Press release from N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission:
A Haywood County man is the latest recipient of the Lawrence G. Diedrick Small Game Award. The award, which recognizes individuals whose contributions aid wildlife that depend on early successional habitats, is presented annually by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
David Palmer received the award at the Commission’s board meeting on Thursday. The Palmer family has owned a large parcel of land in the northeast corner of Haywood County since 1913. The land was used to raise cattle and sheep until the late 1980s. After removing the livestock from portions of the property, the family continued to maintain early successional habitat for wildlife by controlling the growth of trees through various practices including prescribed burning, which maintains and enhances critical habitat for declining and high priority species.
Palmer was commended for his participation in the Community Protection Program with the N.C. Forest Service and for providing land management training opportunities to students from Haywood County Community College’s forestry and wildlife programs. His actions significantly and positively impacted the local population of two high priority species— the golden-winged warbler and the elk. The warbler, which has been spotted on Palmer’s property, is listed as a Special Concern species as their populations have declined more than 90% throughout the Appalachian mountains. Additionally, Palmer’s management of the property provides additional habitat for elk that were introduced in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in 2001.
Other species that have been seen on the property include black bear, cotton-tailed rabbit, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail, mourning dove, indigo bunting, hooded warbler, eastern towhee, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, field sparrow, song sparrow, chestnut-sided warbler, least flycatcher, common yellow-throat, Carolina chickadee, brown thrasher, red-eyed vireo, yellow-breasted chat, gray catbird, and red-tailed hawk.
The award is named for the late Larry Diedrick, a lawyer and wildlife commissioner from Rocky Mount who passed away in 2002. Diedrick was a passionate small game hunter and strong conservation advocate throughout his lifetime.
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