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Integrating Wildlife Habitat Into Local Planning: a Handbook for Maine Communities

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Integrating Wildlife Habitat Into Local Planning: a Handbook for Maine Communities Integrating Wildlife Habitat into Local Planning: A Handbook for Maine Communities Sharri A. Venno Department of Wildlife and MaineCooperativeFishandWildlifeResearch Unit University of Maine Orono, ME 04469 In cooperation with Maine Audubon Society Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station 5782 Winslow Hall The University of Maine Orono, ME 04469-5782 Miscellaneous Publication 712 May 1991 i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This handbook was initially written by Sharri Venno in partial fulfillment of a master’s degree in Wildlife Conservation for the Department of Wildlife, University of Maine, Orono. Members of her gradu- ate committee, also acting as reviewers of this version, included Ray B. Owen Jr., Department of Wildlife; William B. Krohn, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Kevin Boyle, Department of Agri- cultural and Resource Economics; Alan Hutchinson, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; and Katherine Weber, College of Forest Ressources. Sally Stockwell and Nancy Papoulias, representa- tives of Maine Audubon Society, provided valuable input during this stage in the development of the handbook as did Josie Quintrell and John Albright, staff members of the Department of Economic and Community Development, and Gary Donovan of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Financial assistance was provided by the Department of Wildlife, University of Maine; the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; and the Maine Audubon Society. Ray B. Owen Jr., William B. Krohn, Sally Stockwell, Gary Donovan and Fred Hurley contributed useful suggestions to the final publication. Special thanks is given to Leslie F. Brown for the sketches used in this publication, and to the Center for Rural Massachusetts, the Environmental Law Foundation, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for permission to use the drawings of sites under different development schemes. ii Contents FOREWORD ......................................................................................................................................................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. vi INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 1 WHY PLAN FOR WILDLIFE?.......................................................................................................................... 2 Recreational and Economic Values ............................................................................................................... 2 Ecological Values ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Other Values ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Legal Mandates ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Multiple Benefits and Comprehensive Planning.......................................................................................... 3 DIVERSITY AND WILDLIFE HABITATS ................................................................................................... 5 Biological Diversity .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Wildlife Habitats............................................................................................................................................... 5 Loss of Habitats and Diversity ...................................................................................................................... 5 Changing Habitats ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Natural Resource or Wildlife Committee ..................................................................................................... 9 Preliminary Assessment .................................................................................................................................. 9 Wildlife Habitat Inventory ............................................................................................................................ 10 Habitat Inventory Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 10 TOOLS FOR CONSERVING HABITATS ...................................................................................................13 Regulatory ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Nonregulatory................................................................................................................................................. 15 WHIMSY, MAINE: AN EXAMPLE................................................................................................................ 17 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 25 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................................................... 26 Federal Laws ................................................................................................................................................... 28 State Laws........................................................................................................................................................ 29 APPENDIX B—IDENTIFYING WILDLIFE HABITATS....................................................................... 33 Special Habitats .............................................................................................................................................. 33 Aquatic Habitats ............................................................................................................................................. 37 Transitional Habitats ...................................................................................................................................... 37 Upland Habitats.............................................................................................................................................. 39 APPENDIX C—FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES INVOLVED IN THE CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE HABITATS IN MAINE ............................................................. 42 APPENDIX D—USEFUL PUBLICATIONS ............................................................................................... 46 iii APPENDIX E—PRIVATE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS ..................................................... 47 APPENDIX F1—SPECIAL CONCERN SPECIES .................................................................................... 48 APPENDIX F2—SPECIES OF INDETERMINATE STATUS ............................................................... 49 APPENDIX F3—WATCH LIST SPECIES ................................................................................................... 50 Tables 1. Alternative examples of how to conserve wildlife habitats in Whimsy, Maine..................................... 24 B1. Federal and state endangered species in Maine, 1990 ............................................................................... 36 B2. Federal and state threatened species in Maine, 1990 ................................................................................ 36 B3. Types of wetland maps available in Maine, 1990 ...................................................................................... 39 Figures la. Locations of special habitats in Whimsy, Maine ......................................................................................... 18 1b. Locations of aquatic habitats in Whimsy, Maine ....................................................................................... 19 1c. Locations of wetlands in Whimsy, Maine ................................................................................................... 20 1d. Locations of riparian habitat in Whimsy, Maine........................................................................................ 21 le. Locations of upland habitats in Whimsy, Maine ......................................................................................... 22 1f. A composite of wildlife habitats in Whimsy, Maine .................................................................................. 23 2. MDIFW Map of wildlife management areas............................................................................................... 44 3a. Aerial View of Site Before Development ................................................................................................... 52 3b. Aerial View of Site After Unplanned Development ................................................................................. 53 3c. Aerial View of Site After Planned Development ....................................................................................... 54 iv FOREWORD This handbook is designed
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