Announcing Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley’s 2021 Valley Treasure

Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley (Alliance) is delighted to share that the 2021 Valley Treasure is Dr. Charles Ziegenfus, well known as Professor Zig and often photographed with a wild bird on his arm.

Dr. Charles Ziegenfus, well known as Professor Zig.

The Shenandoah Valley is an extraordinary place with iconic farming landscapes, beautiful streams, world-class public forest lands, and rich cultural history. By awarding a Valley Treasure, the Alliance hoped to recognize an outstanding community member that has done more than their fair share to preserve the things we love about the Shenandoah Valley. This year, multiple folks reached out to let us know Professor Zig fit the bill.

In addition to his professional work teaching field ornithology at JMU, Professor Zig spent decades researching, banding and tracking migrations and populations of dark-eyed juncos, bluebirds and white-crowned sparrows, to name a few. In partnership with Clair Mellinger from EMU at Highland Retreat, he has monitored the migration of the Northern Saw-whet Owl for twenty years. Recently Professor Zig set up several boxes for American kestrels in eastern Rockingham County and engages landowners up and down the Valley to host bird boxes and help with monitoring on their property.

One nominator of Professor Zig shared that she’d “learned more about birds in the brief time I spent with him at a breakfast discussion he led than I had in my whole life,” and another exclaimed that Professor Zig’s “devotion to studying and understanding bird populations is commendable and his willingness to share it even more so.”

On April 28 at 7pm the Alliance is hosting an opportunity to meet Professor Zig via Zoom and hear from Dr. Amy Johnson, Program Director of Virginia Working Landscapes at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute about the important role birds play in our natural landscape. In a 2020 TEDxPearlStreet presentation, Dr. Johnson describes how our landscapes rely on birds. “They pollinate our plants, they eat our agricultural pests, they disperse our seeds, they plant our trees. And through all of these actions, they are constantly replenishing the soil with nutrients, the soil that supports our very livelihoods.” Dr. Amy Johnson’s work focuses on the impacts of conservation and land management on breeding and over-wintering grassland bird communities in Virginia.

Dr. Amy Johnson, Program Director of Virginia Working Landscapes at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

“We are excited to offer this opportunity to hear from both Professor Zig and Dr. Johnson on April 28 about their work and how we can get involved in our back yards or farm fields,” says Alliance Program Director Kim Woodwell. “It was not an easy task to narrow down the excellent nominations we received to choose just one 2021 Valley Treasure, but Professor Zig is certainly deserving.”

Nominations for Valley Treasure were open to anyone in the Shenandoah Valley including landowners, community leaders, community members, natural resource professionals and more. All nominations submitted were reviewed and the 2021 recipient selected by a small committee made up of two Alliance board members, one Alliance staff member and two community members. Valley Treasure winners receive a $500 cash stipend (thanks to a generous donor) to be used in any manner they want so they can continue their good work.

Please go to shenandoahalliance.org to register for the April 28 program or for more information about the Valley Treasure award.

Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley envisions a Shenandoah Valley where our way of life is sustained by rural landscapes, clean streams and rivers, and thriving communities. The Alliance advocates, educates, and connects people to conserve the natural resources, cultural heritage, and rural character of our region.