1. Working together for mutual benefits Jeffrey Taverner, PLB Southwest Region AGFC 2. 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. 3. 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 4. 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. 5. 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 6. 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 7. Regeneration Thinning Rotation age Herbicide application Burn regime 8. 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. 9. 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. 10. When Europeans arrived to tame the state, they found a network of prairies, savannas and woodlands. 11. Present Condition Forests Clearcut 12. 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. 13. 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. 14. 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. 15. 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 16. 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. 17. 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 18. > 90 BA 70-90 BA 50-70 BA < 50 BA 19. Uniform plantations provide limited diversity The more species available, the more wildlife that can utilize it. How do we create diversity? 20. Encourage existing vegetation Honeysuckle Persimmon Greenbrier Oak species Fruit trees 21. 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 22. 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 23. 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. 24. 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 25. AGFC Private Lands Division 9 PLBs 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.