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Conservation recommendations and needs - Managing human population growth while maintaining functional natural ecosystems is the greatest conservation challenge facing land managers in this region. The future of wildlife habitat depends on protection of patches of conservation significance and the manner in which inevitable continuing growth alters the environment. Forest habitat remains relatively abundant, but is very heavily fragmented. Identification and maintenance of those blocks large enough to support the full array of breeding birds should be a priority. Although no grassland bird species ranked highly in the PIF prioritization system, agricultural pasturelands throughout the piedmont support the largest (and apparently stable) population of Grasshopper Sparrows in the Northeast, as well as other state-listed grassland species. These areas formerly supported Henslow’s Sparrow. Protecting and enhancing grassland habitat is therefore also a priority, at least at the state level. Specific conservation recommendations for this physiographic area include:
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Please send comments to:
Kenneth Rosenberg, PIF Northeast
Regional Coordinator
kvr2@cornell.edu