Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund
The Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund is dedicated to restoring native forests to conditions that will improve associated wildlife species and the health of freshwater systems, while advancing strategies to support working forests within the Cumberland Plateau.
Partners
Stretching from northwest Alabama to the Kentucky-West Virginia border, the Cumberland Plateau is one of the most biologically rich landscapes in the United States. A combination of complex landforms, limestone geology, and large, intact blocks of forest habitat creates diverse terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems hosting numerous endemic and rare species.
Funding priorities for this program include:
- Restoring and enhancing shortleaf pine/oak savanna forests on public and private lands
- Restoring and enhancing riparian forests and freshwater habitat
- Increasing populations of bobwhite quail and prairie warbler, as well as fish, amphibians and other aquatic species, which are keystone or umbrella species representing healthy, sustainable woodland/savanna forests and freshwater systems
- Engaging private landowners in shortleaf pine and riparian forest outreach, training and technical assistance activities that contribute to the restoration, enhancement and wildlife objectives described above, and support working forests by demonstrating their environmental and socioeconomic benefits
The Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund is a public-private partnership supported with Federal funding from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and private funding from International Paper’s Forestland Stewards Partnership and Altria Group.
| Program Fact Sheet | Download the PDF | |
| 2023 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2022 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2021 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2020 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2019 Grant Slate | Download the PDF | |
| 2018 Grant Slate | Download the PDF |
Director, Southern Regional Office
Program Director, Southern Aquatic and Coastal Programs
Manager, Southern Forests
Regional Program Coordinator
Related Species
Eastern hardwood forest birds
Eastern deciduous forests provide important habitat for forest birds, which can reside in them year-round, or rely on them as breeding grounds or stop-over sited during migration. Deciduous forests have been subject to fragmentation from extractive activities and development for many years, putting the wide variety of bird species they support at risk.
Black-throated blue warbler
Black-throated blue warblers are neotropical migrant that nests in the rich deciduous and mixed coniferous forests of eastern North America. Breeding male and females are sexually dimorphic, meaning they have vastly different appearances—so much so that they were originally described as two separate species. While males have a black face and throat with a blue head and back, females are a plain grayish olive color.
Freshwater mussels
Although mostly out of sight, the rivers of the United States are home to more than 300 freshwater mussel species – one of the highest counts in the world. They are beautiful and varied in terms of form, and important as indicators of stream health. Freshwater mussels not only depend on healthy waters, they contribute to that end by filtering vast amounts of water. Unfortunately, these species are at greater risk of extinction than any other group of its size in the nation.
Villosa mussels (Coosa creekshell)
The Coosa creekshell is a species of freshwater mussel that are endemic to the Coosa River Drainage in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. Increased sedimentation and reduced aquatic connectivity for host fishes like sunfish and sculpins have caused population declines throughout their range.
Bay-breasted warbler
Bay-breasted warblers nest in spruce and fir forests across Canada, and can be found in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and the Adirondack Park of New York. While they occupy similar habitats as Cape May and blackpoll warblers, bay-breasted warblers in particular forage at the inner mid-level, and nest in the lower third-level, of trees.
Wood thrush
A well-known inhabitant of eastern deciduous forests, the wood thrush is known for it's flute-like song during the mating season. Wood thrush are excellent indicators of moist mature forests with structurally complex mid and understories. Habitat loss and degraded habitat quality on both breeding and wintering grounds have resulted in population declines since at least 1970.
Northern bobwhite quail
One of the most economically important game birds, the northern bobwhite quail is named for the distinctive 'bob-white' mating call of males throughout the breeding season. Bobwhite quail prefer shrubby areas surrounding grasslands or agricultural fields and live in groups called "coveys" during the fall and winter.
Golden-winged warbler
The golden-winged warbler is a striking, neotropical songbird with bright yellow plumage on the crown and wings. Their breeding range formerly extended across the Midwest to the east, but is now restricted to two isolated subpopulations: one in the higher-elevation areas of the Appalachians and the other around the Great Lakes into Manitoba. Loss of early succesional has resulted in population declines especially for the eastern population.
Eastern hellbender
The eastern hellbender is a large, fully-aquatic salamander that breathes entirely through their skin making clean, oxygen-rich water critical in sustaining populations. Increased nutrient runoff and sediment desposition has decreased habitat quality for hellbenders leading to widespread population declines.
Cerulean warbler
The cerulean warbler is a small, migrant songbird named for the male's sky-blue plumage. It is dependent on contiguous tracts of mature, deciduous forest habitat throughout its breeding range in the eastern United States, and is particularly sensitive to the negative effects of forest fragmentation which has contributed to widespread population declines.
