Management Board Spotlights
The EGCPJV is delighted to welcome Daffny Pitchford to the management board. She has broad experience with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and has served in the National Wildlife Refuge System and as the Assistant Regional Director for the office of Communications. She currently serves as Deputy Regional Director of the southeast region of USFWS, and Daffny’s leadership and passion for people and the natural world will be assets to our partnership. You can learn more about her experiences and interests here. Welcome Daffny!
The EGCPJV management board includes leaders from 14 board organizations, including Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). Donald “Duck” Locascio serves as the board representative for LDWF. His expertise in habitat management and bird ecology enriches both technical groups and our collaboration at the board level. Duck has a broad interests and knowledge of forestry and habitat management, songbird ecology, and gamebird ecology (and hunting!). Read more about Duck here.
On the Ground Conservation
EGCPJV partners are advancing bird conservation across the region, with a special emphasis on working alongside private landowners. Several important programs exist within EGCPJV partner organizations to do this work. The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is teaming with several organizations and conservation-minded private landowners to benefit a wide variety of species in Alabama. You can read more about this exciting project here.
Another important habitat conservation project is being led by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) with partners in Alabama and Louisiana. The “America the Beautiful Challenge” grant is being administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and will enhance multiple fire-dependent habitats, benefitting a diversity of priority wildlife species. More details about this successful multi-state project are available here.
Science in the Field
This summer, the Waterfowl Working Group reached an important milestone by setting waterfowl population objectives using a newly developed e-bird analysis with the assistance of Dr. Joe Lancaster of Ducks Unlimited. The group has planned habitat analysis and has begun habitat assessment using a model and tools developed by Mike Mitchell (Ducks Unlimited) and Dr. Anne Mini (Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture). Meanwhile, assessing the quantity and quality of seagrass, a primary forage for wintering coastal ducks, is benefitting from data providing by Dr. Kelly Darnell (Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, University of Southern Mississippi) and Becca Hatchell (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries worked with the EGCPJV to develop a priority mapping tool used to implement the Louisiana Forestry Initiative, a US Forest Service-funded and National Bobwhite Grassland Initiative Foundation administered cost-share/incentive initiative. This effort improves forest health, restoring bottomland hardwoods and upland systems, reducing wildfire risk, improving habitat, and supporting climate-resilient forestry practices in Louisiana.
Upcoming Meetings
EGCPJV Fall Management Board meeting will be held in Niceville, Florida, November 4-5, 2026. Please contact Catherine Rideout ([email protected]) if you have any questions.
14th Eastern 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
Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
The 80th SEAFWA Annual Conference will be held in Nashville, TN from October 26-30 and hosted by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The conference features technical sessions, symposia poster presentation and networking events.