What does a forester do to promote wildlife?

An old saying in Michigan is "the deer follow the ax". Many people have the misconception that cutting timber is detrimental to wildlife when actually the reverse is true. Wildlife such as grouse and deer require young trees to survive since seedlings and saplings are a food resource for these animals. In an old growth forest there is less variety of habitat and therefore fewer wildlife species. Ideally forest management attempts to create a wide diversity of habitats to accommodate a wide variety of wildlife species. This is much easier to provide in uneven-aged stands than the coniferous forests of the southeast and the northwest.
When marking a harvest or performing Timber Stand Improvement I often leave a number of cull trees scattered in the woods which we refer to as den trees. Although these culls have no commercial value and their crowns may provide too much shade for regeneration of seedlings, they are left as homes for species such as squirrels, oppossums, raccoons, and numerous bird species. Decisions about what trees to leave are always difficult and many factors are considered. Ideally we try to leave large culls in areas where they are not interfering with the development of fine hardwoods such as oak and walnut. Another factor to recognize is balancing the "hotels" with the "restaurants". There is no point of leaving a large number of den trees if there are insufficient food species growing to sustain a large wildlife population. It is more beneficial to open the forest canopy and encourage regeneration of oaks which will yield acorns for future wildlife populations.
Foresters also encourage planting of wildlife food species at the edge of a forest. Additionally, the tops from a harvest provide excellent cover for wildlife such as rabbits, etc. An important aspect of habitat is "edges". A wavy border on a woods provides a lot more edge than a straight line. These are just a few of the considerations a forester looks at when doing forest management.

Last update on Tuesday, February 10, 1998