Join us on Friday, November 21 for an in-person talk on impact of forest management on different groups of birds. Dr. Steven Latta of National Aviary and Dr. Annie Maloney of Foundation for Sustainable Forests will share how their organizations partnered for a 4-year study on this important topic.
This is a hybrid event. To attend via Zoom, check back on the PIA website the day of the program for an active link.
Dr. Steven Latta is the Director of Conservation and Field Research at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. A native of Northern Michigan, he served for 4 years as Director of the Latin American Program at Point Reyes Bird Observatory (California) before moving to the National Aviary in 2006. Steve works extensively on Hispaniola, and across the Caribbean islands and Latin America, where his research has focused on understanding how birds respond to natural and anthropogenic changes to habitat. He is also very interested in understanding how we can balance avian conservation with human needs through agroecology and agroforestry. This has led to work in coffee, cacao, and avocado plantations, and in hardwood forests of Pennsylvania. In 2019, he began a collaboration with Project Principalis in a successful search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana. He has authored several books on the birds of Hispaniola, and published more than 175 articles and book chapters. He also enjoys teaching and training young biologists in field research techniques.
Annie has worked with the Foundation for Sustainable Forests since 2016 and wears many hats in support of the Foundation's mission to conserve forested land and promote sustainable management practices. Annie holds a PhD in Forest Ecology from Boston University and a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University. Annie also spent 15 years in wilderness education and leadership development with the Voyageur Outward Bound School in northern Minnesota and Cornell University's Team and Leadership Center in upstate New York.
In the right setting, forestry is a valuable tool to improve ecosystem health and function on conserved lands. The Foundation for Sustainable Forests (FSF) uses active management to restore or maintain forest resilience through activities such as the intentional opening of small gaps, known as "group selections", in a mature forest canopy, and the selection of trees for harvest that keep large, healthy trees in the forest while removing weaker or ailing trees to allow light to reach the understory where there is promising native regeneration. Dr. Steven Latta has partnered with FSF to explore the impact of this uneven-aged forest management approach on two groups of birds of conservation concern - early successional species, and species requiring interior forest habitats. In this talk we will outline the characteristics of FSF's forest management for an uneven-aged stand structure and ecosystem resilience, and delve into Dr. Latta's findings after four years of study of birds using these managed forests.
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