The Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land (STPAL) promotes natural land conservation through research, education, and public recreation. As a conservation land trust, STPAL manages areas to preserve natural and historical resources.
Established in 2012, STPAL protects natural landmarks and transforms them into public recreational areas. The trust manages more than 25 nature preserves across the southeastern United States. STPAL maintains these areas for several purposes, including archeological research, wildlife habitat protection, and forest and farmland maintenance.
In 2021, STPAL wildlife consultant Vic Vansant led a collaborative project to provide a safe habitat for the golden-winged warbler. The trust partnered with nonprofit organization EcoForesters and the North Carolina Forest Service to launch the project. EcoForesters helps forestland owners enhance sustainability by implementing forest management strategies. The EcoForesters crew uses timber management, mechanical treatment, and burning or grazing to manipulate natural landscapes.
The golden-winged warbler is a neotropical songbird species that spends the winter in Central America and South America. During the summer, the bird flies to the eastern region of the United States for breeding. Golden-winged warblers rely on patches of young forest and meadows as their breeding habitat. The birds prefer a deciduous forest ecosystem with 10 to 15 large trees per acre.
Over the past four decades, the near-threatened golden-winged warbler population demonstrated a significant decline. Their numbers dropped by almost 98 percent, particularly in the Appalachians. Near-threatened species are likely to become endangered in the near future. The main cause of the dwindling numbers of the golden-winged warbler is habitat loss.
In 2014, conservation biologist Aimee Tomcho fortuitously heard a golden-winged warbler at the Bald Mountain Creek (BMC) Nature Preserve north of Asheville, North Carolina. Since golden-winged warblers typically revisit breeding sites every year, STPAL and partnering organizations recognized the value of expanding the BMC site. Their long-term goal is to double the golden-winged warbler population in the Appalachians over the next 40 years.
Clint Barden, a technical assistance biologist working at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, advised the project’s team on fundraising. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service allocated funds to the BMC expansion project. EcoForesters spearheaded the site restoration process by planning a 16-acre forest habitat block suitable for the golden-winged warbler population.
The restoration process entailed felling common dense trees of no economic value, mainly yellow poplars, to establish the golden-winged warbler habitat. EcoForesters harvested the trees to redesign the BMC site.
Timber harvesting also contributes to the site’s overall design and accessibility. All harvesting activities are halted during the breeding season, from April to July.
Further, EcoForesters implemented measures to limit non-native invasive plants from overtaking the new habitat. Wildlife-friendly trees, such as oaks, beeches, and hawthorns, were spared to cater to other wildlife species, thus fostering biodiversity in the area.
The EcoForesters restoration team left the BMC stream untouched to maintain its high water quality. By preserving the stream, the team divided the forest block, providing more edge habitats for all wildlife species.
The project’s success can already be observed. Earlier in April 2021, Tomcho visited the BMC site. She noted the rise in songbird populations inhabiting the restored area.