Princeton Hydro Wildlife Biologist Mike McGraw Publishes New Research on Regenerative Agriculture and Bird Conservation

We’re excited to announce Senior Wildlife Biologist and Ecologist Mike McGraw, CSE, QAWB, ACE is a co-author of a newly published study in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, a leading journal in agroecological research. The paper, “Is regenerative agriculture for the birds? Outcomes are practice and species specific,” offers fresh insight into how regenerative farming practices affect the abundance and diversity of bird species across working landscapes in the Northern Great Plains of the US and Canada.

The full paper is available for free via an open-access link until January 13. We encourage everyone interested in wildlife conservation, regenerative agriculture, or avian ecology to take advantage of this limited-time access. Click here to read it now.

What the Study Explores

Regenerative agriculture is often heralded as a win-win for soil health, productivity, and biodiversity, but how exactly do these practices affect bird communities? Birds are highly sensitive to agricultural change, and many North American species have experienced significant declines due to intensification of farming practices. The newly published study takes a closer, science-driven look at whether regenerative approaches can help reverse these trends.

Drawing on extensive point counts, distance sampling, and acoustic recording units across agricultural landscapes, the research team examined nine common regenerative practices, including cover cropping, integrating livestock, eliminating tillage, and enhancing field margins. Rather than assuming a blanket benefit, the study asked a nuanced question: Which birds benefit from which practices, and why?

The findings show that:

• Regenerative practices do influence bird density, but the effects are both practice-specific and species-specific.
• Some practices, such as maintaining field margins, integrating livestock, and reducing or eliminating tillage, tended to support higher densities of multiple bird species, including several grassland obligates.
• Birds responded more strongly to on-farm, field-level practices than to broader land-use patterns across the surrounding landscape.
• While regenerative practices can provide important conservation value without removing land from production, they should complement (not replace) grassland preservation and restoration efforts.

This work helps refine what regenerative agriculture can contribute to working-lands conservation and provides actionable, species-specific insights for farmers, land managers, and conservation practitioners.

About the Journal

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment is a leading interdisciplinary journal that publishes high-impact research at the intersection of agroecology, land management, and environmental science. The journal focuses on how agricultural systems function, how they influence the environment, and how environmental change shapes those systems in return. Research featured in this publication is known for being data-rich, hypothesis-driven, and globally relevant.

About the Authors

This publication represents a collaborative effort among a team of researchers dedicated to understanding how regenerative agriculture shapes biodiversity in working landscapes. The authors contributed expertise in avian ecology, agricultural management, statistical analysis, and landscape science, bringing a multi-disciplinary lens to this important study.

Mike J. McGraw, CSE, QAWB, ACE, is a Senior Project Manager, Regulatory and Wildlife and Senior Wildlife Biologist and Ecologist, Regulatory and Wildlife with Princeton Hydro. He has over 20 years of experience designing and conducting ecological assessments and wildlife surveys across the United States and Canada. His work spans compliance-based assessments, regenerative agriculture research, long-term ecological monitoring, and conservation-focused outreach. Mike also teaches Avifaunal Ecology in the MES program at the University of Pennsylvania and serves on several municipal and land trust committees.

In addition to Mike, the paper was co-authored by the following contributors:

• John E. Quinn of Furman University (Lead Author)
• Bryce DelaCourt of Clemson University
• Ry Thompson of Resource Environmental Solutions
• Steven T. Rosenzweig and James O. Eckberg of General Mills
• Jonathan G. Lundgren of Ecdysis Foundation

This publication reflects years of fieldwork, analysis, and collaboration—an accomplishment the entire Princeton Hydro team is proud to celebrate. Though Mike’s work has been published previously, this marks the first time his work appears in print under the Princeton Hydro affiliation, making it a particularly meaningful milestone for all of us.

Join Mike at the “Roots So Deep” Screening & Discussion

In addition to his peer-reviewed work, Mike’s contributions to regenerative agriculture research are featured in “Roots So Deep,” a four-part documentary series about inventive farmers and maverick scientists working to solve climate change with hooves, heart, and soil.

Mike appears throughout the series, including Parts 1 & 4 which will be shown at the Newtown Theatre in Newtown, Pennsylvania, during a special Screening & Discussion event taking place on January 21 at 7pm. Following the film, Mike will join the post-screening panel to take part in the audience Q&A.

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Don’t miss your chance to access Mike’s full article for free through January 13. Explore the study and discover the latest insights into bird conservation and the role of regenerative agriculture. Click here to dive in.

*Photos provided by Mike McGraw, CSE, QAWB, ACE.

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