Open Oak Woodland and Glade

Open Oak Woodland and Glade Management Workshop August 25 -26, 2015

The Central Hardwoods Joint Venture, Arkansas NRCS, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas Forestry Commission and the US Fish and Wildlife Service Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office are hosting an Open Oak Woodland and Glade Management Workshop on August 25 – 26, 2015. It will be held at the North Arkansas College Durand Center in Harrison with a classroom session on August 25th followed by an optional field trip on the 26th to view ongoing oak woodland and glade restoration. This workshop is free and open to all natural resource professionals, foresters, biologists, consultants and land managers interested in increasing their knowledge on how to identify, restore and manage these unique habitat communities.

In this age of natural community management, natural resource professionals are continually called upon to provide management recommendations and plans for a vast array of different habitat types. Two of these communities are the glades and woodlands which occurred across large acreages in the Ozark Highland region of northern Arkansas. Many of these communities have been vastly altered from their original state and may not be readily recognized on the landscape. However the structure and diversity of plants they support are critical to many declining grass and shrub-land species.

This workshop was developed to aid land managers in understanding the components of woodland and glade communities, the value these vanishing landscapes provide, and how best to restore these critical habitats. The information presented will allow you, as a land manager or consultant, to better understand glade and woodland community types and have the knowledge to manage these forgotten ecosystems.

Please register by August 14, 2015 by visiting the https://openwoods.eventbrite.com website to enroll.

There is a block of rooms reserved at the Holiday Inn Express, 117 Highway 43 E, Harrison, AR. 72601. Hotel reservations can be made by calling 1 870-741-3636 by August, 10th, 2015 and asking for the “woodland workshop”. Cost will be approximately $83.00 for a double occupancy room, plus taxes and fees.

Contact Larry Heggemann, Central Hardwoods Joint Venture Delivery Coordinator, 573-576-3775 or Ted Zawislak, AGFC (877) 297-4331 ext.126 for more information or questions about the workshop. Woodland and Savanna Management Workshop North Arkansas College, Durand Conference Center, Room B

303 North Main Street Harrison, AR August 25 – 26, 2015

Day 1 (August 25)

8:30 – 9:00 Registration

9:00 – 9:10 Introduction;

9:15 – 10:00 Ecology of Open Oak Woodlands and Glades Barrens; Doug Ladd, Director of Conservation Science, MO Nature Conservancy

10:00 – 10:45 Ecology of Woodlands and Glades in north Arkansas; Theo Witsell, AR Natural Heritage Commission

10:45 – 11:15 Break

11:15 – 12:00 Woodland and Glades: Restoration and Management; McRee Anderson, AR Nature Conservancy

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch (provided onsite)

1:00 – 1.45 Vegetative Response to Woodland and Savanna Management; Theo Witsell, AR Natural Heritage Commission

1:45 – 2:15 Wildlife Response to Woodland and Savanna Management; TBD

2:15 – 2:45 Bird Response to Woodland and Glade Restoration; Jane Fitzgerald, Central Hardwood Joint Venture Coordinator, American Bird Conservancy

2:45 – 3:00 Break

3:15 – 3:45 Private Land Glade Restoration, Calico Rock Area; Joe Massey, NRCS District Conservationist

3:45 – 4:15 Butterflies and other insect response to Woodland Restoration on Gene Rush; TBD

4:15 – 4:30 Logistics for the Tour of Open Woodland Management on Gene Rush WMA; Mark Hutchings, AFGC

Adjourn

Day 2 (August 26) 8:00 – 12:00 Tour of Open Woodland and Glade Management on Gene Rush WMA (tour guides and discussion Items) TBD