2024 Biodiversity Conservation Grant

This project aims to enhance the grasslands of Freshkills Park in Staten Island, New York City, over one year, with the goal of reintroducing the regal fritillary butterfly, which has seen its habitat decline significantly and requires focused conservation efforts to ensure its survival. Freshkills Park is recognized as potentially the only suitable area in New York for regal fritillaries, offering a blend of protected grasslands and accessible public viewing locations.

 
Program staff will modify the existing 1000-acre habitat to support the re-introduction of regal fritillaries by planting preferred host plants like native violets and nectaring plants like eastern milkweed. The community will be engaged through a new K-12 and college-level curriculum on regal fritillary butterflies coupled with extensive volunteer involvement in planting and invasive species removal.
  
Volunteers will lead planting and invasive species removal efforts, potentially earning coursework credits in biodiversity monitoring. The project aims to foster stewardship of natural areas and raise awareness about the vital role of pollinators in human society and biodiversity conservation, particularly in a community park that was once the world's largest landfill. 

The goal of this project is to engage the community in critical monarch habitat expansion along 20 miles of the Salmon River corridor. The project site falls within the Salmon River Breaks Project Area, an 11,000-acre tract that has been treated with prescribed burns, mechanical thinning, and noxious weed removal for the last 13 years. 

Salmon Valley Stewardship (SVS) volunteers will make and plant seedballs, which are essential to reseeding the rocky, steep terrain and shallow soils of the river valley, in addition to hand-pulling invasive plants and planting milkweed and other native pollinator-friendly plants along the 20-mile corridor. This work will directly improve 1,625 acres of pollinator habitat—about twice the area of Central Park in New York City. 

In addition, the project provides a unique service-learning opportunity with the Salmon High School natural resources class, who will travel to the project sites and spend time with SVS staff learning about plant and pollinator identification and helping with habitat restoration through seedball application. Funding will also support four college internship positions and reach approximately 150 individuals through education and outreach opportunities. 

This project seeks to improve biodiversity and protect native pollinator species in Kentucky's Bluegrass Region through strategic invasive species management and habitat restoration efforts at Blue Licks State Nature Preserve, Short's Goldenrod State Nature Preserve, and Kentucky River Palisades/Tom Dorman State Nature Preserves.

The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP) will use prescribed burns, mechanical removal, and chemical treatment to target invasive species across approximately 560 acres, creating or restoring habitat patches with diverse native plants crucial for pollinator food and shelter. These efforts are complemented by educational and outreach initiatives, including workshops at institutions like the University of Kentucky, aimed at engaging hundreds of participants in native flora and fauna education, invasive species eradication, and pollinator propagation.

Volunteer training sessions at state parks, including four hands-on workshops, will equip approximately 100 volunteers and Preserve staff with essential skills for habitat restoration and invasive species management. These activities aim to empower community members, park staff, and conservation professionals to sustainably manage pollinator habitats, contributing to the long-term conservation of biodiversity in the region.