Hogback: Temporary Closure for Peregrin Falcon Restoration

[mingram]

Passing along information I received from Rolf Gubler at the National Park Service.

"We're planning to do peregrine falcon restoration again this year at/around the Hogback Mt. Launch Site. The temporary closure is scheduled to run from roughly May 16 - July 16, 2013. (we never know the exact date we receive young falcons from the Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries)

Here is some brief information on the project-

Description: The closure area is 130 meters to the east of Hogback Mountain. The closure area encompasses 1.2 acres. The area is steep and partially wooded. The area contains no trails but does contain a hang-glider launch site and a portion of a powerline right-of-way.

Justification: It is essential to provide young peregrine falcons an adequate buffer from human disturbances (e.g. noise and activity) during the restoration process. This temporary closure provides the needed protection essential for successful site-imprinting, honing flight & hunting skills, territory protection, and dispersal. Our goal for this project is to boost peregrine falcon populations in the Central Appalachians where peregrine recovery has been slow. In addition, using at-risk Virginia coastal peregrines as hacking stock serves the dual purpose of improving the survival of these young peregrines while restoring peregrines to the mountains of Virginia. This restoration work directly supports the conservation and long-term recovery efforts of state-threatened peregrine falcons

Project Partners: The Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Center for Conservation Biology at William and Mary"