Dana Bradshaw recognized for commitment to woodpecker recovery

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Published by Center for Conservation Biology at September 11, 2015

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Dana Bradshaw began work with the red-cockaded woodpecker in the fall of 1980 as a graduate student working under Mitchell Byrd in the biology department at the College of William and Mary. Having grown up in the heart of the species range in Virginia, Dana would bring a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to the work. The woodpecker had been classified as federally endangered and Virginia represented the northern edge of the species’ range. His thesis focused on foraging and home range requirements, topics that would later inform critical components of the state’s recovery strategy. But Dana’s enthusiasm for the woodpecker and commitment to its recovery would not end with his graduate work.

Dana Bradshaw with a brood of woodpeckers within the Piney Grove Preserve. Photo by Bryan Watts.

Dana would move on from graduate work to become the first biologist within the newly formed non-game program within the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries. Among other responsibilities, Dana would oversee red-cockaded woodpecker monitoring and management. He would later leave the agency to become a biologist and then a research associate within CCB. Despite working with many species and in many capacities, Dana continues to be one of the most consistent and knowledgeable voices for woodpecker recovery in Virginia.

Brood of red-cockaded woodpeckers within Piney Grove Preserve. Photo by Bryan Watts.

Recently, in recognition of 35 years of commitment to the recovery of the red-cockaded woodpecker, CCB presented Dana with a framed photo. The photo, taken by John DiGiorgio within The Nature Conservancy’s Piney Grove Preserve, depicts a milestone event within the decades-long effort to recover the Virginia population. The bird, a female from North Carolina, was the first to breed in the state after having been brought in from another population. The translocation program was a successful management strategy that helped to reverse the population decline.