Recent Grants

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

In summer 2007, Confer received  $10,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, as part of a $150,000 grant to support the international effort of the Golden-Winged Warbler Working Group as it tries to sustain population abundance of this declining species. 

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ITHACA COLLEGE RECEIVES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 2004 P3 AWARD

This is a student design competition for sustainability: people, prosperity and the planet. The multi-component $30,000 grant was submitted by student co-authors: Vince Frary (Bio. 2004), Elizabeth Silvia (Environmental Studies 2004), Kristina Plath (Environmental Studies 2005) and Ryan Mauk (Communications 2006), with faculty sponsor John Confer (Environmental Studies) and co-Sponsors Susan Swensen (Biology), Jason Hamilton (Biology), Peter Melcher (Biology) and Rob Porter (Outdoor Recreation).

The grant helps support several initiatives to sustain our natural environment including: A student-managed radio program on Environmental Briefs Studies of the effectiveness of deer enclosure fences on forest regeneration. Development of plans for a proposed wind power tower on the Ithaca College South Hill Assessment of ecological units on South Hill for Education, Research, Conservation, Recreation and Sustainable Yield of Forest Products Management of fire-adapted communities on South Hill Creation of a GIS-based map of the ecosystems and plants on the developed and natural areas of campus and modules for class use.

The award will be formally presented in May on the capital mall in Washington, DC. One of only 66 such awards nationally, this is the preliminary phase of a competition to select a small number of national winners for major support of the development of sustainability initiatives around the world. Student participation in the components of this grant are urgently needed.

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Habitat Management and Avian Diversity on Electric Rights-of-Way on Ithaca College South Hill 

This is a multi-year research award from New York State Electric And Gas Research submitted by Vincent Frary (Bio 2004), Elizabeth Silvia (Environmental Studies 2004) and Dr. John Confer (Coordinator, Environmental Studies).

Electric utilites manage about 150,000 acres of shrubland in New York, about 12 times as much as all other organizations combined. Utility rights-or-way support many declining plants, invertebrates and vertebrates that utilize shrubland habitat. This grant will test if  removal of invasive, non-native shrubs on utility rights-of-way will lead to an increase in avian diversity. During summer 2004, Frary and Silvia surveyed the nesting density and used a GPS system to map the shrub patches and bird territories were mapped with a GIS unit and non-native, invasive shrubs were removed by NYSEG in August. This base line data will be compared   to subsequent surveys, testing for an increase in density of nesting birds.

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John Confer,  and Rob Porter, Therapeutic Recreation and Leisure Services, were awarded a $11,500 grant from the Biodiversity Research Institute of the New York State Museum.  The funding will help employ six students who will census wildlife in Sterling Forest State Park, design trailside kiosks with environmental information, and compile a website for access to the census data.

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John Confer and Rob Porter (Dept. Therapeutic Recreation and Leisure Services) and Michael Rogers (Physices) were funded by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation from the State Wildlife Grant Program (summer 2004-'05). This $60,000 grant will fund the first experimental restoration of  habitat for the Golden-winged Warbler in Sterling Forest State Park. The golden-wing is one of the most rapidly declining vertebrate species in the Northeast. This is the first attempt to restore habitat for this and other shrubland species in a New York state park. Survey areas have been mapped with laser transit by Rogers with assistance of Physics majors. Information about the project will be developed for brochures, trailside signage and newspaper articles by Porter and students in Biology and Environmental Studies.  Wildlife census work will be compiled by Confer with students in Biology, Environmental Studies and Environmental Science.

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John Confer received $14,526 from the NYS Biodiversity Research Institute (and a matching grant from the State Wildlife Grant) for his project entitled, "Hybridzation and habitat selection by Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers".  Both grants provided funding to assess genetic introgression between the declining Golden-winged Warbler and the Blue-winged Warbler. They have provided funding for a 9-week field study with three students in southern New York. Results have already been incorporated in federal studies related to the Endangered Species Act.