EGCPJV Partners – We are implementing this new effort to provide news on priority projects and bird conservation successes. Please take a few moments to enjoy our quarterly report, which has links to a new national Joint Venture video and three stories on our new board member, a successful Prescribed Burn Association, and research on King Rails. Please share any input or feedback with me, as it’s my goal to make these reports interesting and useful to you, our partners in bird conservation!
General Updates
Celebrating 40 Years of Conservation Success
In February 2026, Joint Ventures celebrated 40 years of collaborative bird conservation. The Association of Joint Venture Management Boards and several conservation organizations celebrated this milestone at a reception with more than 200 supporters in attendance, including Jeff Raasch (American Bird Conservancy) and Jen Mock (JMS Natural Resources) representing the East Gulf Coastal Plain Joint Venture (EGCPJV). Additionally, Jen and Jeff met with legislative staff, natural resource agency leaders, and congressional committee members to share accomplishments of the EGCPJV and the effectiveness of the joint venture model of collaborative conservation. Check out 40 years of Joint Ventures.
Management Board and Staff UpdatesThe EGCPJV welcomes Eric Soehren and Adam Butler to the management board. Both Eric and Adam have a long history of engaging in bird conservation efforts with our partnership. Adam serves as the Assistant Chief of the Wildlife Bureau at Mississippi Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. Eric represents the Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, and you can read more about the depth of experience and knowledge Eric brings to the EGCPJV board here. Welcome Eric and Adam!
Additionally, the EGCPJV has garnered the talents of Deb Reynolds and Jen Mock for partnership work. Deb brings her depth of experience with Joint Ventures and provides communications capacity, a critical component of effective bird conservation. Jen’s expertise includes important aspects of the Farm Bill, and she contributes her wealth of experience on legislative issues impactful to conservation. Amy Schwarzer has served as a long-term EGCPJV team member as a contractor with American Bird Conservancy since 2021. Upon publication of the JV’s Waterbird Conservation Plan in 2024, her work focused on developing and hosting a series of workshops and compiling high priority information and data needs. She is currently leading the waterfowl working group and development of the JV’s Waterfowl Conservation Plan.
On the Ground Conservation
One of the most critical issues tied to providing high quality habitats in the East Gulf Coastal Plain is the implementation of prescribed fire as a management tool. You can read more about one successful approach – engaging landowners in efforts to manage private lands through Prescribed Burn Associations. Read our latest story about the Southern Pinehills PBA, Blue Jean Burning to see a partnership in action.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program in Alabama was awarded a Habitat for the Hatch grant from the National Wild Turkey Federation. Partners biologist Matt Hodges said the $45k grant will be focused on restoring longleaf pine and black belt prairie habitats in the East Gulf Coastal Plain through prescribed burning, understory management, and native seed plantings. This work will directly contribute to landbird habitat objectives for pine and grassland habitats.
Science in the Field
Tracking King Rails
EGCPJV staff and partners are collaborating with the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture and researchers in the Midwest on a project to gain valuable information on King Rail migration patterns and habitat use across the Mississippi Flyway. Check out details on this fascinating species and project by reading Tracking Across Borders – the King Rail Telemetry Project.
Birds and Forests – a Match Made in Heaven
A suite of high priority EGCPJ bird species including Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Kentucky Warbler, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Eastern Whip-poor-will rely on upland hardwood and mixed pine-hardwood forests in the EGCP. We are partnering with our longtime collaborator Dr. Kristine Evans of Mississippi State University to conduct research to better understand the relationships between birds and forest structure. This project includes assessments on forest structure and collection of bird data via point counts and Autonomous Recording Units (ARU’s) to develop better bird habitat associations. This information is key to making management recommendations to private and public land managers for these species. The research is benefiting from input from several EGCPJV partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, and Tall Timbers Research Station
Filling the Gaps for Waterbird Conservation
In the process of writing the Waterbird Conservation Plan, the Waterbird Working Group recognized the paucity of important information for many waterbird species. Relative to other bird guilds, relatively little is known about distribution, abundance, habitat use and best management practices for many species. To address this issue the group developed the Waterbird Information Gap Priorities, which cover the process by which the group gathered and prioritized information needs, and the prioritized list of information gaps clustered into high, moderate and low groups. This document is intended to help the EGCPJV partners understand what information is most needed, with the goal of identifying possible opportunities to fill these gaps.
Upcoming Meetings
EGCPJV Fall Management Board meeting will be held in Florida (location, TBD) November 4-5, 2026. Additional details will be distributed soon.
The Partners in Flight Eastern Working Group (EWG) will hold its next meeting on August 3rd in association with the American Ornithological Society’s 2026 Annual Meeting at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. The one-day meeting is also being offered as one of the AOS workshops and will be held at the AOS meeting venue on the campus of the University of Massachusetts. In-person registration for the EWG meeting (offered as an AOU workshop) is available at the AOS 2026 meeting registration website.
The National Bobwhite & Grassland Initiative Annual Meeting convenes conservation professionals, land managers, and partners working to restore and protect grassland and bobwhite habitat across the U.S. The 2026 meeting will occur August 10–12 at the Shawnee Lodge & Conference Center in West Portsmouth, Ohio (NBGI Registration)
The 14thEastern Native Grasslands Symposium will be hosted by Southeastern Grassland Institute at Austin Peay State University, October 12-16, 2026, in Hopkinsville, KY. Additional details can be found at: ENGS 2026