November 2013 Volume 2, Issue 3 New England Cottontail Initiative

An update of activities being conducted to benefit this declining species Largest project to date begins in Pachaug State Forest!

Welcome to the winter edition of the operations were suspended over the sum- New England cottontail newsletter. As mer, however, follow up herbiciding of in- the snow begins to fall and the pellet vasive vegetation was conducted at all hunts begin, we would like to wish eve- sites that had projects implemented under ryone a happy and healthy holiday sea- SWG 1 and SWG 2 grants. The total area son. treated was approximately 150 acres. Tree harvesting activity began ratcheting up Private Land Efforts Continue again in early November with the onset of a In 2013, the Natural Resources Conser- 111-acre project at Pachaug SF, which is not vation Service’s (NRCS) Working Lands only the #1 ranked parcel in the state, but If you build for Wildlife (WLFW) program con- also #1 in the entire Initiative Region. This tracted with 18 applicants to implement project will add to an already existing 70 it, they will habitat creation projects on their prop- acres of New England cottontail habitat in erties. Contracts are in various stages of the area. In the next several weeks, work come- execution, but once finalized, these will begin on 26 acres in Roraback WMA, projects will provide an additional 350 for a total of approximately 60 acres of acres of habitat for New England cotton- New England cottontail habitat. tails.. The next round of applications have already been submitted, and pro- Research Continues ject ranking is expected to be complete With the recent snowfall, researchers have by the end of January. As always, the been very busy collecting pellets for DNA NRCS encourages landowners to submit analysis from locations all around the state, applications for potential projects. and we will report on new ly documented Please contact the NRCS or the DEEP if NEC as the samples are tested and results come in. Please contact us if you are inter- you have a potential project! ested in pellet collection on your property. State Land Efforts Began Workshops and Outreach Again This Fall Events In consideration of bird nesting and There will be at least one workshop held in other wildlife activity, tree harvesting the spring of 2014. Please check upcoming New England Cottontail Initiative newsletter issues for details regarding looked closer. The machines used were date and location. designed to have a low impact on the earth so we do not have any large ar- Habitat Creation Project - A eas of torn up ground. The wetlands Landowner’s Impressions were respected and left buffered and In 2011, Avalonia Land Conservancy the stream now runs clear and clean. began discussing the possibility of im- Specially chosen trees remained stand- plementing a New England cottontail ing to provide reseeding sources, mast project on their Peck and Callahan Pre- for wildlife, and some shelter. A nice di- serves. Conservancy members spent versity of species is still present. Under- many, many months researching, plan- story shrubs lie unharmed in most ar- ning, posting, and working tirelessly to eas. Blueberry and huckleberry plants, overcome what sometime seemed like as well as smaller seedlings, ground insurmountable hurdles, including the covering vines, and small plants, will fact that the parcel is landlocked, with thrive in the open canopy. With absolutely no access for the equipment sunlight now reaching the ground, to get to the site! After much negotia- seedlings that have been stunted and tion, phone calls and emails, a deal was struggling can now begin energetic made with neighbors to provide cord- growth. Seeds that lay dormant in the wood from the cut in exchange for ac- soil for years will get the moisture and cess through their property, and per- sun warmth they need to germinate. mission was secured from C,L and P to There was very little diversity in the un- utilize their adjacent right-of-way. Fi- derstory of the Peck woodlands. Deep nally, the resulting project plan, de- shade and deer browsing left little near signed in coordination with NEC Pro- the ground. Exposing the former forest ject Forester Jack Berlanda was com- floor to light has already begun to in- pleted; implementation began in May crease the variety and number of spe- of 2013; and by early August, 22.6 cies present. We have noticed seedlings acres had been cut. Beth Sullivan, of sun loving plants such as Sumac and Stonington representative to the Ava- Greenbrier already visible, starting lonia Land Conservancy and key mem- growth even this late in the season. ber of the project team, posted to her blog about her experiences and im- In this excerpt, Beth comments on the pressions walking the site in August woody material purposely left behind: and September, after the cutting por- Referred to as slash, those tree tops tion of the project was completed. The and branches left on the ground pro- following excerpt from that blog vide instant cover for small mammals. shows Beth’s thoughts on the site’s The rough slash will also deter deer post-cut appearance: that will try to enter the new area of What remains isn't pretty at first inviting shoots and greenery. The de- glance. The long swath of the Peck Pre- composition over time will provide nu- serve is open now. From a distance, it is trients for the soil. As part of the fund- pretty brown, a little disconcerting to a ing agreement, large brush piles were self-described tree hugger, but we created. These will provide longer term New England Cottontail Initiative

shelter for many animals, and hope- easy walking!! We were joined by our fully the New England Cottontail will be DEEP Forester with his chainsaw, and a one of them! USFWS biologist with plants and sup- plies. We lugged in a large garden cart Beth continues; reporting on new spe- with shovels, rakes, bags of grass seed, cies, both flora and fauna: plants, netting, flagging tape and mis- As we walked the entire site, we no- cellaneous small items as well as water ticed new birds already. Several types in large jugs. We had to clear the skid of Flycatchers: Peewees, Phoebes, and trail as we went along, moving branches Kingbirds, were having a field day with and large debris and ultimately made it the numerous dragonflies cruising a half mile in to the far east of the prop- around. Several butterflies made use of erty where a steep slope needed atten- the now-open areas: Red-Spotted Pur- tion. There we raked the earth to plant a ples, Black Swallow tails, and American special conservation seed mix of grasses

Coppers. We could see that the ferns, to germinate rapidly and stabilize the

low plants, berry bushes and vines such soil on the slope. We dug holes… as greenbrier were already beginning to grow up and fill in. On close inspec- tion, it was wonderful to see the tree stumps already re-sprouting vigorous new shoots. Oaks, Beeches, Maples, Birches and Hickories all seem to be in

a hurry to get a jump start on re- Beth Sullivan, Beth Avalonia Land Conservancy growing. It is this new growth that will provide the food and thick, dense cover no easy task in the rocky earth, and that we aim for. planted dozens of small seedlings, plants known to be beneficial for the wildlife Finally, in this excerpt, Beth details her we hope to attract. However, all these experience with follow-up project new seedlings and sprouts are like candy work: for the deer. Each plant needed to be As part of the Funding agreement we staked and netted and surrounded by had with National Fish and Wildlife slash to deter the deer from nibbling. Foundation, we needed to replant the Nearly 5 hours later we walked out. Our area with species that will provide di- load was lighter but muscles were sore! versity, grow in a way that creates It rained the next night. Now we hope cover and also provide food for many the grass will sprout, the plants will root species. On September 21 a small but and flourish and the deer will not dis- dedicated group of volunteers took on cover them! Thank you to all who made the first phase of the challenge. The en- the large effort! tire project covers 28 acres of hilly and And this winter, when there is snow on rocky terrain. The ground is strewn the ground, we will go out hunting for with “slash”, branches and woody de- little brown pellets signs that maybe the bris left on site to provide cover and New England Cottontails have indeed nutrients for the soil over time. Not moved in.

New England Cottontail Initiative

We wish to thank Avalonia Land Con- cline of woodcock. The Northern servancy for all their hard work, and Young Forest Initiative and the Atlantic we too hope the New England cotton- Coast Young Forest Initiative are both tail moves in! geared towards creating and maintain- Other Species - Spotlight on ing woodcock habitat in order to achieve the goals of the North Ameri- American Woodcock can Woodcock Conservation Plan. The American woodcock (Scolopax mi- Work to establish and maintain young nor) is a popular game bird throughout habitats for NEC will also likely benefit eastern North America. Woodcock are woodcock. a young forest dependent species, re- quiring young forest, open habitats, All young forest dependent wildlife will and moist soils. Woodcock utilize benefit from active forest manage- young forest habitats in Connecticut ment. In addition to the obvious bene- for breeding and as stopover areas for fits for a myriad of wildlife, humans feeding and cover during migration. benefit from active forest manage- Woodcock prefer dense, shrub- ment as well. As one example, passive dominated forests with moist soils. recreational users such as bird watch- Moist soils ensure that earthworms are ers and naturalists will benefit from an near the soil surface and are available increase in young forest habitat on the to foraging birds. Unfortunately, landscape. Bird watching in general is shrubland habitat has been disappear- one of the biggest forms of outdoor ing in Connecticut over the last 40 recreation in the country. In years, primarily due to development and forest maturation. As suitable habitat patches become increasingly smaller, wildlife species attempting to utilize those patches become increas- ingly vulnerable to predation. Re-

search conducted by the CT DEEP indi- BIRDSANCTUARY cated that woodcock occupying J. PAUL FUSCO MOUNT / VERNONSONG- patchy, fragmented habitat had signifi- cantly lower survival rates than birds Connecticut, an estimated 25% of the inhabiting larger, less fragmented habi- population is engaged in bird watching. tat. Over 68% of all birding trips were to brushy or grassy habitats. With over Woodcock populations have been de- 80% of young forest dependent birds clining within their range during the in decline, increasing the amount of last 40 years. In Connecticut there has young forest habitat will result in in- been an annual 3.8% long-term (1968- creased bird watching opportunity. 2013) decline in the woodcock breed- ing population, as indexed through the Contact Information Singing Ground Survey. A number of For more information, or to discuss a initiatives, involving multiple partners, potential project, please contact the have been formed to reverse the de- New England Cottontail Initiative following: Paul Rothbart NEC Project Manager [email protected] Judy Wilson NEC Project Biologist [email protected] Lisa Wahle NEC Project Wildlife Specialist [email protected] Jack Berlanda NEC Project Forester [email protected]

Our office location is: CT DEEP Eastern District HQ 209 Hebron Road Marlborough, CT 06447 (860) 295-9523 The following websites offer further information pertaining to New England cottontails: www.ct.gov/deep/ youngforestinitiative www.newenglandcottontail.org www.ctnrcs.usda.gov/cottontail www.fws.gov/northeast/indepth/ rabbit What do you think? We hope you find this newsletter infor- mative and we welcome all comments. To submit recommendations or to un- subscribe, please email: [email protected]