By flooding lowlands, beavers create important habitat for amphibians, swallows, woodpeckers, moose, bats and fish. They can also damage roadways and timber. Beavers are one of 23 creatures considered in Focus Species Forestry.
'Focus Species Forestry' simplifies
task of managing woods for wildlife
By Andrew Kekacs
"The land is one organism," wrote pioneering ecologist and author Aldo Leopold. "Its parts, like our own parts, compete with each other and cooperate with each other ... To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."
Leopold was one of the first observers to recognize the contributions that each living organism makes to what he described as the "humming community of cooperations and competitions" that make up a healthy ecosystem, whether it is a salt marsh, a field or a forest. His work is the inspiration for "Focus Species Forestry," a method for preserving wildlife and other "cogs and wheels" in woodlands managed for timber, recreation or other forest values.
The method is described in a manual called "Focus Species Forestry: A Guide to Integrating Timber and Biodiversity Management in Maine," which can be downloaded for free at www.maineaudubon.org/resource/index.shtml. Now in its third edition, the manual was written by Robert Bryan, a licensed forester and an ecologist for Maine Audubon, in cooperation with Maine Department of Conservation, the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine and the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine.
Focus species forestry encourages landowners to work toward providing habitat for a small number of carefully selected species out of the thousands in a forest. Why would a manager limit such consideration to just a few kinds of creatures? Wouldn't it be better to manage in a way that considered the needs of every living organism in the Maine Woods?
Perhaps, but that's an almost impossible task. As Bryan puts it in the manual: "There are just too many things to keep track of. For starters, there are 173 species of forest birds in Maine. Add in reptiles, amphibians, mammals, insects, plants, fungi, forest ecosystems and genetic diversity, and the job of managing your woodlot for biodiversity feels overwhelming."
Bryan proposes that managers instead provide adequate habitat for a few "umbrella species" -- such as American marten or snowshoe hare -- that live in Maine's most common types of forest. Many other organisms will live in the habitats favored by the focus species.
The barred owl hunts from low branches, often at the edge of forest openings. Its call, 'Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?' in often heard in late winter and early spring.
For example, marten are usually found in older spruce/fir or mixed conifer/hardwood forests. Their presence in a patch of woods means that it meets the needs of as many as 80 bird species, 40 mammals, eight amphibians and three reptiles, according to Bryan, along with hundreds or thousands of plants, fungi and insects.
While the manual is a rich resource for forest owners and managers, it is also a fascinating invitation for people to look at the woods in a new way. Bryan's solid credentials as a naturalist are evident as he describes the relationship between trees, wildlife and human activities in the forest. It's not only good information, it's a good read.
The manual classifies Maine woodlands into six broad "forest ecosystem types" (aspen-birch, northern hardwoods, oak-pine, hemlock, spruce-fir and northern white cedar) and two special-value habitats (riparian and wetland forests, and vernal pools). It considers four stages of development, from the very young forests that spring up after a major disturbance, such as fire, to stands of trees that are more than a century old.
"Focus species management does not mean recreating the pre-European forest," Bryan writes. "However, it does mean maintaining sufficient habitat so that healthy populations of all species can be sustained. Fortunately, the vast majority of species that we know of are compatible with forest management, as long as the proper conditions are maintained."
Focus species management is designed to mesh with traditional forestry. The approach begins with identifying a landowner's objectives for the property. The types of forested areas on the property are classified, and special-value areas such as wetlands and deer wintering areas are mapped.
Appropriate focus species are then chosen. Management activities that will serve both the owner's objectives and the needs of the focus species are identified and implemented, and the impacts on the forest and the creatures are monitored.
"Focus species management, while primarily focused on wildlife, also seeks to maintain natural communities and native plant diversity as part of the managed forest," writes Bryan. "Forestry that emulates the range of natural disturbances associated with different forest types -- such as wind, fire, disease or insect outbreaks -- can maintain natural community characteristics."
A number of municipal forests and land trusts in Maine have incorporated focus species forestry in their management plans.
The manual is a valuable tool for landowners and forest professionals alike. It includes habitat management guides for each of the six forest ecosystem types and two special-value habitats. Key wildlife species found in each type are noted, and management recommendations are offered.
In addition, there are profiles of 23 suggested focus species. Consider, for example, the barred owl. Bryan describes where it is found in Maine, the size of its home range and its primary food and habitat needs. Very brief forest management considerations are also given.
Many of the forest management plans that incorporate focus species forestry have been written for municipal forests and land trusts -- including the Bath city forest, Friends of the Unity Wetlands, the Blue Hill Heritage Trust and the Readfield town forest. Bryan does not write the plans himself, but works with local foresters who are the primary authors and architects of the plans.
How useful is focus-species forestry to someone who only owns five acres of forest?
"Everybody's piece of woods, whether two acres or 2,000, contributes to what we consider to be wildlife habitat," said Bryan. "It's important for people to think how their woods fits into larger habitat beyond their boundaries."