Wildlife Diversity: The Links of Life

Chapter 3: Stewardship Projects and Habitat Management

A. Improving the World for Wildlife

Everybody needs a place to call home. Where would you be without a home? You wouldn't have any protection from hunger, cold wind, or predators. Your home habitat needs to be intact for you to survive.

Without appropriate habitat, animals too fail to thrive. Their populations fall and become vulnerable to disease and death. If we keep wildlife homes healthy, we will have healthy wildlife.

You can do something to help wildlife by becoming a steward of wildlife and the land they inhabit. A steward is someone who looks over and cares for something. One way to care for wildlife is to manage habitat. Some types of management are very simple things that you can do yourself; others are more complex and nee to be done by professional wildlife managers.

B. Becoming a Steward of the Land

1. Observe and learn about different types of management.
   
2. Evaluate your yard, a park, roadside, vacant lot, or any habitat near you for its wildlife potential. Catalog the species you find there. Note the types and arrangement of vegetation.
   
3. Make a plan for how you would like to improve the habitat for a specific species or for overall diversity. Define your goals. Remember that it is easier to work with what you already have. Your plan should be simple and improve on the features of the existing habit. This way your management actions are more likely to be successful. For example, if you live in southern Minnesota and have a small wooded area, you are not likely to attract a moose, no matter what you do.
   

   Wild Fact Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) Aldo Leopold was the father of modern day wildlife management. His study of wildlife biology led him to form the concept of wildlife management and the idea of the land ethic--an individual responsibility for the health of the land.

   
   
4. Carry out the management action(s). Remember to get permission from the appropriate people if you wish to do a stewardship activity on land that is not your own.
   
5. Evaluate the success of your actions. Watch the areas you have managed carefully over time. Some management actions may take a long time to start working. Did you accomplish your goals?
   
6. Keep track of continuing process. You'll get much enjoyment from watching the results of your management efforts through the years and getting in touch with the environment. Planning doesn't have to, and shouldn't, stop after step 5. You can take what you have learned from this process and apply it over and over again, improving your management as you go.

• establish a bluebird trail
• construct and put up nest boxes for kestrels, wrens, wood ducks
• plant some native prairie
• create a reptile hibernaculum (safe areas for wintering)
• construct and put up bat roosts

Wild Fact Saving Minnesota's Endangered Species: The Natural Heritage Program is responsible for field inventory, research, and promoting the wise stewardship of Minnesota's native plants and threatened natural communities. Minnesota's Nongame Wildlife Program has been entrusted with the responsibility of protecting and managing over 500 nongame wildlife species or birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. The goals of the Scientific and Natural Areas (SNA) Program are to protect and maintain critical habitat for endangered species through a state system of natural areas. For more information, contact the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: (612) 296-3344, or 1-800-652-9747.

Activity 11: Habitat Management in Your Neighborhood

Many people manage habitat in their own backyards. Take a walk around your neighborhood. List the different types of habitat management you see, the animals that could be affected, and how they might be affected.

C. Forest Stewardship

You can combine stewardship actions. Here are some examples to manage forests for diversity:

Harvest timber. Timberharvest is often accomplished by clearing all the trees (called clearcutting). Clearcutting changes the woodland back to shrubs for 8 to 10 years. Shrubs and other plants that grow after harvest are food for white-tailed deer, moose, rabbits, woodchucks, and ruffed grouse.

Provide/maintain snags. Snags are dead trees that are still standing. Sometimes they are purposely left in an area after harvest. They are used for nesting and perching sites and as a source of food by over 43 different bird species and 26 mammal species. The insects found in snags provide fast energy for hungry animals. Snags are a critical component of wildlife habitat.

Maintain permanent openings. Animals also need areas without trees. Wildlife eat many of the grasses, flowering plants, and shrubs that grow in open areas. Woodcocks and sharp-tailed grouse need openings to find a mate, and many song birds eat insects found in openings. Open areas are sometimes planted with alfalfa, clover, or grasses as ground cover for food for wildlife.

Preserve old growth. Certain songbirds, fishers, rodents, and other animals do best in large old-growth forests. The edge between old-growth forests and younger forests or openings can be dangerous for these species, so old-growth areas are most productive when they are large and continuous.

Lake States Tree Species and Age at Which Old Growth Begins

Plant trees and /or shrubs. Certain species of trees and shrubs provide good sources of food and cover for animals. For example, blackberry and raspberry provide food for birds, small mammals, deer, and bears among other species.

Create and maintain reptile hibernacula (safe areas for wintering). Hibernacula can be easily created by digging a pit and filling it loosely with rocks and leaves, then mounding it over with soil.

Provide nesting or roosting areas. Woodlands near water are good habitat for bats and hole-nesting ducks like wood ducks. It is simple to build bat houses that provide roosting areas for bats and nest boxes for wood ducks. Other wildlife may use the nest boxes as well. In wooded areas without a lot of snags, small hole-nesting birds like wrens and chickadees will benefit from nest boxes.

D. Wetland Stewardship

Wetlands are also known as bogs, marshes, cedar swamps, and potholes. They have wet soils or standing water for part or all of most years. Cattails, wild rice, tamarack, and cedar trees all grow in wetlands.

The type of wildlife that uses a wetland habitat depends on the location, the amount of water, and the type of plants growing there. Moose, beaver, and wood ducks use wetlands that are in or near woods. Waterfowl, mink, raccoons, and muskrat use wetlands surrounded by grasses and open areas.

Changing water levels. In natural wetlands the water level varies from year to year and from season to season. In the spring many wetlands are full of water from snow melt and from spring rains. In the summer when the climate is hot and dry, water levels usually fall.

Controlled flooding. Areas that are dry may be flooded in the spring to provide nesting and feeding sites. In the summer, these areas are drained to allow the soil to dry. Finally, in the autumn the areas may be reflooded to provide feeding areas and hiding cover for migrating birds.

Plantings. Managers plant water plants such as wild celery, pondweeds, and wild rice to produce food for wildlife. The seeds, stems, and roots are eaten by ducks, geese, muskrats, and swans. They also provide habitat for small fish, water insects, and other wetland invertebrates.

Marsh
Bog
Wetland

E. Prairie Stewardship Prairies come in different types depending on the amount of water in the soil, the type of soil, how often fires occur, and other factors. There are wet prairies, dry prairies, long grass prairies, and short grass prairies, among other types. Grasses and nonwoody plants are the most important vegetation in prairie habitats. Fires and grazing are important for prairies because they kill trees and shrubs that would otherwise turn a prairie into a forest. Native prairie plants survive fires and grazing because they have deep, large roots. Many of these native plants also have seeds that sprout after fires. Fires are very rare now so there are fewer acres of prairie left. Prairie soils are also good for growing corn, soybeans, and other crops. Most of the prairie habitat in the Lake States has been turned into farmland. The wildlife species that once flourished in these prairies are becoming scarce. Things you can do to revitalize the prairie include: Prescribed burns (planned burns). Spring is a good time to burn, because this is the time non-native plants start growing. Fires also remove the previous year's dead plants so that new growth gets full sunlight. Burning is dangerous and must be done under professional guidance. Mowing as an alternative to burning prairie. Timing is important for both mowing and burning prairies. Mowing should be done before birds start nesting so their nests are not destroyed. Grazing. In some prairies bison and other grazing animals are part of habitat management. These animals kill shrubs and trees before they grow large. Grazing often hurts the non-native plants more than the native ones. One problem is that bison are a lot of work! Managers must feed and water them, build fences, and provide a large area for them to graze. There are only a few prairies where buffalo can be used as a part of habitat management.

F. Farmland Stewardship

Farms today are mostly "monocultures" large areas of land planted to rows of a single crop. To keep these crops healthy, large amounts of pesticides and fertilizers are used. When it rains these chemicals create runoff with the soil into streams and wetlands and can harm the wildlife.

Farmers can reduce runoff by leaving or creating buffer areas of trees and shrubs around wetland areas.

Rows of trees planted around the cropland, called shelterbelts, keep the wind from blowing soil away and blowing down the crops.

Many different types of animals use these shelterbelts for food and cover, such as songbirds who nest and feed there. Shelterbelt areas provide winter cover for pheasants and other animals that are active in the winter.

Ditches are home to pheasants, goldfinches, cottontails, woodchucks, and other animals. Roadsides can support at least 40 different wildlife species, and if left undisturbed, can produce at least 25 to 50 percent of all pheasants raised in Minnesota. However, these areas can be death traps if they are mowed, burned, or plowed before young are hatched or born. Roadsides should not be mowed until at least July 15 or as late as August 30 if possible.

Rural residents can grow food plots for wildlife. Some farmers leave several rows of a crop standing on the outside of fields. These crops make great food for waterfowl while they are getting ready to fly south, or for deer and other wildlife that stay in the area during the winter. They also provide cover during bad winter weather.

G. Urban Habitat Stewardship

Plant gardens. Gardens can provide food for people, but also for rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, deer, voles, insects, many kinds of birds, and other animals. Snakes, rabbits, voles, and others may use a garden as cover to protect them from the sun and from predators.

Water the lawn. Slugs and insects do well in moist lawns. Raccoons, skunks, moles, and birds eat those insects. Robins often search for worms under sprinklers.

Plant shrubs. Several bird species use shrubs for nesting and roosting. Evergreen shrubs give birds, squirrels, and other animals cover in the winter. Voles eat the bark on shrubs sometimes.

Bird baths, decks on the house, bird feeders, bird houses, woodpiles, garages, attics, tree trimmings, and many other things that people have in their yards influence wildlife habitat.

Career Considerations

Wildlife managers have the job of managing an area for the benefit of wildlife. They often take care of several different species in the area. Wildlife managers are in charge of estimating population size of species and deciding what methods of management should be used. They also educate the public, enforce wildlife laws, and manage people.

Additional Activities

Study animals in shelterbelts. This project will take many hours over several weeks. Count, identify, and record the number of birds and nests you find. You should visit the shelterbelt at different times of the day at least five to 10 times. Do different species of birds and mammals use shelterbelts? Are there more birds in one kind of tree than in another? You can also compare two shelterbelt areas to one another, or a shelterbelt with a field, lawn, or roadside. Which has more diverse wildlife?

Plant trees, shrubs, and flowers for wildlife in a public area in your town or city. Talk with the city administrators in charge of the area you want to work in. Purchase or transplant plants that provide food or cover for wildlife that might use the area. Set up a display near the area to teach people what they can do in their yards to make a habitat for wildlife.

Set up an interpretive nature trail through a nearby park. Create signs at stops along the trail that give information on the wildlife or habitat found there.

Fair Projects/Exhibit Ideas

Make a display that shows your yard before and after you do some habitat management. (If you don't have a yard that is good for wildlife, you could make up a yard and show what could be done if you had the space or use a nearby park or vacant lot.) Map the location of the buildings, trees, shrubs, and gardens. Indicate on the map what plants you are adding and what kinds of wildlife use them. Take before and after pictures of your yard. The books, Landscaping for Wildlife and Woodworking for Wildlife by Carol Henderson (available from the DNR), give information that would be useful for this project.

Make a book illustrating different plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife in your area. Find out how to care for these and what animals use them. Include some drawings or photographs of the different plants.

Do some roadside plantings of native grasses to benefit wildlife in your area. Take pictures of the process and make a three-sided display that shows what you did, to teach others how to do it.

Interview professionals in the field of wildlife (wildlife managers working for DNR, Nature Conservancy, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) about their jobs. Make a display that illustrates their different job activities.

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