Arkansas

Ducks Unlimited
Enhancing Hydrology and Restoring Forests in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (AR, MS)
Restore and enhance bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands on public and private lands within the delta of Arkansas and Mississippi. Project will restore hydrology, enhance existing forests, and reforest areas to impact a total of 2,590 acres, benefiting migratory waterfowl, Louisiana black bear and other forested wetland-dependent species.
$375,000

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation
Revising the Lower Mississippi Desired Forest Condition for Wildlife Report (multiple states)
Update the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture’s Desired Forest Condition for Wildlife report, which provides technical guidance to land managers on how to manage bottomland hardwood forests for the conservation of wildlife. Project will revise the report to integrate new science on the habitat needs of priority wildlife species, include updates from the Forest Resource Conservation Working Group, and add a section dedicated to the management of restored or young bottomland hardwood stands.
$79,254

Mississippi River Trust
Forested Wetland Restoration in the Lower Mississippi River Floodplain (multiple states)
Reforest and protect frequently flooded, marginal cropland on private lands through the adoption of Wetland Reserve Easements in the active floodplain of the Lower Mississippi River. Project will establish 7,500 acres of bottomland hardwood forest to expand and enhance habitat and improve water quality, benefiting the Louisiana black bear, swamp rabbit, forest birds, waterfowl and freshwater fish.
$653,696

Mississippi State University
Black Bear Monitoring in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (AR, LA, MS)
Monitor and collect baseline data on black bear movement, gene flow, and genetic isolation among five recovering populations within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Project will help assess black bear response to bottomland hardwood restoration efforts and establish a regional black bear monitoring protocol by leveraging monitoring efforts in the three states, coordinating standardized protocols for sampling, and collaborating on analyses.
$138,483

Pollinator Partnership
Improving Pollinator Habitat Connectivity in the Midwest and Great Lakes Flyway (AR, IL, MI, MN, WI)
Develop and expand a regional seed collection and native plant materials network program in the Midwest and Great Lakes region to support monarch butterflies, rusty patched bumble bees and other declining pollinator species. Project will improve more than 5,000 acres of pollinator habitat, collect 50 pounds of milkweed seed, collect 50 pounds of nectar plant seed, and propagate 2,000 milkweed and 1,000 nectar species seedlings.
$74,971

Stephen F. Austin State University
Monitoring Avian Response to Forest Management in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (AR, LA, MS, TX)
Develop a baseline inventory of bird species in bottomland hardwood restoration sites in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley through the deployment of autonomous sound recorders. Project will compare baseline data to avian community metrics captured in bottomland hardwood forests at different successional stages to identify effective management activities used in forestry wildlife treatments and stages of stand development that need further treatments for maintaining desired forest conditions.
$73,377

The Nature Conservancy
Restoring Forested Wetlands through a Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (AR, LA, MS)
Restore and protect forested wetlands within high-priority areas in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley region of Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Project will reforest 2,650 acres of marginal cropland, restore 600 acres of hydrologic wetland function and protect 3,300 acres with conservation easements, benefiting Louisiana black bear, swamp rabbits, waterfowl and neotropical migratory songbirds.
$696,304