Tree Farmer - March/April 2008 - (Page 16)

Wildlife Habitat: By Swearingen & KURT An Alternative Forest Management Practice Padilla ROBERTA Photo credit: Jane Hawkey, IAN Image Library (www.ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/) Wildlife is one of the four pillars of Tree Farm management, and is growing in emphasis as more Tree Farms are bought and managed for wildlife benefits. Effectively managing for wildlife requires some understanding of the wildlife species present, their habitat needs, and silvicultural planning concepts. Wildlife management begins with understanding the habitat needs of wildlife and then manipulating the habitat conditions to facilitate certain species population goals — either for overall community diversity or for specific species of interest. This process begins by inventorying the wildlife species present and corresponding habitat conditions and then developing a systems-approach to guide successive habitat treatments over time. The goal of each treatment is to enhance specific habitat conditions, such as openings, and specific elements, such as snags and den trees. Whether you plan to manage for community diversity or for more desirable, emphasis species is a big decision. The latter is often chosen by many Tree Farmers who favor particular wildlife for their sport, commercial, or aesthetic qualities. Which goal, or combination of goals, you adopt could have quite disparate results on your forest management decisions and subsequent treatments. Be clear up-front so that all subsequent stages of planning are effective. food, water, and cover. These factors together make up the habitat. Each species has a specific arrangement of these habitat factors that comprise their “ideal” habitat or niche. In general, wildlife species either have an “edge” niche, where they complete their lifecycle between two cover types, or an “interior” niche, where they prefer one cover type. For example, deer are considered “edge” species, as they feed in openings and bed under trees, while antelope are “interior” species, as they live only in openings. To ensure you are comparing apples with apples, you’ll want to develop a list of the habitat features important to all wildlife of interest to include: • Cover types used • Seasonal use of each cover type • Rearing requirements • Feeding requirements Habitat Suitability What are the habitat requirements of each species? Once you’ve learned which species are present and made your list of emphasis species, you’ll need to understand their relationship to the environment. Wildlife have three basic needs from the environment: 16 Tree Farmer MARCH/APRIL 2008 http://www.ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - March/April 2008

Tree Farmer - March/April 2008
Contents
Cover Story
Timber Talk
Ties to the Land
Habitat: Assess Suitability and Management
2007 North Central Regional Tree Farmer of the Year
Tools & Techniques
Wildlife Matters
Sharing Your Experience

Tree Farmer - March/April 2008