Recovery Champions: Recognizing Christopher Ludwig
Every year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service celebrates the contributions and achievements of our nationally recognized Recovery Champions. These dedicated individuals have devoted themselves to recovering endangered and threatened animals and plants.
Christopher Ludwig has been selected as a 2019 Recovery Champion for the Fish and Wildlife Service North Atlantic-Appalachian Region for his efforts in Virginia. Ludwig is the retired chief biologist at the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Division of Natural Heritage and is widely recognized for coauthoring the “Flora of Virginia,” assisting in developing a world class Natural Area Preserve System, and completing natural heritage inventories across the state.
The “Flora of Virginia” story began in the 1990s, when Ludwig and many others realized the dire need for a resource that cataloged plant species in Virginia. Ludwig helped create a non-profit called The Flora Project Foundation and raised $1.7 million through donors and partners to create the book. After 12 years, “Flora of Virginia” was completed and totaled an astounding 1,500 pages and described 3,164 species with photos and illustrations.
“After the book was published, we decided the Flora App would be a driving force in getting younger folks into botany,” Ludwig said. “The coolest feature is the graphic key that helps narrow down your plant search by asking questions about location, leaf patterns, and more. We see both the book and the app as a key educational tool for students.”
“Flora of Virginia” is in its second printing run with over 5,000 volumes sold and the app sales have exceeded 2,500. While small updates are pushed through the app frequently, a major revision of the book, including 180 new species, will be sent out at the end of 2020.
Ludwig also developed key conservation information layers used to support and expand the Natural Heritage Program’s Natural Area Preserves System. Since the first preserve came on line in 1989, the system has grown to sixty four dedicated natural areas totaling 57,858 acres. These support 750 rare species and significant natural community occurrences, including conservation areas for many populations of federally threatened and endangered species.
“As the botanist for the Virginia Heritage Program, I got to look for and identify many natural areas that have since been protected,” Ludwig said. “At three sites, I discovered that the federally endangered smooth coneflower thrived. That was an exciting find.”
A lot of Ludwig’s work focused on the shale barren rock cress, a perennial wildflower endemic to the shale barrens in a small region of Virginia and West Virginia. It was federally –listed as endangered in the late 1980s.
“The coolest project was getting to use aerial photographs of George Washington National Forest to find these shale barrens,” he said. “With funding from the Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we were able to find more than 30 new populations for this listed plant, more than doubling the known Virginia populations of the species and re-shaped the information and the species recovery plan efforts.”
By adding to known populations of the shale barren rock cress, Ludwig and his colleagues uncovered information about other species. “One of the other cool things about those barrens is that they are a unique habitat and you often find many of endemic species living there. Currently, researchers are looking at the native bees,” he said. “What I found most rewarding with my time at Virginia Natural Heritage was gathering a tremendous amount of data on the biodiversity of Virginia. Not only did I get to conduct field work on plants, but I worked on many animal groups including moths, butterflies, birds, and more.”
Ludwig pointed out that this information is shared with conservation organizations and agencies that use the information for biodiversity conservation. This includes the Service, USDA Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, as well as the Virginia endangered species agencies.
“The folks of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are a key partner in protecting the biodiversity here in Virginia,” Ludwig said. “We have a lot of species to protect, and their small office in Gloucester gets a lot of work done responding to projects in the state and maintaining these threatened and endangered species.”
“It was a lot of fun work and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
The piping plover team at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge were also recipients of the 2019 Recovery Champion Award. Read their story here.
The Recovery Champion awards began in 2002 as a one-time recognition for Service staff members for their achievements in conserving listed species. However, in 2007 the program was expanded to honor Service partners as well, recognizing their essential role in the recovery of threatened and endangered species.
For photos and information about the 2019 Recovery Champions, please visit: https://www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/recovery-champions/index.html
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information about our work and the people who make it happen, visit https://www.fws.gov/northeast/ or connect with us via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.