Press Release:

A partnership of organizations is seeking volunteers for the fourth year of a volunteer breeding bird monitoring and education program that will be conducted this spring and early summer at two early successional habitat sites along the Little Tennessee River.

From May to August, Southern Appalachian Raptor Research (SARR) will conduct eight monitoring samples at LTLT’s Tessentee Bottomland Preserve and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians’ (EBCI) Cowee Mound property. Volunteers are needed to assist in any aspect of the survey work during any of the survey dates. No experience is necessary and volunteers will receive training and supervision from SARR field staff. Interested adults and adults with curious children are very welcome to participate!

The program is a partnership between the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT), SARR, and the Fisheries and Wildlife Management program of the EBCI. Funding is provided by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation’s Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources (RTCAR) initiative.

The monitoring work is based on the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) protocol. MAPS is a nationwide program coordinated by the Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes, California. The MAPS program includes a continent-wide network of over 500 mist netting stations and is designed to monitor productivity, survivorship, and population trends of breeding birds throughout North America. Analyses of the resulting banding data provide critical information relating to the ecology, conservation, and management of North American landbird populations, and the factors responsible for changes in their populations.

The first sampling date is May 18^th at the Tessentee Bottomland Preserve. For a calendar of sampling dates, please visit http://bigbaldbanding.org/calendar/. For further information, please contact [email protected] or call (828) 736-1217.

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT) announces the addition of Land Protection Manager John Culclasure. As Land Protection Manager, Culclasure will manage the initiatives of LTLT’s land acquisition program, including landowner outreach, receiving conservation easements, and land purchase and sale. He will also help manage land conservation grant applications and help expand LTLT’s strategic plan for land conservation.

LTLT Deputy Director Sharon Taylor notes, “We are glad to welcome John to the LTLT team. John brings a strong legal background to LTLT as well as a great personality. We encourage landowners who have any level of interest in land conservation to get in touch with John.”

Culclasure says of his new position, “I’ve planned all of my educational goals around conservation and helping landowners conserve their land. Coming back to Western North Carolina from the Rocky Mountains I can truly say these are the mountains I love the best, and I am excited to a part of conserving what makes this place special.”

Originally from Henderson County, North Carolina, Culclasure received a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, a Juris Doctor from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama, and studied tax law at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado.

In the Smoky Mountain News: The Clean Water Management Trust Fund is facing major funding cuts in the Governor’s proposed state budget for next year and an uncertain future beyond that. The fund, which groups like LTLT have pulled from for water quality projects since 1996, is important to protecting NC’s water quality. Learn more about the fund, and the proposed funding cuts in the full article by Andrew Kasper.