A diverse roster of conservation and resource management agencies underscored the importance of sustainable, science-based forest management to wildlife in a stewardship agreement being led by the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society and the U.S. Forest Service. The multi-year partnership in the Daniel Boone National Forest in southeast Kentucky is improving close to a thousand acres of forest wildlife habitat.
Habitat diversity, achieved when forests are managed to create a variety of age classes and structures, is critical to healthy forest wildlife populations, the stakeholder groups stressed. On the Boone, young forest conditions are essential to reversing population declines in innumerable species, including golden-winged warblers and Appalachian cottontails, as well as ruffed grouse, a bellwether of forest health. Both early-successional obligates like the ruffed grouse but also mature-forest obligates like the cerulean warbler require more habitat diversity than the landscape currently provides.
The RGS & AWS-USFS partnership on the Boone restores healthy wildlife populations by diversifying habitat. Within the project site (in the South Red Bird Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Project on the Redbird Ranger District), wildlife habitat is being enhanced and forest health restored via sustainable management practices including prescribed burns, habitat improvement, timber harvests, reforestation, thinning, trail reroutes and road maintenance. Of revenue generated by any sale of timber, 100% stays within the project area, where it can be used to complete non-commercial work, sustain locally sourced jobs and support the region’s rural communities.
“We are honored to be collaborating with the Daniel Boone National Forest and other conservation organizations to support science-based active forest management and abundant wildlife populations in eastern Kentucky,” said Nick Biemiller, RGS & AWS forest conservation director, Southern Appalachians. “Our work not only is creating forest habitat for a broad suite of at-risk wildlife species, including ruffed grouse and golden-winged warbler; it also helps safeguard the economic health and conserves the lands, waters and communities in the southern Appalachians.”
Through the federal-nonprofit stewardship agreement, RGS & AWS is helping the Daniel Boone National Forest achieve objectives from its forest plan and advance implementation of the Kentucky State Wildlife Action Plan and the state’s Ruffed Grouse and Young Forest Strategic Plan. Both plans highlight that the current lack of structural and forest age diversity is impeding wildlife resilience and recovery. The state has set a goal of at least 15% young forest habitat for grouse focal areas in the forest; currently only 0.34% of the entire 708,000-acre forest falls under this habitat type.
“The future of ruffed grouse, American woodcock and all forest wildlife depends on modern, responsible forest management,” said Ben Jones, RGS & AWS president and CEO. “At RGS & AWS, we are proud to partner with the U.S. Forest Service to advance science-based habitat work and to participate in a coordinated effort by conservation professionals to improve habitat conditions on the Daniel Boone National Forest.”
Others also voiced support of active forests management and seconded the RGS & AWS approach:
“The Daniel Boone National Forest is very excited about continuing our partnership with Ruffed Grouse and American Woodcock Society,” said Daniel Boone National Forest Supervisor H. Scott Ray. “Their commitment to ecological restoration for species that have been designated under the state wildlife action plan for Kentucky is pivotal in expanding our Forest’s capacity to accomplish our mission. Managing for wildlife species such as ruffed grouse and cerulean warbler has multiple benefits since they require old mature forest stands, intermediate aged forest stands, and young early seral habitat conditions. The variety of these stand conditions increases herbaceous and forest stand biodiversity, benefiting a wide variety of wildlife species. We look forward to continuing this great work with all of our partners, including RGS/AWS.”
“Forest Service ownership permanently protects wildlife habitat from development and gives hunters and hikers a great place to recreate,” said Zak Danks, turkey-grouse program coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “However, to perpetuate the diversity of native species that occur on the Boone, and to improve populations of species in decline (like grouse and golden-wings), we must diversify habitat conditions. Active forest management is the only practical way to diversify forests at a meaningful pace and scale. Likewise, partnerships are a practical way to overcome the challenges faced by land and species management agencies like the Forest Service and KDFWR. The RGS & AWS partnership with the Boone is a model for wildlife conservation in across the country.”
“With such a small percent of our forests in Kentucky having a forest management plan, and even less being young early successional forest habitat, any active forest management, including harvesting timber, is vital to the overall health of Kentucky forests and the wildlife that reside within them,” said Dr. Matthew Springer, assistant extension professor of wildlife management, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Kentucky. “Without harvesting our forests, creating the young forest that is vital to so many of our wildlife species, including ruffed grouse, American woodcock, golden-winged warblers, whip-poor-wills, deer, elk and wild turkey, would be impossible at the landscape scale needed to preserve these species, and so many others, for current and future public enjoyment. Substantial training time is invested in the Kentucky’s Master Logger Program, and the science-backed Logging Best Management Practices taught within it, to ensure any logging occurring in Kentucky will protect our natural resources found on both private and public lands.”
“The National Wild Turkey Federation values and supports projects that highlight the importance of sustainable, science-based forest management,” said Derek Alkire, district biologist (Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee) for the National Wild Turkey Federation. “This project on the Daniel Boone National Forest will help advance forest management approaches that benefit communities, wildlife and landscape health as well as provide quality habitat for many wildlife species.”
“Scientific study after scientific study highlight the importance and effectiveness of active forest management,” said Blake Henning, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation chief conservation officer. “Planned forest management treatments, like this one, have a litany of positive benefits including everything from elk, deer, black bears, wild turkey, small mammals and songbirds to native vegetation and the forest itself.”
“Quail Forever promotes and supports the Ruffed Grouse Society’s sustainable, science-based forest management practices on the Daniel Boone National Forest,” Tim Caughran, director of conservation delivery, South Region, Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever. “They are truly invested in the stewardship of our forests, our wildlife, and our future!”
“The National Deer Association commends the active forest management being accomplished in Eastern Kentucky by RGS & AWS staff, as creating diverse habitat conditions also helps the white-tailed deer that call the Daniel Boone home,” said Matt Ross, senior director of conservation, National Deer Association. “Although those particular deer populations aren’t at risk, their well-being is a major driver of conservation funding for the Bluegrass state, and they’re a familiar symbol of wildlife in America and endeared by millions of national forest recreational users.”
“Sustainable, science-based forest management improves habitat for a range of our priority bird species while also enhancing forest health and resilience,” said Todd Fearer, coordinator of the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture. “We appreciate the efforts led by our partners at RGS & AWS to support sustainable forest management on the Daniel Boone National Forest.”
Learn more about habitat projects in the Southern Appalachian Region here.
