By Erik Latremore and James Canevari, New York Department of Environmental Conservation
Nearly a decade ago, in 2015, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NY DEC) recognized that younger forests were needed to support many species being observed to have population declines. The DEC kicked off the Young Forest Program to create habitat for a whole host of wildlife species and to better the health and diversity of forests on Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). Part of this initiative involved support from many cooperating partners like the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS), National Deer Association, Wildlife Management Institute, Audubon New York and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), realizing that ruffed grouse, American woodcock, wild turkey and other young forest-dependent species were in population declines. These declines were associated with habitat loss as the forests on WMAs were getting older, fewer natural disturbances were being observed and timber harvesting was being underutilized on WMAs.
Upper and Lower Lakes WMA, in St. Lawrence County, is a large and diverse WMA. The 8,727-acre WMA consists primarily of wetlands and forests with some limited grasslands, shrublands and agricultural lands. In 2014, forest habitats on the WMA were made up of 2,319 acres of natural mixed hardwood forest, 80 acres of plantations, 565 acres of forested wetlands and 198 acres of young forest. As of 2024, there are now 279 acres of young forest, due to projects completed by NY DEC and RGS & AWS.
Stand 51.1 before harvesting.
NY DEC sponsored a contractor with USFWS funding to “fell and limb” a 31-acre area (trees and limbs are cut and remain on site). This provides drumming logs for ruffed grouse. RGS & AWS sponsored a contractor to fell and limb various trees within three patches on 20 additional acres to promote hard mast production (such as acorns) and winter thermal cover for snowshoe hares.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Unit and RGS & AWS provided technical guidance for these projects. Their plans used shelterwood (leaving trees to shade the understory) and seed tree (leaving some trees as a seed source) silviculture techniques. The forest acreage where DEC and RGS & AWS collaborated efforts contained trees non-marketable trees, yet they’re known to provide the best habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock, wild turkey and snowshoe hare. The project areas included many ecologically sensitive habitats and wildlife species, so heavy equipment was excluded to protect those factors. The pioneer tree species within the stands included black cherry, soft maple and prolific root-sprouting aspen that grow quickly, provide dense thickets of tall and young aspen regeneration and serve as a valuable food source and cover for those species.
Although these projects are completed, creating and maintaining young forest habitat on the WMA will be an ongoing effort. USFWS Wildlife Restoration funding and partner collaborations will enable these projects to continue. This project was also funded in part by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s Northeast Forests & Rivers Fund and match provided by the North Country Chapter through the RGS & AWS New York State Drummer Fund.
Learn more about Northeast Region habitat work.
