The eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis )is the most endangered bird in the Northeast region of the U.S. and along the Atlantic Coast.  Populations have declined by 85% in the Northeast since 1992 and have reached dangerously low levels.  Black Rails now breed in only a dozen or fewer locations per state within its breeding range.  It is unlikely that Black Rails will persist in the Northeast without timely and appropriate conservation actions.  Funds from this grant will be used to partially support the creation of a Status Assessment and Conservation Action Plan for the Black Rail across the Northeast planning region.  Specifically, the funds will partially support a project facilitator that will provide the value-added synthesis for information resources gathered, facilitate the collection of information from an established consortium of agencies, biologists, academic institutions, and land managers of the Eastern Black Rail Conservation and Management Working Group and to construct the action items needed for a successful conservation campaign.   The funds will also support a workshop for members of the working group and other interested persons to take an active part in creating the documents.  The final products include a Status Assessment report.

UPDATE (Nov 2016)

This project is complete and the final report provided below