Are conservationists making progress in helping bring the woodcock back?

Partners carrying out the Woodcock Management Plan have begun to halt the rangewide woodcock population decline by making habitat throughout the Northeast and the Northcentral states over the last decade. Dan McAuley, a woodcock biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, says, "Based on Singing Ground Survey data, we've seen no decline during the last 10 to 12 years. Through several telemetry monitoring studies, we've observed a dramatic increase in woodcock numbers in areas where habitat is actively being created."