Wildlife habitat is the sum of the environmental factors -
food, water, cover, and their spatial distribution - that a given species
needs to survive and reproduce in a given area. Wildlife management
serves to increase desirable wildlife populations and to decrease nuisance
wildlife through well planned habitat manipulations.
Wildlife management can be intended for an
individual
species or a small group of species that have similar habitat
requirements.
American
Woodcock
You are next to a small pond on the
edge of a field that has succeeded to small shrubs, mainly dogwoods and
honeysuckles. Is this good wildlife habitat? That's a loaded
question that really can not be answered as presented. The
complexities of individual wildlife needs can not be represented by such a
generic question. The true
question is, is this area a good habitat, or component of a habitat, for
the gray fox, white
tailed deer, blue-winged
warbler, yellow warbler,
great blue heron, and
the
American
woodcock? The answer to this
question is yes!
Most of these species require or prefer to have an old field with small
shrubs or a pond as a component of their habitats.
The most important question a landowner must ask when trying to manage for
a particular species is, what are the limiting factors? As mentioned
earlier, limiting factors for a habitat include food, water, cover, and
space. Secondary factors can be determined by looking at these in more
detail. Some secondary factors that make up a habitat include
horizontal diversity (forest edges, fields, mixed forests, etc.), vertical
diversity (ground cover, understory, and canopy), plant community composition
(i.e. beech, hemlock, birch), and travel corridors from one limiting factor to
another.
Proper timber
management and wildlife management go hand and hand. Landowners
can actively
manage for wildlife species by planting appropriate species of
plants, creating open areas, prescribing harvest practices that will
increase a forest's structural diversity (horizontal and vertical),
and restoring wetlands. Some passive ways a landowner
can manage
for wildlife are building
"bunny
condos" (brush piles), increasing the number of dead,
standing
trees (girdling the trees), and by leaving
downed logs on the ground. When harvesting timber, it is desirable to
leave dead trees, also known as cull trees or snags, standing. Many
species of wildlife require dead, standing trees for shelter and
food. Once these trees are removed, it can take many years for them
to be replenished. Dead trees with cavities are most important
because they directly provide shelter for cavity nesting birds, some small
mammals, and even some reptiles.
Downed logs, considered waste by many people, are used heavily by many
wildlife species. The next time you are in the forest, examine a decaying
log and see what you find.
