Check back here regularly to read the latest VWL news updates and to read our past newsletters.
About our Newsletter | This Month in Conservation Science is a VWL newsletter designed to inform the public of the latest advances in land conservation science from researchers around the world. We will send these newsletters every 2nd Monday of each month. If you would like to receive these newsletters, sign up for our mailing list at the link below.
Caption: From left to right: Celia Vuocolo, Private Lands Biologist (Quail Forever), October Greenfield, VGBI Co-Coordinator (The Piedmont Environmental Council), Jacob Gilley, Mid-Atlantic Sustainable Grazing Manager (American Farmland Trust), Amy Johnson, Program Director (Smithsonian’s Virginia Working Landscapes), and Justin Proctor, VGBI Coordinator (Smithsonian’s Virginia Working Landscapes). Photo by Hugh Kenny/PEC. We’ve renamed the Piedmont Grassland Bird Initiative! Now officially the […]
We’re excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for a Communications and Development Assistant until August 15, 2022. Please see below for more details, and feel free to pass this announcement on to anyone who might be interested in applying. Communications and Development Assistant Location: Front Royal, VA Closing: August 15, 2022 Virginia Working Landscapes (VWL), a program of […]
We’re excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for a Smithsonian Environmental Justice Postdoctoral Fellow, starting on or before March 1, 2023. Please see below for more details, and feel free to pass this announcement on to anyone who might be interested in applying. Smithsonian Fellowships Focus on Climate Change and Environmental Justice Our planet faces unprecedented and […]
This webinar was held on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. Led by VWL’s Program Manager, Charlotte Lorick, the presentation included an overview of relevant Virginia Working Landscape research findings, highlighted best management practices to support wildlife and biodiversity, and discussed how we can think of our backyards and managed spaces as habitats and ecosystems, no matter the size. A number of […]
Webinar: Spot. Stomp. Slow the Spread. A Spotted Lanternfly Update for Virginia Presenter: Kyle Rhodes, Spotted Lanternfly Crew Supervisor, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Plant Industry Services Info: Join us to learn about the status of the spotted lanternfly in Virginia. Kyle Rhodes will provide background on how this pest is moving and what we can […]
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Virtual Annual Meeting. It was wonderful to see so many familiar and new faces and to share updates about our latest programs and research projects. For anyone interested in watching again or for those of you who were not able to join us, you can watch the recording at the link […]
VWL partners from the Smithsonian Working Land and Seascapes program are seeking access to properties with a stream or branch that connects to, or is on, the Rappahannock or Rapidan Rivers. They aim to place temperature loggers at various locations throughout the watershed from February to May 2021 in an effort to learn more about how water temperatures are impacting […]
December 16, 2020 Over the last several months, Virginia Working Landscapes has been working with colleagues at the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) and American Bird Conservancy (ABC) to designate the VWL survey region as an official ABC “BirdScape”. A BirdScape defines a focal area for conservation efforts, where partners can work together to address the issues affecting declining bird populations. Throughout […]
Watch VWL Program Director Amy Johnson’s TEDx Talk about how Virginia landowners and conservation scientists are working together to help reverse declines and bring birds back.
Projecting Mammal Distributions in Response to Future Alternative Landscapes in a Rapidly Transitioning Region A new research paper out by colleagues at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute highlights how future human population growth and changes in land cover might affect mammal distributions in northern Virginia. VWL and eMammal citizen scientists contributed data to this project and we would like to thank […]
Not All Birds Fly South for the Winter: Effects of grassland management on overwintering bird communities Based on years of data collection, VWL recently published a paper in the Journal of Wildlife Management that provides insight into the benefits of native warm-season grasses for over-wintering bird communities. Read the Publication