Outside the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast — Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. — you might meet more trees than people. 

While it’s the most densely populated region in the United States, the Northeast is also about 40% forested.  

Most trees in this part of the country are in privately owned “working” forests. No, they don’t have 9-to-5 jobs; these forests are carefully managed to provide a renewable supply of products we depend on, such as paper, lumber, cordwood, and maple syrup.

Private forest owners also manage their lands to support wildlife. They know forests aren’t just a bunch of trees — they're natural systems, home to thousands of birds, mammals, fish, and insects.   

A holistic approach to forest management that benefits soil, water, fish and wildlife, and proactively addresses threats like wildfire, is better for sustaining trees, forest products, and jobs in the forestry sector. Research shows private forest owners today grow 43% more wood than they remove – the result of management practices that support healthy, functioning systems. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the forest products industry in the United States generates $288 billion annually and provides hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Modern American forestry practices meet some of the highest standards of sustainable forest management in the world thanks to widespread adoption of forest-certification programs and state-approved best management practices. 

Naturally, forest managers want the best information to inform wildlife-friendly management efforts. That’s where we come in. 

Partnering to help at-risk species 

After years of organic growth, seeded by smaller partnerships in different parts of the country, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO), and the National Council for Air and Stream Improvements, Inc., formalized the Wildlife Conservation Initiative in 2023. This collaborative effort focuses on advancing conservation of species listed under the Endangered Species Act, and those at risk of being listed, in private working forests nationwide.

Coordinated by the Service’s Science Applications program, the Wildlife Conservation Initiative promotes research and strategic action on behalf of rare and declining species on lands owned by NAFO member companies. Membership requires a commitment to sustainable forest management, which NAFO members practice nationwide across more than 43 million acres.

The goal of the Wildlife Conservation Initiative is to make the most of conservation opportunities on these working forest landscapes to support species in need before they become threatened or endangered — or help them recover faster if they’re listed already – while also helping landowners keep their forests healthy. 

Consider this: By thinning trees in certain areas of their forests, a common practice in sustainable forest management, forest managers can improve habitat for the at-risk cerulean warbler, a bird that eats thousands of insects a day — including those that eat leaves and can cause serious damage if left to their own devices. 

The forest owner gets pest control, and the warbler gets habitat. Plus, this sky-blue bird is a pretty sight to see. Win-win-win. 

Here are some ways we’re collaborating with willing private forest owners in the Northeast through the Wildlife Conservation Initiative to support forests that work for people and wildlife: 

If a tree falls in the woods, how does the Diana fritillary feel about it?

Butterflies may bring to mind wildflower meadows, but the Diana fritillary likes the woods. This big, beautiful butterfly — females are black and bright blue, males are black and bright orange — makes its home in the forests of the southern Appalachians — West Virginia south to northern Georgia and Alabama — and needs violets to support its young.  

Unfortunately, the species’ habitat is shrinking due to land-use change. And shrinking forests lead to shrinking (patches of) violets. 

In West Virginia, the Diana fritillary is considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need, meaning it faces heightened risks. 

But it also represents an opportunity for the Wildlife Conservation Initiative: Many historical and recent observations of the Diana fritillary have been on private, working forestlands. 

In partnership with the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, and with support from The Lyme Timber Company and Weyerhaeuser Company, the Service conducted surveys for the Diana fritillary on private working forestlands in 2023 and 2024. The goal was to understand both the distribution of this species on these lands and its relationship with forest management. 

That information can will help identify practices that benefit the species and the health of the forests where they live. 

How much wood would a wood turtle...

Yes, wood turtles like woods. But the species actually gets its common name from the resemblance of its shell patterns to the growth rings of a tree. 

This medium-sized turtle once ranged widely across 16 states and four Canadian provinces, foraging in fields and forests and overwintering in cobble- and sandy-bottom streams. Today, wood turtle numbers are down across the U.S. and Canada. 

Populations are declining as forests they need are converted to other uses, and as new roads increase the risk of turtles getting hit by cars. In places where forests dominate the landscape, landowners can serve as important stewards of this species.

To guide forest managers who want to help the wood turtle, Wildlife Conservation Initiative partners developed a resource that outlines voluntary conservation actions, such as timing harvests in the winter in areas that have the potential to be wood turtle habitat to minimize disruption to wood turtle activities.

The Wildlife Conservation Initiative is also supporting research led by the University of Maine, in collaboration with the American Turtle Observatory and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, to identify areas wood turtles like in mixed-use lands, like those managed by NAFO members. 

We're learning that best management practices forestry timberland owners already follow to protect waterways benefit the streamside habitats where wood turtles spend most of their time.

Seeing the forest songbirds for the trees

The golden-winged warbler, wood thrush and cerulean warbler are all forest-dependent songbirds that have experienced dramatic population declines over the last 50 years. 

While they all live in the woods, they each have distinct preferences for breeding habitat in North America.

The cerulean warbler likes areas with a mix of tall canopy trees and shorter understory trees. 

The wood thrush likes to hang out in the underbrush in areas with tall trees. 

And the golden-winged warbler prefers young forests with dense small trees and limited tall, mature trees.

Fortunately, there’s something for everyone in the extensive forestlands managed by The Lyme Timber Company and Weyerhaeuser in West Virginia. 

Through the Wildlife Conservation Initiative, we’re supporting an effort to understand how best to balance forest management to benefit these three songbirds in private working forests in West Virginia. The goal, in part, is to document where they occur and develop recommendations that help forest landowners address the needs of these species while managing their forests.  

Helping forests and their inhabitants thrive

Working forests are much more than the products they provide. With sound management, they can sustain economic prosperity, keep communities safe from natural disasters, and provide homes to wildlife, including species facing steep declines. Some of these species require young forests, a habitat maintained by forest harvest and regrowth. 

By partnering with forest managers and using the best available science to advance shared conservation goals, we can keep private working forests as forests to support the species, and the rural communities, that depend on them.