Behold the Armadillo

Bird surveys conducted this spring across multiple sites on the Cumberland Plateau documented several species of concern, including the wood thrush, Kentucky warbler, and worm-eating warbler. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining large blocks of interior forest habitat.

The restoration of native warm-season grasses on reclaimed mine lands has created valuable early-successional habitat for grassland birds and pollinators. These restored areas, while different from the original forest, serve important ecological functions and demonstrate that damaged landscapes can be returned to productive natural communities.