Songs of the Sky: Partnership Pilot Program, Fire Aim to Restore Grasslands, Migratory Songbirds

Trinity volunteer firefighters burned 38 acres of brush on property belonging to Vulcan Materials as part of the new Migratory Bird Program. It's the first step of a 3-year pilot effort, funded in part by NRCS, to transform nearly 300 acres of wasteland of four industries into ideal habitat for grassland birds facing decline.

The effort would benefit the loggerhead shrike, prairie warbler, dickcissel, field sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, eastern meadowlark, northern bobwhite quail and short-eared owl.

None is endangered or threatened, said Steve Seibert, assistant manager of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, but some are headed that way unless the downward trend is stopped.

The loss of grasslands has decreased populations of dependent species by 2 percent or more annually, he said. Since 1980, the loggerhead shrike dropped 6.5 percent each year.

The population of northern bobwhite quail, decreased 65 percent in the past 20 years, according to Quail Unlimited.

Besides helping birds, the program will provide a walking trail for Trinity and can add another dimension to the North Alabama Birding Trail. The latter doesn't feature any large stands of native grasslands.

BP, 3M and Nucor Steel also are part of the project that seeks $47,400 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to help pay for grass seed and a spreader. The industries, along with the Morgan County Soil and Water Conservation District and refuge, have pledged $64,000 in cash and in-kind services.

The plan calls for converting about 250 acres of fescue and weed fields at Nucor (140) and 3M (114) to native warm-season grasses. 3M also will plant 8 acres of grass-shrubland habitat, and BP will plant 2 acres of native warm-season grasses as part of its nature trail.

Four primary grasses will be re-established: big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass and switchgrass.

"You see very little of it," Seibert said of native grasses in the area. "You might see remnant stands in old pasture or maybe along a roadside. Most times, you just see individual plants ... you won't see acres and acres of it."

Though most of the refuge is for wetland protection, Wheeler planted about 275 acres of native grasses at its satellite refuge, Key Cave, near Florence. The birds are breeding and/or wintering on that site, Seibert said.

Dense pine forest

Vulcan's unattended property has become more of a dense pine forest. The prescribed burn Wednesday will help get rid of the smaller trees. In a few months, Vulcan will turn the soil and plant native grass seeds and hardwood trees to create an oak-savanna habitat, ideal for prairie warblers.

"We see this as the next step with the Wildlife Habitat Council, and (the walking trail) allows us to be more involved with the community," said David Leeds, Vulcan plant manager.

Vulcan will pay for $18,000 of the $31,000 in improvements on its property.

In recent years, the Natural Resources Conservation Service led an effort to re-establish native grasses. The Morgan County service used federal cost-share funds to help 18 local landowners transform 550 acres into native grass habitat.

Though the NRCS will give $6,000 worth of technical assistance to the Migratory Bird Program, it is not a federal initiative. It was started by the Wildlife Habitat Council, an international organization aimed at getting large corporations to use vast acres of unused land for wildlife management.

Vulcan, BP and 3M are WHC members, after each passed stringent requirements that indicate a long-term commitment to wildlife preservation.

Foy Kirkland, NRCS district conservationist, said the WHC wants to get more industries involved in its Corporate Campaign for Migratory Bird Conservation, which began in 2002.

The Decatur project is the first of the new WHC effort to come to fruition.

"They want to publicize this and carry it across the nation," he said.


IMAGE: To create a migratory songbird habitat, NRCS conservationist Foy Kirkland, left, worked out a plan with Vulcan Materials' wildlife maintenance manager, Murphy Ward, and his plant manager, David Leeds, that calls for burning this field. The aftereffects, conservationists hope, will be seen nationwide and be an inspiration for corporate-sponsored environmentalism.


Story and image courtesy of Decatur Daily News.