Preserving and Restoring Critical Migratory Bird Habitat on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

Since the 1990s, the Virginia CZM Program has been part of a land conservation group formerly called the “Southern Tip Partnership,” now known as VESCA.  The group consists of US Fish & Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Virginia CZM Program, the Departments of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) and Game & Inland Fisheries (DGIF) – operated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to pool resources to acquire and restore land for migratory bird habitat – especially neotropical songbirds whose populations have been in significant decline for decades due to habitat loss and fragmentation.  The southern tip of the Eastern Shore is one of those places that provide a critical rest stop during the birds’ fall migration from Canada and the northeastern U.S. to Central and South America.

Since the 1990s, the partners have acquired, protected and restored several thousand acres with the native vegetation these birds need for food and cover from predators. 

DCR Division of Natural Heritage staff and volunteers, with Virginia CZM funds, planted 1,178 Wax Myrtle shrubs and 340 White Oak saplings (Quercus Alba) on a Natural Area Preserves on the Eastern Shore. The 6-9 foot saplings will provide immediate perching branches for birds, as well as the structure needed to jump start natural forest layers.