American Woodcock Initiative Takes Flight As the nation’s forestlands mature, and as farmlands and wetlands are lost to development, American woodcock continue to decline. To address the issue of loss of habitats important for woodcock and other high priority species, the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) has assembled the largest public/private coalition ever created to proactively address habitat improvement for woodcock. Twenty-two partners, ranging from private landowners to federal agencies, have signed on to an initiative designed to link improvements on public lands with widespread management gains on private lands. Major partners within the initiative include private forest landowners, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U. S. Geological Survey, International Paper Company, state fish and wildlife agencies, and hunting and conservation NGOs. “We consider woodcock to be the ‘canary-in-the-coalmine’—we know there are a suite of species with similar habitat needs that are also in decline,” said USFWS Northeast Regional Director Marvin Moriarity. Added WMI president Steve Williams, “The response of public and private conservationists to the initiative has been gratifying. We want to build this approach into a national model that highlights the tremendous gains that can be accomplished through cooperative conservation.” For information on the project, contact Scot Williamson at 802-748-6717 or wmisw@together.net.