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West Virginia goes telemetric bird watching; North Carolina land next to Pisgah National Forest gets protected; and the lanternfly threatens the region.
State biologists in West Virginia have installed a radio telemetry station at Hanging Rock in Monroe County, joining a long-term, global project to track the movement of birds, butterflies and other migratory species. The technology can pick up individually distinct signals up to 10 miles away from animals that have previously been tagged. The data is fed into the global “Motus” system to help build a landscape-scale pattern of species movement. “The antennas we installed can track a lot of cool things, such as where an animal is flying and how fast. We can know, down to the second, when a roosting bird decides to wake up and take flight,” says Mack Frantz with the Division of Natural Resources. Biologists will use the data for optimal conservation strategies for rare and threatened species. wvdnr.gov/motus-migration-tracking-system
The Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina in July purchased 118 acres in Caldwell County, to be transferred to the adjacent Pisgah National Forest. The project will increase public access to Johns River for fishing and hiking. Spring wildflowers are abundant on the tract—at least 176 species are found here in addition to 30 wildlife species, including the little brown bat and tricolored bat. Funding from philanthropists Brad and Shelli Stanback and a grant from the Alice Zawadski Land Conservation Fund of the North Carolina Native Plant Society made the purchase possible. foothillsconservancy.org
One species that is decidedly not rare or threatened but is worrying to scientists—and farmers and fruit-growers—is the spotted lanternfly. First detected in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014, the voracious butterfly originating in the Far East has moved into Virginia, West Virginia and states from Maine to Oregon. It feeds on trees, shrubs and crops, including grapes. Farmers are using insecticides to try to control severe infestations. (Check with your local agriculture and extension service to find out about the lanternfly in your area.) invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/invertebrates/spotted-lanternfly
The story above first appeared in our November / December 2021 issue.
