Wildlife Management in Florida State Forests

By: Amanda Peck, Biological Scientist II, Picayune Strand State Forest
Florida Division of Forestry, FDACS

What Is Wildlife Management and Why Is It Needed?

Florida State forests that are managed by the Florida Division of Forestry (DOF), along with other conservation areas, provide homes for wildlife, spawning grounds for some of our most valuable fisheries and buffers against flood damage. Also, as the main source for our drinking water and outlets for recreation and solitude, forests are refreshing and nourishing for the human soul. Forests and wildlife are linked together since many wildlife species are directly dependent upon the forest. Stated as a basic ecological concept, we can say that habitat varies in time and space, and as habitat changes, or is changed, so do the species of wildlife and their abundance.

Wildlife is a term that does not enjoy a precise or a universally accepted definition. The term implies all things that are living outside direct human control and therefore includes those plants and animals that are not cultivated or domesticated. In its fullest meaning, wildlife encompasses insects and fungi, frogs and wild flowers, as well as doves, deer, and trees.

There are many reasons for managing wildlife. Among these reasons are preservation of endangered species, and recreational activities such as hunting and wildlife observation. Preservation of endangered species requires careful management of specific habitat types suited to those species. For example, red-cockaded woodpeckers live in park-like old growth (at least 60 years) forests of longleaf or slash pine, with little understory and frequent (every 3-5 years) fires to prevent hardwood and midstory plant growth. Wildlife also is an important recreational resource. According to the “2001 Economic Benefits of Watchable Wildlife Recreation in Florida” study prepared by Southwick Associates for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, birding tourists accounted for 1,385,318 recreationists. Also, approximately 10 percent of resident birds and 20 percent of resident mammals throughout the southeast are considered game species suitable for hunting.

Wildlife management is the application of ecological knowledge to populations of vertebrate animals and their plant and animal associates, in a matter that strikes a balance between the needs of those populations and the needs of people.

Ecological knowledge is applied in three basic management approaches:

preservation, when nature is allowed to take its course without human intervention;
direct manipulation, when animal populations are trapped, shot, poisoned and stocked;
indirect manipulation, when vegetation, water, or other key components of wildlife habitat are altered

The Florida Division of Forestry generally follows an indirect manipulation approach to wildlife management, essentially maintaining the natural processes on the land through forest management. It is important to recognize that good forest management is not necessarily good wildlife management and vice versa, although they can be performed in harmony. Most forest management practices affect wildlife habitat and result in changes in the wildlife community. It is no more logical to design a management plan that considers only wildlife than it is to design a plan that exclusively considers timber, soils, water, or recreation. Wildlife populations are closely related to these other resources.

Practices that encourage increased soil fertility, undisturbed hydrological systems, diverse plant communities and minimal disturbance are generally of the most benefit to wildlife. Enhancing natural ecosystems should serve as a goal for land management decisions. For example, prescribed burning is an important management tool to maintain the health of a naturally fire-adapted forest; recycling nutrients back to the soil and increasing plant diversity and growth patterns. Several standing dead trees (snags) should be left for use of animals like woodpeckers and squirrels in a forest. However, habitat requirements sometimes can be accommodated and occasionally improved by management practices performed primarily to benefit the other resources. Best management practices (BMP’s) should be followed to minimize erosion and soil disturbance in timber sales and other land management operations. In many forests, maintained hiking or horse trails can easily be used as pathways for mammals such as raccoons, white-tailed deer, panthers, and bobcats.

To manage for specific wildlife, it is essential to know the habitat requirements of the species in which you are interested. For example, fire in pine flatwoods and seasonal flooding of wetlands are essential for maintaining plant and wildlife communities that are adapted to these natural processes. Nearly all resident wildlife species depend to some extent upon these wetlands as essential habitat components. Wetlands also serve an important function in maintaining water quality as they naturally filter polluted waters. Wet areas, such as cypress domes, bayheads, swamps, marshes, etc. that are not suitable for pine growth, provide important wildlife habitats and refuges. Even small areas of 10 to 12 acres can be very important to wildlife. However, multiple land uses, invasive non-native species, and other factors may interfere with natural environmental processes. In these cases, active management is needed to maintain or restore healthy and productive wildlife habitat.

The more a stand is changed from its natural situation, the more management efforts will be required to put it back into its previous condition. Drainage of wetlands and conversion to conditions suitable for pine growth are generally detrimental to native wildlife. One example of how drainage of wetlands can affect an area is found on Picayune Strand State Forest (PSSF), now a part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan project. On PSSF, 280 miles of roads and 48 miles of drainage canals built in the 1960’s have lowered water tables by 2-4 feet, which has reduced aquifer storage, and hydro-periods have been reduced by 2-4 months of standing water. This has resulted in resulting in a reduction of aquifer recharge, increased freshwater shock load discharges to estuaries to the south, invasion by upland vegetation, loss of ecological connectivity and associated habitat, and increased frequency of forest fires. Although active hydrological restoration is now underway through this area, it may never function in the same way as before the drainage happened. Management of invasive exotic plants and upland vegetation will be needed along with hydrological restoration to make this project work. The key is that all resource management decisions are based on creating and maintaining sufficient habitat, and increased plant diversity is beneficial for attracting greater and more diverse animals to an area.

Options for Wildlife Management

Managing the wildlife resource as the primary objective requires, in some instances, that other resources be managed at reduced intensity. For example, timber harvests can be designed primarily to improve wildlife habitat, with maximum wood production a secondary benefit. Although timber harvests are not common in South Florida, this strategy may be used in other areas where this practice may be more used. I believe that this type of management is what most biologists and ecologists would ideally follow.

A typical management plan in this case would include strategies that accomplish the following:

create, enhance or improve sufficient habitat to support suitable populations of desired species;

maintain healthy game populations in a manner consistent with habitat carrying capacity;

provide diverse and abundant populations of desired non-game wildlife species, particularly those that are dependent on mature timber;

manage habitat and populations to protect flora and fauna listed as threatened or endangered.

Where wildlife management is a secondary objective to other resources, the compatibility of various management options becomes important. Those wildlife species whose habitat requirements are compatible with practices designed to enhance the manager’s selected primary resources will thrive.

All resource management plans should include wildlife management plans to accomplish the following:

enhance, maintain or create habitat for desired species in a manner that is consistent with the primary objective for the land;
achieve and maintain a natural diversity and abundance of game and non-game wildlife species including those dependent on mature timber (special consideration and/or protection should be afforded resident threatened and endangered species);
manage other resources in ways that provide habitat needs of desired wildlife species, considering the species and the entire property.
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Practices That Enhance Wildlife Habitat

Maintaining diverse habitats or plant communities on a property is most often the emphasis for wildlife management components in a natural resources management plan. When natural diversity and transition between habitats does not exist on a property, the plan should include measures to create it. This may be accomplished by several practices.

The first step is to identify important habitats such as wetlands and upland hardwood areas so that steps may be taken to maintain and link these areas. Ideally, strips of native vegetation 75 to 200 feet wide, containing a component of mature hardwood and pine timber, should be left when timber harvests are conducted (or if you are converting from agricultural fields). These areas will provide structural diversity, cavities, and other important niches not available in recently reforested sites. Remember, the more continuous habitat you have, the better it is for animals that move greater distances! Having an area designated for a sanctuary is great, but if the area is too small, it will not be functional as a forest or for wildlife.

Streamside and wetland areas are another essential habitat for wildlife. BMPs should be used for minimum widths of riparian areas. Pine plantations and clearcuts should be kept as small as practical, with adjacent stands being composed of different age classes (5 to 7 years apart). This will promote diversity in the amount and type of ground cover and species throughout the area being reforested. Individual areas should be irregular in shape to maximize the available edge effect. Standing snags, where available, should be retained at a density of one to three trees per acre for the benefit of cavity nesting species and to serve as perch sites. In pine plantations prior to canopy closure, further enhancement for wildlife will entail creating and maintaining adequate forage. Mowing between the rows of pine trees in February and/or August-September will control undesirable trees and shrubs while at the same time enhancing forage, seed, mast and fruit production. Mowing (or performing a prescribed burn) on a 3-year rotation will maximize diversity.

Between adjacent pine plantations or in areas where two or more habitats come together, transition zones should be created or re-established. These areas may also serve as firebreaks, access points, and food plots. Openings within timbered stands are also readily utilized by wildlife and add to the diversity of an area. Depending on the species featured for management, 2 to 5 percent of the property should be maintained as permanent openings. Supplemental plantings should provide a year-round food source. Perennial grasses and legumes as well as mast-producing trees and shrubs should dominate these areas.

Aggressive thinning in pine-dominated stands will ensure adequate sunlight for understory species. From an ecological perspective, fire generally has positive effects on wildlife habitat and wildlife populations. Fires certainly can kill animals, but mortality among most species has been found to be minor and fire generally poses no significant threat to wildlife populations. Prescribed fire should be the primary management tool used to maintain diversity in vegetative composition and forage quantity and quality. The season, frequency, and intensity of fire should be based on the existing vegetative communities and featured species.

Effects of Fire on Wildlife

Prescribed fire is an important timber and wildlife management tool in southern forests and wildlife habitat changes associated with fire can be dramatic. Native plants and animals of Florida flatwoods have evolved in the presence of frequent burning in many pine forest types. Shrubs such as saw palmetto, pawpaw, yaupon, sweetleaf, sumac, and blackberry all respond vigorously to periodic burning. Other species are limited by fire. Exclusion of fire for the first 10 or 15 years in pine plantations may, therefore, have drastic effects on the development of the forest as an ecosystem. For instance, vegetation in fire-suppressed habitats often becomes dominated by a thick growth of shrubs and vines. Dense vegetation shades important herbaceous food plants, which then decline in diversity, abundance, and nutritional quality. In addition to the loss of food plants, the physical clutter of dense vegetation may reduce the use of these areas by many species of birds and other wildlife. Hence, by periodically burning areas, habitats are returned to more open and diverse plant communities and, as post-fire recovery proceeds, these habitats benefit those original wildlife populations by providing the food and structural components they require.

Don’t Fires Harm Wildlife?

Of much greater influence to wildlife than direct mortality from fire are the effects of fire, or the lack of fire, on habitat quality. There are many species of plants and animals that require periodic fire to maintain habitat conditions needed for their survival. For example, the Florida scrub jay and red-cockaded woodpecker are both listed as endangered species and both are dependent upon fire to maintain suitable habitat conditions. In the absence of fire, habitat conditions change; the diversity and abundance of wildlife eventually declines.

Various studies and observations suggest fire typically causes little direct mortality to large mobile animals such as deer, bobcats, and bear. Conducting smaller prescribed fires, avoiding the practice of re-lighting unburned patches, and avoiding burning during peak birthing periods can reduce mortality among young individuals. For example, land managers would be advised to limit the size of prescribed fires during peak fawning periods, which occur during May-June in north Florida and February-March in south Florida.

Destruction of bird nests by fire, particularly among shrub and ground-nesting species, is a chief concern of wildlife managers. Attempts to protect nests have resulted in recommendations by some biologists to burn only during the winter months or after the nesting season. If their nests are destroyed, however, most birds will attempt to re-nest. Studies of bobwhite quail indicate it is not unusual for a hen to re-nest several times during a single nesting season. Even turkeys have been found to re-nest at rates higher than previously supposed. Also, prescribed fires typically do not burn entire areas, but result in a mosaic of burned and unburned patches that provide refuge and opportunities for re-nesting amidst regenerating, high-quality habitat. Although information on the effects of fire on reptiles and amphibians is less available, fire is known to be important for the survival of some species. The gopher tortoise, which is a species of special concern in Florida, requires periodic fire to maintain habitat quality and structure.

Even when fire kills trees, positive wildlife benefits can be found. Many cavity nesting birds depend upon dead, decaying trees for excavating cavities. Other species, known as secondary cavity nesters, depend upon these nest sites after they have been abandoned. Decaying trees attract insects that are fed upon by many species of wildlife. The decay process also returns important organic material and nutrients to the soil.

Recently burned areas actually attract many species of wildlife and seem to have little effect on use by others. Tender shoots from resprouting shrubs and herbaceous vegetation that emerge following a fire are highly nutritious and attract white-tailed deer and other herbivores. Fruit production is stimulated by fire, resulting in increased availability of seeds and berries that provide food for many species of wildlife. Predators too, are attracted to these areas, presumably in response to the abundance of prey. Radiotracking studies of the Florida panther indicate panthers prefer areas in 1- to 2-year stages of post-fire recovery over more densely vegetated habitat on the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in south Florida. Recently-burned areas also are important feeding areas for chicks of ground foraging species, such as turkey and bobwhite quail. In general, therefore, fire positively influences wildlife populations in Florida.

Pine forestlands are burned to accomplish at least one of the following goals:

to dispose of debris from timber harvesting operations and to prepare the site for planting,
to reduce understory litter to prevent wildfires
to control insect pests or diseases
to increase the quantity and quality of edible plants for cattle and/ wildlife
to recycle nutrients bound up in plant litter and debris back into the soil
to alter or enhance the structural aspects of wildlife habitats.

Fire benefits most wildlife species by providing:

open habitat conditions preferred by quail, turkey and deer
a flush of new herbaceous plant growth for wildlife browse
increased insect and seed production for small mammals and birds

Burning schedules are extremely important in the development of habitat conditions favorable for various wildlife species.

A one- to two-year burning schedule keeps the understory open and creates habitat favorable for bobwhites.
A three- to five-year burning schedule allows for development of browse and cover plants, thereby favoring deer and turkeys.
A three- to five-year schedule also allows the accumulation of sufficient fuel to support the next prescribed burn, and is most compatible with timber production.

For best results:

vary seasons and intervals of fire,
burn small units,
increase patchiness of burns

Burns are often conducted in the winter shortly after a rain, although there is some evidence that summer burns were historically more common and may be better for wildlife due to the "patchy" nature of these burns. Wildlife diversity and populations increase with a mosaic of successional stages created by a variety of burned and unburned areas over time.

The development of understory vegetation, without thinning and burning, is inhibited due to the lack of light penetration through the pine crowns, the root competition for water and nutrients, and the heavy accumulations of organic litter that ties up nutrients. Thinning opens up the pine canopy of plantations, which allows understory and midstory vegetation development that is extremely important for many wildlife species. In general, thinning as early in plantation development and as often as possible is favorable both for wildlife and for forest health and productivity. Thinning in pine stands reduces light competition and improves both the form and growth of trees left standing.

Forest landowners that are interested in obtaining forest land management advice in Lee, Collier, and Hendry counties should call the Caloosahatchee District’s Senior Forester Michael Weston at 239/ 690-3500 Ext. 118 or email him at westonm@doacs.state.fl.us.

Forest land owners with 20 or more acres may be eligible to receive a free management plan that addresses timber growth, wildlife management, recreation, aesthetics, and soil and water conservation through the Forest Stewardship program.

Landowners with less than 20 acres are also able to receive a management plan for their forest land through the Florida Division of Forestry and references to forest management vendors. For more information, visit Forest Management .

Other management activities that are used by DOF include the construction and maintenance of firelines throughout the property, mowing permanent openings and property line and roadway maintenance. It also is recommended that firelines be disked annually during the winter months when disturbance of the soil encourages the production of beneficial native legumes such as partridge pea (Cassia spp.), ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and beggarweed (Desmodium spp.). Idle areas should be mowed during the late winter (February-March) to provide additional quality brood rearing range for young wild turkeys and Bobwhite quail. Property lines and roadways will be inspected regularly to ensure access for recreational activities and equipment during emergency situations.

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services