--- title: "Spring Migration: How Your Forest Can Preserve Wildlife Biodiversity" description: Learn about the animals that rely on forests for annual migrations and how LandYield’s carbon credit program can help you preserve wildlife. image: https://blog.landyield.com/hubfs/11.26%203.png --- ![3-lines](https://blog.landyield.com/hubfs/Landyield_August2023/3-lines.svg) Read about our launch in WSJ [Read Now](https://www.wsj.com/articles/carbon-offset-market-opens-to-small-southern-timberland-owners-2bb4de17?mod=rss_markets_main) [![LandYield](https://blog.landyield.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Landyield_August2023/LandYield.png?width=1784&height=139&name=LandYield.png "LandYield")](https://landyield.com/) - [Home](https://landyield.com/) - [Landowner Benefits](https://landyield.com/landowner-benefits/) - [Program Details](https://landyield.com/program-details/) - [Why LandYield?](https://landyield.com/why-landyield/) - [FAQ](https://landyield.com/faq/) - [Contact](https://landyield.com/contact/) - [Get Started](https://landyield.com/get-started/) # Spring Migration: How Your Forest Can Preserve Wildlife Biodiversity June 17, 2025 Read time: 3 mins [Grace Buie](https://blog.landyield.com/author/grace-buie) With the return of warmer weather to the eastern United States, billions of animals are making their way north on their annual spring migration. From Blackpoll Warblers traveling 5,000 miles, to Spotted Salamanders who may only travel a few yards, protected forests across the eastern US are vital to the survival of these species. ## How Do Protected Forests Benefit Spring Migrators? ### Migratory Birds and Stopover Sites Each spring, [3.5 billion birds](https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2018/09/more-4-billion-birds-stream-overhead-during-fall-migration) migrate northward, from wintering grounds in Central and South America to their summer homes in the United States and Canada. These birds are dependent on deciduous forests across the East Coast as stopover destinations on these long flights. Almost [10% of all migratory birds depend on stopover “hotspots”](https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01583-X) like the Tennessee River gorge to rest, feed, and recover along their long migrations. Hotspots are frequently pockets of deciduous forest with high forest cover surrounded by developed areas with low forest cover. These hotspots are vital to a migratory bird’s ability to safely reach their northern breeding grounds. ### Why Land Conservation is Important to Birds Migratory bird populations in the United States have declined by [approximately 28.3% since 1970, representing a loss of over 2.5 billion birds](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaw1313). Much of this is driven by habitat fragmentation, destruction, and degradation. With only [1/3 of migratory hotspots classified as protected areas](https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)01583-X), protecting these important habitats has become vital to protecting these migratory bird species. ### Salamanders and Bats in Natural Forest Habitats  While birds may have the most visible migrations, other animals across the East Coast are also on the move as warmer weather approaches. As spring rains warm, Spotted Salamanders emerge under the cover of night from their usual hunting grounds 6ft below the surface to migrate to vernal pools where they will lay eggs before retreating underground. These salamanders are dependent on contiguous, diverse forest habitat to meet their habitat needs.  Tree bats also migrate up the East Coast under the cover of darkness. Unlike bats that wait out the cold weather in hibernacula, many tree bats migrate to the southern end of their range in the winter and move back north to breed in the spring and summer. While habitat preference varies by bat species, common tree bat species such as the [eastern red bat](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232689869_Roost-site_Selection_by_Eastern_Red_Bats_Lasiurus_borealis) and [northern yellow bat](https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.21843) prefer to roost in large, mature hardwoods. Habitat loss and fragmentation is a [major threat](https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.15225) to tree bats that rely on mature tree stands to roost and feed. ## Protect Your Private Forest Land with LandYield [LandYield’s forest carbon program](https://landyield.com/program-details/) can be a vital tool in helping small, private landowners conserve their mature forest stands and maintain vital habitats for spring migrators. By providing a long-term source of income, forest owners can maintain and conserve their property for future generations of humans and wildlife. Learn about all of the program’s [landowner benefits](https://landyield.com/landowner-benefits/). 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