Influence of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program wetland practices on winter occupancy of Passerellidae sparrows and avian species richness

Landowner Satisfaction with Conservation Programs in the Southern United States

Landowner satisfaction with conservation programs affects their participation decisions and subsequently effectiveness of these programs in improving environmental quality. This study determined the influence of landownership goals, environmental concerns, frequency of contacts with federal agencies, and socioeconomic factors on landowner satisfaction with available conservation programs in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and East Gulf Coastal Plain sub-geographies of the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative. A generalized ordered logit model for each conservation program was constructed to analyze factors influencing landowner satisfaction levels with these programs. Of the 14 federal conservation programs assessed, the top programs, based on a satisfaction level, included Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). The size of agricultural land owned, landownership goals including profit-making and personal recreation, concerns about wildlife habitat losses, and frequent contacts with federal agencies were positively related to landowner satisfaction levels. Better strategies addressing landowner’s environmental concerns, communicating technical knowledge, clarifying contract terms, and supporting financial resource leveraging will help reach the enrolled and non-enrolled landowners to increase their participation in conservation efforts.

Biodiversity Monitoring of a Riparian Wetland in a Mixed-Use Watershed in the Central Appalachians, USA, before Restoration

Wetland mitigation efforts have increased in numbers over the past two decades to combat wetland loss in the United States. Data regarding wetland function such as biodiversity are required to be collected 5–10 years after a project is complete; however, pre-restoration data that can inform the effectiveness of mitigation are often not collected. We conducted pre-restoration surveys on various taxa along or within Ruby Run, a tributary of Deckers Creek in north-central West Virginia, USA, from 2016 to 2020 to determine the baseline relative abundance and diversity within the stream and the associated riparian zone. In five years, we observed 237 species (154 plant, 58 bird, 13 fish, 6 small mammal, and 6 anuran) and 25 families of macroinvertebrates. Seasonal fluctuations in diversity were present, but mean diversity was relatively consistent among years across taxa, except in anurans, where there was a decrease each year. Wetland mitigation efforts should continue to be monitored for success using multiple taxa, because land use change can affect taxa in different ways, resulting in well-rounded assessments that can improve wetland management practices.

A Framework for Identifying Reference Wetland Conditions in Highly Altered Landscapes

This paper arose from collaboration and discussions over the past years between the authors about what wetlands should be restored to in landscapes that have been intensively altered due to human activities over many centuries and where reference conditions are lacking. It is not intended as an in-depth review of the thinking about reference conditions, but as an opinion paper, with the goal of stimulating discussions about wetland restoration approaches, particularly in regions around the world with highly altered landscapes where restoration of wetlands has been gaining traction only relatively recently. We first explain why the thinking on reference wetlands is biased towards North America, where large areas exist with wetlands that are relatively unimpacted by anthropogenic activities. We then argue that in regions with few unimpaired wetlands those of fair condition may still be good enough to be used as reference wetlands, and that restored and created wetlands should be considered as well.

A comparison of wetland characteristics between Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and public lands wetlands in West Virginia, USA

In West Virginia, USA, there are 24 conservation easement program wetlands enrolled in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). These wetlands are located on private agricultural land and are passively managed. Due to their location within fragmented agricultural areas, wetlands enrolled in ACEP in West Virginia have the potential to add wetland ecosystem services in areas that are lacking these features. We evaluated ACEP wetlands compared to reference wetlands on public land in West Virginia by using surrounding land cover, vegetative cover, and wetland features and stressors such as the presence or absence of erosion, upland inclusion, algal mats, and evidence of impacts from the surrounding landscape as surrogate measurements of wetland function on 13 ACEP wetlands and 10 reference wetlands. ACEP wetlands had higher percentages of tree coverage and a higher proportion of agricultural land in the areas immediately surrounding the wetland. Reference wetlands had higher percent coverage of emergent vegetation and had a higher proportion of forest in the immediate landscape. Our findings suggest that ACEP wetlands provide valuable early successional and forested wetland cover in a state that is largely forested. Because of this, it is important to maintain and even expand ACEP in West Virginia to continue providing a valuable source of early successional wetland habitat.