Aug. 1998
Tony Pranger

Obviously, the more secure an animal feels, the more likely they are to use open areas where forage is typically abundant. Placing gates on roads is a very effective way to reduce vehicle traffic. But in areas where it is not possible to close roads, maintaining a visual buffer from the road will increase wildlife security. For example, if an area is selected for a clearcut harvest, leaving an uncut strip of timber along any well traveled road will provide a visual buffer, and increased security. After the trees in the clearcut area have grown tall enough to provide hiding cover, one may harvest the trees which were left in the strip. This is a good example of where the potential revenue from the timber in the buffer strip is not lost in an effort to improve wildlife habitat, it is simply deferred to a later date. When performing commercial thinning along well traveled roads, leaving the timber slightly denser near the road will provide a visual buffer also.

Another technique for improving security for wildlife is the maintenance of travel corridors. For example, if you own a 40 acre stand of timber which is surrounded by clearcuts, and the next available cover is more than 1000 feet away, the habitat which that 40 acre stand provides is going to be underutilized because animals do not have a safe means of traveling to and from the area. But if there were one or more uncut strips of timber (corridors) which connected distant timber stands, animals would then have means of moving to and from different areas with increased security.

Clearcuts, though unpopular with many people, do provide a significant source of high quality forage to many species of wildlife for many years after they are cut. There are many differences of opinion about what the maximum size of clearcuts should be. For wildlife security though, generally the smaller the better. Deer and elk will not fully utilize the forage which is in the middle of a large clearcut with an open road accessing the clearcut. That forage is simply too far from hiding cover. Just think about how often you see deer and elk near the edge of a clearcut compared to how often you see them out in the middle of a clearcut. The closer the forage is to hiding cover, the more it will be utilized. To provide the maximum forage potential to deer and elk, clearcuts should have no point which is further than 600 feet from cover (Thomas 1979). Forage which is more than 600 feet from cover is not utilized to its fullest potential. This essentially means that any clearcut should be no wider than 1,200 feet at any point to ensure that all forage is fully utilized. Also, creating irregular shaped borders will increase the security of the clearcut, since the irregular edges will create more visual buffer than if the clearcut is a perfect square for example. Leaving scattered large trees in a clearcut area provides a source of future snags, downed logs, nesting sites and a small amount of clover. The aesthetics of this appealing to many people as well. Leaving widely scattered, very small brush clumps in clearcut areas is beneficial to many species also. For example, in western Oregon and Washington, Roosevelt elk and ruffed grouse utilize vine maple clumps extensively in the winter months. The clumps provide forage and hiding cover.

Creating ponds where roads cross very small streams creates more riparian habitat, and increases water availability for wildlife. The ponds also provide a source of water for water trucks in the event of a wildfire. Maintaining riparian zones along streams is extremely important for wildlife. Riparian areas support a variety of plant life which is critical to many species, and does not grow on upland areas. Most states allow limited timber harvesting in riparian zones. When trees are harvested it is important to fell the trees away from the stream and out of the riparian zone. This technique minimizes disturbance to plant life in the area. During timber harvest, a considerable amount of slash is usually accumulated. Removing as much of the slash as possible from the harvest area increases the amount of exposed soil where improved forage production may then occur. One way to remove the slash efficiently is with whole tree yarding. This means that the whole tree, limbs and all, is hauled to the log landing. The limbs are then removed at the landing where they are piled and can possibly be burned later. In clearcut areas for example, this can greatly reduce the need to pile slash in the unit, possibly causing further soil compaction.

Another method of removing the slash is to cut the limbs off the tree in the harvest area, and then perform a controlled broadcast burn. This type of burn, when conducted under the proper conditions will eliminate the majority of the slash, recycle nutrients quickly, and prepare an excellent seed bed for grasses, forbs, shrubs and a new forest. Forage production is often significantly improved following this type of burn. This type of burn also reduces the risk of wildfire in the future. If a wildfire should occur, it will burn much less intensively since much of the fuel was removed during a controlled, safe situation. Maintaining a variety of forest conditions on a given property will ensure that a variety of habitat conditions will be maintained over time. For example, clearcut harvesting is a significant component of many landowners forest management plans. Harvesting on a small percentage of the property each year, and replanting, will eventually create a forest with many different age classes, many different habitats, and a continual supply of high quality forage for many different species....Many of our western forests contain trees of all ages, commonly called uneven-aged. Selective harvesting which removes individual trees from several different age classes will ensure that the uneven-aged structure, and a variety of habitat conditions, is maintained in these forests.

There are currently many landowners who are managing their property utilizing some or all of these techniques. This type of management is being done in many different states, and in many different types of forests. Where it does occur, it is a win-win-win situation, for people, timber and wildlife. People have jobs and income from the forest, timber productivity is maintained at high levels, and wildlife flourishes. When practicing wise forest/habitat management, we can have our cake and eat it too. Editor's Note: This is the second of a two part article by Tony Pranger. Tony is a professional consulting forester with Forest Resource Management, Inc.