Wildlife Management in Woodlands
Enhance your wildlife habitat through appropriate
forest management
Futurewood Corp.’s professional foresters can help you design forest
management plans to enhance the habitat for wildlife. If your goal is
to provide the most benefit to wildlife, you should strive to create as
many different kinds of wildlife habitat on your woodland as fits the
soil and topography of the forest land.
Forest structure is what determines both the quantity and quality of wildlife habitat. Your forest is composed of layers or tiers, from the ground to shrubs, small trees and large trees. Each provides food and cover for different kinds of wildlife. The kind of layer appears to determine the kind of wildlife present. The more of these layers present within the various areas of your forest land, or adjacent patches of forest, the greater the potential for more kinds of wildlife. Forest management techniques and strategies are used to plan and create variety within the forests.
Timber harvests can help you create the different layers in your forest lands. Cutover forests often contain densely packed seedlings which provide browse and cover for some ground birds and animals, such as ruffed grouse and deer. As the forest ages, there is less access to sunlight for young saplings to survive and the forest is home to different animals and birds who make nests in the higher branches. In mature forests, the trees make a canopy over the ground and block most of the sunlight, creating the right environment for still different creatures.
Our professional foresters can use their knowledge of sound forest science to help you optimize your woodlands for wildlife. In the northwoods of Wisconsin, a vast array of wildlife make their home in our forests.
Mammals
Mammals which may be found in the various forest types in our region include:
red or gray squirrels, porcupines, chipmunks, flying squirrels and bats,
white-tailed deer, black bear, red fox, fishers, timber wolves, pine marten,
snowshoe hares and cottontail rabbits, opossums, porcupines, timber wolves
and woodchucks. Skunks, otters and muskrats may be found near ponds.
Birds
Birds in this habitat include several varieties of hawks, ravens, vireos
grosbeaks, chickadees, grouse, sparrows, thrushes, warblers, pine siskins,
brown creepers, scarlet tanagers and purple finches. You will also find
nuthatches, whip-poor-wills, flycatchers, pileated and downy woodpeckers,
wrens, redstarts and ruffed grouse make their home here. Other birds found
here include wild turkeys, cardinals, jays, northern orioles, robins,
flickers, screech owls, great horned owls, barred owls, hummingbirds.
Around ponds and lakes you will find wood ducks and mallards, green or
blue winged teal or black ducks and red-winged blackbirds.
Observing and Monitoring Wildlife
on Your Forest Land
Birds and animals can be identified by sight or sound. You’ll want
to learn to recognize the different birds, animals and frogs by their
calls, their tracks as well as by sight if you choose to observe wildlife
on your forest land. You can obtain great enjoyment by inventorying and
monitoring your wildlife. There are several resources to help you, from
recording birds who visit your bird feeder to birding surveys and a predator
scent post survey. We can help you transform roads for harvesting operations
to recreational trails to enhance your wildlife viewing opportunities.
Deer, Grouse and Elk
Deer and elk use open areas (fields and grasslands) as a food source and
bedding area during the warmer months. As the temperature drops and snow
depth increases, deer move to wintering areas, such as low areas where
conifers are present. Deer will commonly feed on clover, acorns and other
herbaceous plants during the growing seasons. In winter, deer become browsers,
feeding on buds, twigs, including new growth of young trees that occur
after a harvest. Similarly, grouse feed up to reach the buds and twigs
and need protection from the cover of think saplings, such as aspen or
jack pine. For deer and grouse, a mix of open areas and sheltered pine
forests are optimal for their habitat.
Waterfowl and Fish
Our professional foresters maintain their commitment to Best Management
Practices for Water Quality. Our harvest sites have been used for field
tours to educate citizens and professional loggers about best practices.
Whether for loons and herons, songbirds, water fowl or fish, clean water
is essential. We’ll help you plan for a buffer zone around the shoreline.
All the roads created will have proper grading and ditching to prevent
erosion which ensures long lasting trails for your personal use. We use
winter harvesting times to cross sensitive wetland areas.
Resources for Wildlife Information
Wildlife and Your Land. Bureau of Wildlife Management, Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources. Post Office Box 7921, Madison, WI. 53707-2000. PUBL-WM-294-00
This publication includes detailed information about forests and wildlife
and has an appendix of monitoring survey and record forms for your personal
use.
Breeding Bird Survey, North American Breeding Bird Survey. To contact
the Wisconsin coordinator, go to: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/
Game Bird Brood Survey or Team Deer Summer Deer Survey, Surveys &
Databases, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Integrated
Science Services, 1350 Femrite Drive, Monona, WI. 53716
