Search

In Conservation Success Story, Massachusetts Piping Plovers Have Their Second Record Nesting Year in a Row

We are an online community created around a smart and easy to access information hub which is focused on providing proven global and local insights about sustainability

09 Jan, 2025

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

For the second year in a row, Massachusetts beaches have recorded more nesting Piping Plovers than anytime in the last four decades — 1,196 nesting pairs, a 1.5 percent increase over 2023 and a 500 percent jump since the program began, according to preliminary data gathered by MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program and Mass Audubon.

Mass Audubon has been leading the Coastal Waterbird Program (CWP) since 1986. The program is a collaboration between state, federal and local agencies. It engages in conservation research while monitoring and protecting vulnerable beach-nesting birds. In the mid-1980s, fewer than 200 pairs of breeding Piping Plovers existed in the state.

“Piping Plovers were on the brink of extinction in Massachusetts and now, through collaborative partnerships and strategic conservation strategies, this is a species recovering at an encouraging rate,” said Lyra Brennan, Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird Program director, in a press release from Mass Audubon.

Piping Plovers on a Massachusetts beach. Pat Ulrich / Mass Audubon

The sand-colored shorebird is about the size of a sparrow and feeds along sand and gravel beaches on the North American coast.

While Piping Plovers are still listed as threatened on the state and federal endangered species lists, the last several years of data show that the elegant shorebirds are making a comeback in Massachusetts.

CWP protected 379 pairs of Piping Plovers in 2024, representing 17 percent of the Atlantic Coast population and almost a third of the state population.

In 2024, pairs of Plovers nesting at sites protected by CWP produced 1.24 fledglings per pair — nearly the same as the 1.25 chicks in 2023 — which is considered to be a sustainable reproductive rate.

“Long-term investments in coastal communities and implementing a combination of wildlife management, science-based conservation, policy development, and education is paying off,” Brennan said in the press release.

In a first, Plovers also successfully fledged chicks at Eastham’s Dyer Prince Beach, while Sagamore’s Scusset Beach saw its first Plover pairing in over a decade. Additional hotspots included an 83 percent leap in productivity in fledged chicks on Lobsterville Beach in Aquinnah, a 56 percent jump in Plover pairs at Barnstable’s Long Beach and twice as many pairs on Chatham’s Tern Island.

Other vulnerable seabirds have also had success, including Least Terns, who experienced a 37 percent population increase in 2024 to 4,901 pairs, following a drop in numbers the previous year. Mass Audubon’s 42 protected nesting sites for the birds maintained steady reproductive success with rates ranging from zero to 1.35 fledglings per pair, making them the most successful sites for Least Terns in Massachusetts.

As was true a year earlier, predators were the most significant factor determining nesting success for terns in 2024. Major overwash and predation events impacted several of the main sites, including South Beach, which saw no Least Tern fledges last year, despite having a colony of more than 100 pairs.

American Oystercatchers also experienced their second record year in a row with 250 nesting pairs detected — a year-over-year increase of five percent.

Brennan said Oystercatchers in Massachusetts were the most productive of any state reporting the same metrics.

“Mass Audubon monitors 30 percent of the state population and despite the fledgling rate dropping from 1.23 chicks per pair to .99 in 2024, this is still well above the .35 fledged chicks per pair rate estimated to maintain a stable oystercatcher population,” Mass Audubon said.

The post In Conservation Success Story, Massachusetts Piping Plovers Have Their Second Record Nesting Year in a Row appeared first on EcoWatch.

Pass over the stars to rate this post. Your opinion is always welcome.
[Total: 0 Average: 0]

You may also like…

Human Rights Watch Accuses UK of Undermining Democratic Rights With Crackdown on Climate Protesters

Human Rights Watch Accuses UK of Undermining Democratic Rights With Crackdown on Climate Protesters

The United Kingdom’s crackdown on climate protesters is setting a “dangerous” global precedent, according to the UK Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) Yasmine Ahmed, reported The Guardian. British authorities are undermining democratic rights, particularly the right to protest peacefully, according to HRW’s World Report 2025. “Many of us had hoped that an incoming Labour […]
The post Human Rights Watch Accuses UK of Undermining Democratic Rights With Crackdown on Climate Protesters appeared first on EcoWatch.

Strengthening Community Resilience through Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products

Strengthening Community Resilience through Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products

Strengthening Community Resilience through Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products
jschoshinski
Thu, 01/16/2025 – 18:32

In Zimbabwe, deforestation and habitat loss are not only threatening the country’s biodiversity and ability to mitigate climate change, but also threatening individuals’ livelihoods and their ability to adapt to climate change. Of the nearly 6,000 species of indigenous plants found in the country, some 900 of them are traditionally used as food, cosmetics, or medicine. These non-timber forest products (NTFPs) serve as supplemental sources of income for approximately 60 percent of rural households, providing an important source of income diversification as changes in rainfall—in part due to climate change—threaten traditional agricultural activities. By generating income for rural communities, Zimbabwe’s NTFPs offer a market-led approach to boosting climate resilience. 
The Economic Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products in Zimbabwe 
In the landscapes where the USAID Resilience ANCHORS Activity works, one in six people, mostly women, rely on forests and wilderness areas for their livelihoods. Resilience ANCHORS supports community-led initiatives and locally prioritized interventions, including conserving forests and developing value chains for key NTFPs, such as Ximenia, mongongo nuts, wooden banana, marula, Kalahari melon seed, and rosella. Forest-based resources from remote, semi-arid regions can contribute up to 35 percent of rural incomes, while NTFP products like thatching grass, wild plant foods, mushrooms, honey, and mopane worms have an estimated annual subsistence value (i.e, the value associated with people using the products to support themselves rather than selling the products) of $294.3 million. Conserving these natural resources leads to strengthened livelihoods and healthier, more stable communities by supporting income diversification, which helps agricultural communities adapt to the impacts of climate change on crop yields.
Using Laws and Regulations to Strengthen Community Resilience
While NTFPs are vital resources for local communities, the lack of transparent laws and regulations has led to overexploitation and missed business opportunities. Limited awareness of the regulatory framework among stakeholders and community members exacerbates this issue. Resilience ANCHORS has supported the formation of NTFP collector groups that have developed formal governance structures, but the next objective is creating long-term sustainability through a robust legal framework that protects the environment and promotes community wellbeing. 
Sustainable harvesting remains critical for the long-term viability of Zimbabwe’s NTFPs, forests, and environment. Resilience ANCHORS, in collaboration with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Local Government and the Environmental Management Agency, conducted workshops to build awareness of the legislative challenges and foster dialogue. This resulted in the drafting of NTFP Model Bylaw, which seeks to address three key goals:

Fill gaps in the legal framework: Outline benefit-sharing mechanisms to foster fair trade practices, as community ownership and management of NTFPs ensures equitable distribution among stakeholders. 
Promote sustainability: Develop permits to control harvesting, trade volumes, and fees to generate revenue for conservation efforts and capacity-building initiatives.
Provide clear guidelines for NTFP harvesting and benefit-sharing: Specify sustainable harvesting quantities and methods to prevent over-harvesting and safeguard resources for future generations. 

The NTFP Model Bylaw will result in:

Enhanced community resilience through sustainable NTFP management by promoting sustainable livelihoods, environmental conservation, and social cohesion. 
Clarified benefit-sharing mechanisms to reduce exploitation and promote transparency, fairness, and community ownership. 
Informed climate-resilient natural resource management by promoting sustainable harvesting, conserving biodiversity, and enhancing ecosystem resilience. 

Effective implementation of these regulations requires collaboration, capacity-building, and regular monitoring. If adopted and implemented successfully, these regulations could help grow NTFP activities in a way that increases livelihoods and builds community resilience to climate change in Zimbabwe.

Teaser Text
By generating income for rural communities, Zimbabwe’s NTFPs offer a market-led approach to boosting climate resilience.

Publish Date
Thu, 01/16/2025 – 12:00

Author(s)

Itayi Usaiwevhu

Hero Image
Rosella harvest (1).JPG

Blog Type
Blog Post

Strategic Objective

Adaptation

Region

Africa

Topic

Adaptation
Agriculture
Biodiversity Conservation
Deforestation and Commodity Production
Economic Growth
Forest/Forestry
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
Natural Climate Solutions
Resilience
Rural

Country

Zimbabwe

Sectors

Adaptation
Agriculture and Food Systems

Show Download Link
Off

0 Comments