10 VIRGINIA FORESTS First-year seedlings of round-leaf birch (at bottom of photo) and sweet birch (at top) in one of the treated areas bordering progeny population 3. (PHOTO BY TERRY SHARIK, SEPT. 2, 2024) Acknowledgements by the author Conservation and recovery efforts over the past nearly half century would not have been possible without the involvement of numerous individuals and organizations, far too numerous to mention here. Key people currently involved in these efforts include Robert Ford, my former graduate student and colleague; Amarilys Irizarry, Virginia Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Chris Shaw and Brittany Phillips, Mount Rogers National Recreation Area—George Washington/Jefferson National Forests; Keith Tignor, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Kim Shearer, the Morton Arboretum; Vasiliy Lakoba, The American Chestnut Foundation; and Justin Showalter and Butch Shaw, RX Fire Effects. to protect aquatic ecosystems, thereby precluding the most favorable habitat for the regeneration of round-leaf birch, a state endangered and federally threatened tree species. This is a prime example of tradeoffs between conservation efforts. The Future The Virginia round-leaf birch has been in existence for at least a century, with the latter half of that time devoted to its conservation and recovery. While there have been disapointments along the way, there are more individuals in existence today than there were at the time of its rediscovery in 1975 when only 41 individuals were known to exist. Included in this count are the three remaining individuals in the original population, the 824 individuals in the 20 progeny populations, the approximately 864 seedlings originating from planned disturbances bordering one of these progeny populations last fall, 72 trees in the forest reserve at Virginia Tech’s Reynolds Research Station in Critz, Va., and the more than 800 individuals distributed to various botanical gardens, arboreta, nurseries, and academic institutions around the world, and to private citizens. All of this success has gotten us to the point where the species has been downlisted from federally endangered to threatened, and efforts are underway that would result in the species being delisted—the ultimate goal of the Round-leaf Birch Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act. Reaching this final goal will require a considerable amount of funding and in-kind contributions from various sources, which is far from a given. As in the past, volunteerism and collaboration will likely play an important role. Readers who may be interested in contributing in some way, be it helping with data collection, identifying possible sources of funding, writing proposals to secure this funding, or publishing the results from this funding, etc., may contact the author by email at [email protected]. References Cited Ashe, W.W. 1918. “Notes on Betula. Rhodora” 20:63-64. Ogle, D.W. and P. M. Mazzeo. 1976. “Betula uber, the Virginia round-leaf birch, rediscovered in southwest Virginia.” Castanea 41:248-256. Sharik, T.L. 1982. “Virginia round-leaf birch recovery plan.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5, Newton Corner, MA. Sharik, T.L., P.P. Feret, and R.W. Dyer. 1990. “Recovery of the endangered Virginia round-leaf birch (Betula uber): A decade of effort.” Pp. 185-188 In R.S. Mitchell, C.J. Sheviak, and D.J. Leopold (eds.) Ecosystem Management: Rare Species and Significant Habitats. Proc. 15th Ann. Natural Areas Conference, June 6-9, 1990. New York State Museum Bulletin 471. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ item/228053#page/199/mode/1up. Sharik, T. L. 1990. “Virginia round-leaf birch (Betula uber) revised recovery plan:” (Original approved March 3, 1982; revision approved September 1985). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5, Newton Corner, MA. 28 p. Approved September 24, 1990. https://www.fs.usda.gov/ wildflowers/Rare_Plants/profiles/TEP/betula_uber/index.shtml. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1986. “Virginia round-leaf birch recovery plan:” (Original approval March 3, 1982). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5, Newton Corner, MA. 28 p. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2020. “Virginia round-leaf birch (Betula uber) 5-year review: Summary and evaluation.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Virginia Field Office, Gloucester, VA. Terry Sharik is emeritus professor and dean in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University. He joined the faculty of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources at Virginia Tech in December of 1975, four months after the rediscovery of the Virginia roundleaf birch, having recently completed his Ph.D. research at the University of Michigan on the ecological genetics of the darkbarked tree birches in the Appalachians. He became involved in the recovery of the species from the start, in the spring of 1976, and served as the founding chair of the Betula uber (Virginia Round-leaf Birch) Protection, Management, and Research Coordinating Committee, and in 1982 authored the initial version of the Recovery Plan, the first such plan for an endangered plant species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Dr. Sharik now resides in southeastern Michigan and since 2021 has traveled to Sugar Grove, Va., two to four times yearly to continue recovery efforts. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
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