Culpeper Basin Important Bird Area Habitat Restoration Project:

A cost-share program to protect wildlife habitat and your watershed.

The Culpeper Basin Important Bird Area
Important Bird Areas (IBA) are sites that provide essential habitat for one or more species of birds. IBAs include sites for breeding, wintering, and/or migrating birds. They may be a few acres or thousands of acres in size and are defined primarily by habitat boundaries. Consequently, IBAs may include public or private lands, or both, and they may be protected or unprotected. There are no regulatory restrictions on
lands that fall within IBAs.

View a larger map of the Culpeper Basin Important Bird Area.

What is the IBA's Mission?
The Culpeper Basin IBA's mission seeks to restore 1,000 acres of land to grass, shrub land and riparian habitat for sensitive bird species along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers. The IBA will use native trees, shrubs and grasses to restore riparian buffers and uplands that will collectively create a corridor of diverse wildlife habitats. The mix of proposed habitats will provide nesting sites, food, and over needs for a number of different birds and other wildlife species. In addition, riparian restoration will improve water quality benefiting not only aquatic species, but also the communities within the watershed.

Primary threats to this area include development and the intensification of farming practices. Suburban development along the I-66 and I-95 corridors has led to an overall fragmentation and loss of habitat for grass and shrubland species as well as the loss of old farm structures that Barn Owls have historically used for nesting. Intensification of farming practices has reduced both the quantity and quality of large blocks of grassy fields that species depend upon for foraging.

Restore Grasslands & Get Cash with the SAFE Program
The State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) program is a practice within the state's cost-share programs that encourages agricultural landowners to restore highly erodible land to vegetative cover. Through SAFE, eligible landowners can receive cost-share benefits, including annual sign-up and rental payments and cost-share assistance for restoring land which can total more than 100% of the cost of restoration. There are many more financial incentives for participating in SAFE. For more information, please reference the Detailed Fact Sheet.

For additional information or questions about the SAFE program, please contact Maggi MacQuilliam, PEC's Land Conservation and Stewardship Coordinator at 540-347-2334 or contact Mary Elfner of the National Audubon Society at 804-788-7660.