Roughly 3.4 million gallons of maple syrup are produced in the US each year, 74% of which comes solely from the sugarbushes of Vermont, New York, and Maine. These sugarbushes (forests utilized for syrup production) aren’t just vital for our breakfast table – they provide essential nesting habitat for some of our most threatened songbirds. 

Through the Bird-Friendly Maple Project, Audubon promotes sugarbush management practices that support birds, forest health, and sustainable maple sap production and certifies maple producers for improving habitat quality. 

Steve Hagenbuch is a Senior Conservation Biologist and forester with Audubon Vermont's Healthy Forests Initiative. In this position, he works with private landowners, municipalities, and other conservation partners to promote management activities that will enhance the health of forestland for priority bird species.

This presentation will cover:

• What birds can be found nesting in maple sugarbushes.
• What attributes make a maple sugarbush “bird-friendly”.
• How to recognize bird friendly maple and where to find it.