In 2013, a team of scientists led by University of Maryland professor Matthew Hansen released a high-resolution, global database of forest cover change. This remarkable information, obtained from Landsat satellites, has offered an unprecedented look at the state of the world's forests. VCE biologists are currently using these data to document changes in Hispaniolan forests that provide winter habitat for Bicknell's Thrush. The news is not good: between 2000 and 2014, approximately 190 square miles of potential Bicknell's Thrush habitat were cleared in the Dominican Republic alone, including land within protected areas such as Parque Nacional Sierra de Bahoruco. During that same period, about 48 square miles of potential thrush habitat were lost to deforestation in Haiti. Although Haiti's forest loss was less extensive, the situation there is arguably more dire given the widespread deforestation which had occurred prior to 2000. VCE has joined other conservation biologists from across the hemisphere in the International Bicknell's Thrush Conservation Group to help reverse this alarming trend. Learn more and view a map of forest loss on our blog.

It was a banner year for Common Loons breeding in Vermont. Volunteers helped us monitor 93 nesting pairs around the state, a record number since monitoring began four decades ago. Sixty-five pairs successfully hatched 98 chicks, and 80 of these young survived through August. Only one failed nest resulted from human disturbance, a tribute to the education and on-the-ground management that we do. The Canaday Family Charitable Trust and many individual donors provided funding support for over 160 new nest warning signs that were distributed throughout the state in 2015 and 2016. We couldn't do this work without the help of over 280 volunteers and our longtime partner, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped VCE conserve loons! Learn more about our loon conservation work and how you can join us on the VCE web site.