ONE Dream

Forests are the dominant type of land cover in the state, covering nearly two-thirds of New York State. Therefore, forests provide habitat (that is, a home) to most of the common wildlife in the state. For wildlife to thrive we must pay attention to the condition of our forests and make sure that they continue to provide habitat for all native forest species, now and into the future. This manual begins to address the question of how we do this.

Unlike other States, hundreds of thousands of individual property owners—most of whom own less than 50 acres—play an important role as stewards of New York’s forest resources and determine the quality of wildlife habitat that exists here.

The purpose of this manual is to show how wildlife is related to different forest conditions in the northern hardwood forests of upstate New York. The manual supplies science-based information about how different methods of timber management (i.e., logging) change wildlife habitats, and how wildlife communities change (and how they may be similar) across different forest conditions. Timber harvesting directly and predictably affects forest conditions and the quality of an area as habitat for certain wildlife. Therefore this manual can be used to predict how a chosen logging practice is likely to affect various kinds of wildlife, or it can be used to select logging practices that are likely to benefit specific types of wildlife.

 

This manual consists of six different parts, described briefly below:

 

Part 1. How are animal communities related to forest conditions?

This part describes how the abundance (number of individuals) and richness (number of species) of certain animal groups change across different forest conditions. This information is based mostly on Audubon New York’s original field research.

 

Part 2. How can I be a better steward of my forestland?

Part 2 discusses the concept of sustainable forest management, looking at how and why forests are commonly mismanaged, and provides landowners with strategies for success. The manual also explains how and why to work with a professional forester when planning to harvest timber on your land.

 

Part 3. How can I enhance wildlife habitat in my forest?

This part describes the features you can add to or encourage in your forest, many of them on a very small scale and regardless of the forest condition, that can enhance wildlife habitat.

 

Part 4. How does my property fit into the bigger landscape?

This part examines how and why to think about how your property fits into the larger landscape surrounding it, and argues for why you should think about wildlife not just on your property but also in terms of the “big picture.”

 

Part 5. How have New York forests changed over time?

Part 5 provides information about the nature and state of forest resources and land-use patterns in New York, from before European settlement, through recent decades up to today.

 

Part 6. Where can I go for further assistance?

This part provides contact information for agencies and organizations that private landowners may use for technical assistance, program information and sources of funding for conservation related management.

 

This manual is based largely on field research that was carried out in upstate New York 5 from 1999-2001 by Audubon New York. The scope of this research was limited to:

 

a) Certain types of wildlife, specifically birds, amphibians and carrion beetles

b) The northern hardwood forest type (i.e., dominated by American beech, yellow birch and sugar and red maples)

c) Extensively forested landscapes of upstate New York. Audubon New York chose the three wildlife groups because these groups play important ecological roles in forest ecosystems. In addition, they are common enough to study easily and thoroughly at a reasonable cost.

 

The research focused on northern hardwoods because this type of forest is most common type throughout the state. Other forest types (e.g., oak-dominated forests or southern hardwoods) are dominant only in about 15% of the state. The research focused on forests in extensively forested landscapes in New York (i.e., areas where forests made up >70% of the land-cover within a 3- mile radius of our sites) because there is a strong relationship between landscape composition and animal communities. For example, many studies from fragmented landscapes, where forests remain only in relatively small or isolated patches, have shown that animal communities tend to be much poorer (e.g., fewer individuals or species) in smaller and more isolated patches than in larger or more-connected patches. Researchers wanted to be able to draw clear conclusions about how forest management affects different species without the possibility of the results being confounded or possibly confused by other factors such as landscape composition.

In reality, many factors determine whether any particular property should be harvested or not, including
landowner objectives, aesthetics, other uses, and legal considerations. This manual does not address those factors but rather provides information about how wildlife may respond to logging.

 

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