Virginia Population

Population Management

Threatened & Endangered : Piping Plovers

The piping plover is a small shorebird that requires open, sandy beaches for nesting. By 1900 this species was near extinction primarily due to unregulated market hunting. Protection under The Migratory Bird Treaty Act allowed for a short recovery period that peaked in the 1930's. Since 1945, populations have been in decline due to habitat loss, human disturbance, and an increase in nest predation. In 1985, breeding populations in Canada and the Great Lakes region were listed as endangered and populations along the Atlantic Coast and the Great Plains were listed as threatened under The Endangered Species Act. Although piping plovers breed along the Atlantic Coast south to the Carolinas, the birds along the Virginia barrier islands represent the most significant southern population.

The Center for Conservation Biology, along with numerous government agencies and non-governmental organizations, has worked with piping plovers since their federal listing in the mid-1980's. The Center conducted the first comprehensive survey of plovers in Virginia in 1986 and continued to monitor the breeding population until the late 1990's. Center staff continue to conduct landscape-scale research on the dynamics of habitat required by this species in Virginia.