Congressional Leaders Get Firsthand Look at Forest Conservation

The nation’s forest birds are in decline, their populations dropping in 65% of states since 1970. Even once-common birds are disappearing. The Wood Thrush, for example, has declined by 60 percent over that time. During recent tours with Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-PA), chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, and Congressman Bruce Westerman (R-AR), chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Audubon staff and partners shared these concerning trends while demonstrating how habitat restoration and sustainable working forest management can help reverse them. The visits also provided an opportunity to highlight the important role congressional leaders play in supporting healthy forests, rural economies, and the communities that depend on them. 

Forest Conservation at Work in Pennsylvania 

In Pennsylvania, Audubon welcomed Chairman Thompson in early July for a tour of a privately owned working forest, offering an on-the-ground look at how thoughtful management can improve forest health and create better habitat for birds and other wildlife. Joining the tour were landowner Dr. Shane Sergent and Audubon-endorsed forester Calvin Norman of Blue Ox Forestry, as well as Audubon staff and partners from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. 

Walking the property, the group examined practices including invasive species control and saw how strategic removal of lower shade and underplanting can create healthier, more resilient forests. The visit also prompted a broader conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing private forest landowners, including the need for on-the-ground technical assistance and viable markets that can help make sustainable forest management economically feasible. 

Audubon shared with Thompson the importance of proposals like creating a new Forest Conservation Easement Program to help conserve working forests and prevent fragmentation, which is included in versions of the Farm Bill being considered in Congress. We also highlighted the need for the Forest Landowner Support Program (FLSP) to provide assistance to private forest owners, helping implement management practices that benefit species dependent on healthy forest structure and regeneration.  

Arkansas Forests Support Birds and Communities 

Farther south earlier this month, Audubon welcomed Chairman Westerman to the Little Rock Audubon Center for a conversation about healthy forests and their importance to Arkansas. Westerman was joined by Audubon staff and an AR-based board director  to learn more about Audubon’s forestry conservation work and the connection between forest management, bird habitat, and healthy communities.  With nearly 19 million acres of forests covering more than half of Arkansas, forests are an integral part of the state’s landscape and economy. 

During the visit, the group discussed the Chuck-will’s-widow, a declining forest bird that breeds in the woods surrounding the Audubon Center, providing a local example of the connection between healthy forests and bird conservation. The visit provided an opportunity to discuss how federal conservation policy can complement the work already taking place in Arkansas and across the country.  

As with the Thompson visit, Audubon staff highlighted the potential of FLSP to give private forest landowners access to the on-the-ground technical and financial assistance needed to actively manage their forests. In a heavily forested state like Arkansas, that support could help landowners undertake practices that improve forest health and habitat while keeping working forests productive and environmentally viable.  

For Audubon, these visits are about more than sharing the story of declining forest birds. They provide an opportunity for congressional leaders to see the conservation solutions already working on the ground and hear directly from the people putting them into practice. And they are especially important as Congress considers the future of federal private land conservation through the Farm Bill and other legislation.   

Continued investments in voluntary, collaborative conservation can help ensure that America’s forests remain places where birds can thrive, and where landowners, rural economies, and communities can thrive alongside them.