An Adaptive Management Framework for the Monitoring of Forest Wildlife Populations on National Wildlife Refuges

Photo courtesy of Greg Lasley	Photo courtesy of Larkin Powell
Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service	Photo courtesy of Larkin Powell

Principal Investigator:

Georgia Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit
D. B. Warnell School of Forest Resources
University of Georgia
Athens, GA  30602  USA
Email Dr. Conroy for more information

Graduate Research Assistants:

* D. B. Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia
** Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia

Funding

Objectives:

Our principal objective was to develop a multispecies wildlife management-research-monitoring program using principles of adaptive resource management and to work with managers at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge (PNWR) to develop and evaluate a prototype application of these principles.  The immediate focus of the research at PNWR is to establish a monitoring and research design that can be used with models to evaluate and predict the impacts of forest management on several species of forest wildlife.  Forest management at PNWR is oriented toward sustaining viable populations of red-cockaded woodpeckers (Picoides borealis).  This project has focused on ascertaining possible impacts on other species of forest birds such as wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina), salamanders, and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and in developing an adaptive decision model for the optimal management of forest habitats (1) taking into account tradeoffs among these resource objectives, and (2) explicitly considering the impacts of uncertainty due to environmental variations, statistical error, and incomplete knowledge of biological processes.

Given that these species occupy different habitats and have varied levels of movement patterns, we expect a range of responses to the forest management practices (thinning and prescribed burning).  Forest management is driven by the mandate to foster optimal habitat for woodpeckers, characterized by the availability of suitable nest trees (>75 year-old loblolly pine [Pinus taeda]) and a savannah-like understory.  Creation of optimal woodpecker habitat may compromise population viability for other species (e.g., wood thrushes), but the degree and spatial scale at which potential impacts may occur are open to question.

Project Status:  Completed, August 2001

Reports:

Final Report

Annual Reports

2000
1999
1998
1997
1996