and diversity and Eastern whip-poor-will populations; uses DNA collected from streams and rivers to characterize wildlife presence and abundance in central Illinois relative to upstream forest cover; and studies space use of fragmented forest by migratory birds, quantifying how patch and landscape characteristics impact usage patterns and identifying forest management actions that would increase forest land value for migratory birds. Deliverables include identification and promotion of forest management activities that result in higher-quality forests and habitats, facilitation of future eDNA monitoring of vertebrate communities in response to forest cover and potentially forest condition or management, and identification of management actions to increase forest land value for migratory birds.

Performance occurs in Urbana, Illinois, with a period of performance from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. Target audiences include policymakers, researchers, landowners, wildlife and natural resource conservationists, academic ecologists, land managers, government agency personnel involved in planning and regulating ecological restoration and conservation programs, and state and local resource managers.

Description of award and activities to be performed: the aces office of research and agricultural experiment station (AES) enable and encourage faculty creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration to advance the mission of the college and the broader mission of our land grant university. The mcintire-stennis program will help support forestry research activities across aces and the AES. Activities to be performed include determining evaluating how forest management activities impact the abundance and diversity of moths and the eastern whip-poor-will, using DNA collected from streams and rivers to attempt to characterize the presence and abundance of wildlife of central illinois relative to presence and extent of upstream forest cover, and study the space use of fragmented forest by migratory birds, quantify how patch and landscape characteristics impact these usage patterns, and identify forest management actions that would increase the value of forest lands for migratory birds. Deliverables and expected outcomes: deliverables and expected outcomes include the identification and promotion of forest management activities that result in higher-quality forests and habi tats, facilitation of future edna monitoring of vertebrate communities in response to forest cover and potentially forest condition or management, and identification of management actions to increase the value of forest lands for migratory birds. Intended beneficiaries: target audiences for mcintire-stennis research will include policymakers and researchers concerned with the management of forested lands at the federal, state, county, municipal, or private level, landowners, wildlife and natural resource conservationists, academic ecologists, land managers, government agency personnel involved in planning, implementing, and regulating ecological restoration, afforestation and conservation programs, state and local resource managers, scientists studying conservation and wildlife biology, and the broader public. The university of illinois does not expect any subrecipient activities