Wildlife and ForestryWorking together for mutual benefits

Jeffrey Taverner, PLBSouthwest RegionAGFC

Forestry is the art and science of guiding the development of forest stands.

Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting wild plant and animal species and their habitats.

Why Are We Here?

Misconception Sound forest management will create

dynamic habitats that can be modified to meet specific wildlife management objectives

Thinning, harvesting, firebreaks, roads, loading decks, and burning can all benefit wildlife populations and timber production

Wildlife and Forestry Production Don’t Mix

The number of individuals of a species a piece of land can support on a sustained level.

Increasing carrying capacity requires that limiting habitat components be identified and manipulated in a way beneficial to the population.

Carrying Capacity

The limiting factors for wildlife populations are:◦Space/Cover – Area to live in◦Water – For drinking, needed for survival◦Food – Most Important and most limiting

in the majority of areas

Limiting Factors

Deer are browsers◦ Deer walk and nip the most nutritious portions of

plants. Common deer foods

◦ Forbs – desmodium, clovers, non grass herbaceous

◦ Soft Mast – persimmon, beauty berry, etc.◦ Hard mast - Acorns

What Do Deer Eat?

Regeneration Thinning Rotation age Herbicide application Burn regime

Factors Influencing Wildlife Habitat In Forests

1818 journey along White River, MO and AR Ozarks

"One of the greatest inconveniences we experienced (was)… the difficulty of finding… wood and water, both of which are indispensable.”

“It is a level woodless barren covered with wild grass.“

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

Our whole ecosystem, all the plants and animals, are dependent of fire.

Natural fires from lightning.

Thousands of years of fire use by Native Americans.

Fire, A Good Thing!

When Europeans arrived to tame the state, they found a network of prairies, savannas and woodlands.

Settlement

Change Over To The Forests We Have Today

Present Condition

Forests Clearcut

As our forests regrew without regular fire, fires became very severe when they occurred.

We decided that fire was evil and snuffed it out whenever it occurred.

So began the most successful ad campaign in modern history- Smokey Bear.

Fire Removal

After decades of severe wildfires, despite the best fire protection money could buy, we began to wonder if complete fire prevention was a good idea.

Properly used fire is a good thing.

We now set forest fires to prevent wild fires.

We Were Wrong!

Deer benefit from the open conditions and greater availability of food from prescribed fire.

Turkeys flourish on fire-adapted grasses and forbs.

Quail are probably our most fire dependent game species, and rely on the habitat conditions created and maintained by fire.

Knowing What We Know Now.

Densely stocked forests will not yield wildlife benefits after a fire.

Lack of sunlight inhibits regrowth of forbs and woody stems on the forest floor.

Lack of ground cover = no food or cover

Improper Conditions For Wildlife Benefits.

Over stocked stands, over 60 Basal Area, limit understory habitat.

As soon as we remove overstocked trees and burn, we see an immediate response from the seeds in the soil waiting to be released.

Proper Forest Conditions

Provides multiple benefits to land owners.◦Revenue from harvested trees◦Reduces competition for remaining trees

◦Allows light in to the stand to promote vegetative growth

Timber Thinning

> 90 BA 70-90 BA

50-70 BA < 50 BA

Diversity Is Key Uniform plantations provide limited diversity

The more species available, the more wildlife that can utilize it.

How do we create diversity?

Encourage existing vegetation◦ Honeysuckle◦ Persimmon◦ Greenbrier◦ Oak species◦ Fruit trees

Habitat Creation

Edge habitat◦ Transition between open and forested habitat

types

◦ Allows sunlight to filter into the forest interior

◦ Creates cover in the area next to the forest. Wildlife will use the edge as cover before entering

the open

Habitat Creation Cont..

Eventually you will have to clear cut, after all, you can only thin so many times

Clear cuts provide several years of early successional habitat which benefits a plethora of wildlife species

Clear cuts allow managers to plan future forest revenue with wildlife in mind

Clear Cuts, The Good

Intense sight preparation will reduce the diversity of vegetation available for wildlife

Dense plantation spacing reduces the time before the canopy closes, thereby reducing available sunlight for regrowth of the ground vegetation

Try using wider spacing between the rows of trees.

Clear Cuts, The Bad

The majority of pine plantations I have seen, in the 12 years of professional experience, have been intensively sight preped, nuclear wastelands.

When you can see 1 foot tall pine saplings on the other side of an 80 acre plantation, there is nothing out there for wildlife to eat or hide in.◦ We biologists call these Ecological Deserts

Clear Cuts, The Ugly

AGFC Private Lands Division◦ 9 PLB’s across the state◦ Our job is to assist private landowners in wildlife

habitat protection and improvement Assistance is FREE of charge

◦ AGFC charges nothing for our service◦ Property owners are responsible for implementing

the restoration, BUT◦ In some cases there are programs available to off

set the cost, and in some cases cover all the cost.

What Can I Do, Who Can Help

Questions?