forestry for wildlife

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FOREST STEWARDSHIP

FORESTRY FOR WILDLIFE

How can we be good stewards of wildlife??

By creating a stewardship plan that: • Considers all components of

the forest, regardless of one’s objectives.

• Balances maximizing one’s objectives while minimizing negative impacts on other components of the forest.

Recognize the interdependency of various plant and animal species.

One of the most visible and integral components of the forest, next to trees, is its wildlife.

Stewardship management of a working forest should incorporate wildlife needs into harvesting plans.

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SPECIFIC ISSUESBenefits and NeedsForestry PracticesForest Succession Planning

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WILDLIFE BENEFITS & NEEDS

Wildlife benefits people through its aesthetic and recreational opportunities, such as observing

Wildlife benefits the forest by burying or dropping nuts, which helps plant regeneration

Birds also disperse seed through their droppings

Mammals such as moles and groundhogs turn over the soil and recycle nutrients

Worm also do this on a smaller scale

Birds and bats also help control insects

In exchange, the forest provides wildlife with food…

…and water…

..and with cover and habitat.

Different animal species need and use different levels of the forest.

Think of it as “Vertical diversity”:• Forest Floor•Mid-canopy• Tree tops

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FORESTRY PRACTICES FOR WILDLIFE

Before you establish management plans, view your land in the context of the surrounding (regional) landscape. This will help you:

Before you plan…

• See what habitat elements are missing in the landscape.

• Avoid creating “habitat islands” (forest fragmentation).

• Maintain wildlife corridors between similar habitat types.

Identify and protect sensitive habitats, such as vernal ponds, streams and spring seeps, cliffs and caves.

It is best to avoid timber harvesting activities in these areas.

If there is little evergreen cover in your area, you might want to plant conifers.

If there are no herbaceous openings in your area, you might want to create one through timber harvesting.• A clear-cut is an effective way to create

a herbaceous opening.• Cavity trees and standing deadwood

are left for wildlife nesting and food sources.

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FOOD

Provide a variety of trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous plants.

Provide different kinds of food at different times of the year.

If one crop fails, another can help fill the gap.

Encourage plants that produce nuts or fleshy fruits of high nutritional value.

Cleaning up all the natural debris after a timber harvest is

not a good idea.

Rotting logs, stumps, standing deadwood

become cafeterias for insectivorous

wildlife.

Downed woody materials and low-growing plants provide habitat for amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals…

… which, in turn, are food sources for carnivorous species (hawks, owls, foxes, snakes, etc.)

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COVER

Wildlife needs cover for breeding, for rearing young, and for protection against predators and bad weather.

One type of cover missing in many Pennsylvania forests is the mid-canopy.When harvesting, thinning, or cutting firewood, try to leave some of the shorter suppressed trees that add to the mid-canopy.

Some types of cover you can incorporate or retain that benefit many wildlife species all year long.

These include:needle and broadleaf evergreens,brush piles,cavities (in living or dead trees),

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SPACE

Different species have different space requirements, both in terms of type and size.

Horizontal Diversity means creating gradual transitions from grassy to brushy to mature forest, which provide more habitat diversity…

as opposed to this abrupt edge

Herbaceous openings provide travel and escape for smaller animals.

They also offer food sources such as insects and flowering/fruiting plants

Courtesy of Carl Martin

Brushy areas provide breeding sites and cover for songbirds, game birds (woodcock, grouse), larger mammals such as white-tailed deer.

And they have food sources: browse and soft mast (vegetation, berries).

Courtesy of Carl Martin

Courtesy of Carl Martin

Mature forests are necessary for:

• Birds that nest and feed in the upper canopy.

• Cavity-nesting birds and mammals

• Some ground-nesting birds.

• Food – seeds, hard mast (nuts).

Forest fragmentation hurts those species that need continuous areas of forest The size requirements vary with species.

Goshawks, for example, require large, unbroken home ranges

Salamanders, which have a smaller home range – can’t cross “hostile” terrain such as roads, clear-cuts, or crop fields.

They require a continuous, unbroken range.

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Forest fragmentation leads to unsuccessful competition between migratory songbirds (such as this Scarlet Tanager) and birds that inhabit forest edges.

Other species use a combination of habitat types.Different areas are used at different times of the year, depending on food, breeding, and cover needs.They can benefit from diverse edges or transition zones.

For example, wild turkeys:

• spring and summer – herbaceous plants, seeds, insects in forest clearings.• fall – fruits and nuts from deeper

in forest.• winter – leftovers from autumn,

plants and insects in warmer, spring seep areas.

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WATER

Think about all types of water sources:Streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds,…

…forested wetlands,…

…and spring seeps.

Good forestry practices protect water sources:

Maintain buffer zones near streams, wetlands, springs.• never less than 50 feet – sometimes more required by law.• retain at least 50% basal area of trees in buffer zones.• no machine entry.

Establish vegetation for soil stabilization, shading.• vegetation also provides added food, cover, breeding sites.

Forested wetlands are especially important.

• They offer highly productive and diverse environments for plants and animals.

• They are also breeding ground for many invertebrates and amphibians.

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Northern Pickerel Frog

Wetlands provide food, water, and nesting for birds

Some of these include:•woodcock • red-shouldered hawks •barred owls•Herons, • red-winged black birds (at right)

•many species of waterfowl

Small mammals use wetlands and also serve as a food source for larger mammals, hawks, and owls.

Wetlands are home to mammals such as mink, weasel, raccoon, and beaver.

They also support black bear and deer.

Wetlands and spring seeps often remain open even during coldest months (or at least stay open longer and thaw sooner) than the surrounding forest.

This is essential for wildlife survival during winter.

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WILDLIFE & SUCCESSION

A healthy forest evolves through several stages.

It begins with herbaceous plants…

…gets ‘shrubby’…

..which leads to saplings,….

..and finally mature trees.

As the forest changes,

The wildlife community changes.

Some species are ‘specialists’ who use only one stage of the forest.Some examples:•Bluebirds use open areas.•Pileated woodpeckers use

more mature forests.

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Other species are ‘generalists’ that can use a wider range of habitat.

Raccoons, for example, use everything from suburban backyards to mature forest.

Consider specialists and their specific needs in forest management plans.

Generalists adapt better to changes in their environment.

But they can adapt so well that they become a problem!

Uncontrolled deer populations can degrade forest.

• They inhibit plant regeneration.

• They decrease habitat availability for other species.

Too many deer leads to over browsing on selected species, which in turn leads to loss of floral diversity. This results in the following:• fewer species (deer

concentrate on their preferred plants).• loss of mid-canopy

vegetation (which is as high as deer can reach).

This, in turn, affects wildlife that depend on the vegetation for breeding sites, cover, and food.

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PLANNING FOR WILDLIFE

Stewardship practices should take into account the wildlife already present (especially endangered or threatened species).

Good stewardship also considers the surrounding landscape and:• The land’s potential role in

regional diversity (both plants and wildlife).• Its place in the larger context

of wildlife corridors, forest fragmentation, and its watershed.

Base forestry plans on the wildlife species you want to encourage (both individual species or groups of species with similar requirements).

This requires knowledge of species’ breeding and food habits.

Want to attract the an Alder Flycatcher, for example?• Leave trees with cavities;

minimize edges.

Plan to encourage Ruffed Grouse?• Need brushy areas, as well as mature forest

with fruits and berries in its understory, and dense stands of saplings for brood cover.

Yellow throated vireo

Want migratory songbirds?• Ensure that you maintain a

continuous forest with mid-canopy growth

Do you love Wood Ducks?• Preserve forested wetlands

Knowledgeable foresters and wildlife specialists will work with you to conduct a forest inventory. From this, you can:• Make decisions that

balance harvesting practices with wildlife needs.• Plan for the long term

to maximize your wildlife objectives.

Courtesy of Carl Martin PAFS

For More Information…

In Pennsylvania, you can get in touch with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

They have six Regional Wildlife Diversity Biologists whose primary job is to work with private landowners to enhance wildlife habitat on their land.