Managing Forests for Trees and Birds in Massachusetts A Guide to Habitat Assessments and Silvicultural Practices Adapted from Vermont’s Foresters for the Birds Project Table of Contents INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE MASSACHUSETTS FOREST BIRDS 1 Massachusetts Forest Birds Massachusetts has more than 3 million acres Not all landowners will be candidates for More than 200 species of birds breed in 2 Evaluating a Project of forested land, and about 75% of that land is creating young forest habitat, perhaps due to their Massachusetts every year, and more than 100 of 2 Step 1: Identify Regional privately owned (Thompson et al. 2014). This management goals or property size. Instead, they those species nest in our forests. Identifying all Conservation Needs means that private landowners are positioned to may want to create mature forest habitats that are species by sight and sound — and knowing their 3 Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens be the most significant contributors to creating beneficial for wildlife. There is a need to improve respective habitat associations — is a daunting 3 Northeastern Coastal Zone and maintaining habitat for forest birds and other the understory and midstory structure in much task, even for experts. To make the connection 4 Northeastern Highlands wildlife. of our older forests, which would enhance the between forest birds and silviculture practices 6 Step 2: Determine Landscape habitat for mature forest birds. Many of these more clear, we have selected a suite of species for Given the scale and rapid pace of development Condition for Birds species, such as Wood Thrush and Eastern each ecoregion of the state. The birds in these and suburbanization in Massachusetts, our 8 Step 3: Analyze Stand Conditions Wood-pewee, are also declining. groups, the Focal Birds, were chosen because existing forest resources are becoming 14 Special Considerations for they: Young Forest Habitat increasingly valuable to the Commonwealth and Last, it is important to remember that the goal is 16 Adverse Impacts of Deer our wildlife. Thoughtful management of our to create a diverse, healthy, and resilient • Are a conservation priority in the region, 17 Making Management Decisions undeveloped lands can create forests that work ecosystem, and is not solely focused on just birds or statewide 17 Management Option 0: for both landowners and wildlife, help buffer the and forests. Much like the “canary in the coal • Are relatively simple to identify by sight Let it Grow Commonwealth from the anticipated effects of mine” expression, birds are indicators of or sound 18 Management Option 1: climate change, and also serve as shelter for ecosystem health (Niemi and McDonald 2004). A • Collectively use a wide range of forest Low-intensity Harvest species that are at risk of decline. forest with viable populations of White-throated types and habitat conditions Sparrows, Ruffed Grouse, or Wood Thrush is a • Are likely to respond positively to some 19 Management Option 2: The nature of this work is continual. Forest forest that is supporting a large variety of other common silviculture practices Moderate-intensity Harvest composition and structure change over time, and wildlife species as well. 20 Management Option 3: as a stand ages it provides habitat for These species do not occur in our forests alone. High-intensity Harvest different wildlife communities. In this document Each species is likely to be found in conjunction 23 Bird-friendly Best Management Practices we present the basic principles of evaluating with other declining species, so management 23 Companion Documents forest habitat for birds, and provide suggestions for the Focal Birds will benefit other birds and and Additional Resources on how to utilize silviculture in managing for wildlife. 24 Credits that habitat. We approach silviculture through Birds with Silviculture in Mind: A Pocket Guide to 24 Work Cited not only the lens of timber production, but also Focal Birds for Massachusetts Foresters is a quick- 25 Photo Credits the lens of forest bird production. reference, full-color look at each of the Focal The age composition of forests in Massachusetts Birds. It is an essential companion document to Acknowledgements is decidedly skewed toward older trees, with only this guide. Funding for adapting this publication to a small percentage of forests younger than 30 Massachusetts was provided through the DCR years old (Figure 1). The underrepresentation of Figure 1. The age composition of forestland managed Working Forest Initiative. young forests comes at a cost to the wildlife that by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and depend on them. This cost is reflected by declines Wildlife is generally representative of the entire The original project on which this publication in both the range and abundance of many species state, with few areas of early successional habitat. was based was supported by the Northeastern of young forest specialists across the state. For Area State and Private Forestry, U.S. Forest example, Chestnut-sided Warbler and Service, and TogetherGreen, a National White-throated Sparrow are two species that rely Audubon program with funding from Toyota. on young forest patches — and are two species Thanks to all of the foresters participating in the that are declining in the state. Foresters for the Birds Program, who provided feedback on the original documents. 1 EVALUATING A PROJECT Creating a Foresters for the Birds Stewardship Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens Northeastern Coastal Zone Northeastern Highlands Plan is similar to assembling a typical plan, but (SOUTHE AST) CE NTRAL SE C ( ) W (WE ST) there is additional emphasis given to creating Covering Cape Cod, the Islands, and much of Found in central and northeastern Massachusetts, This region, covering western and north central habitat that will support species in need of conser- Plymouth County, these are forests dominated this is perhaps the most heterogeneous region. Massachusetts, contains some of the state’s most vation. It considers habitat at three scales, going by xeric site species like pitch pine and various These forests typically support oak-pine and productive forest soils — particularly in the tree oaks. Dense understories of scrub oak and from the largest to the smallest: oak-mixed hardwood stands. Soils are generally limestone regions of Berkshire County — as huckleberry are common, and wetlands may acidic and sandy but not xeric. This zone includes well as some of its least productive sites, like 1. The context of the respective ecoregion contain Atlantic white-cedar. Fire and wind the more southern oak-hickory forest type, some those in the cold, boggy headwater regions where 2. The landscape surrounding the parcel (e.g., hurricanes) have been important red spruce and balsam fir become significant elements of the northern hardwood forest, and 3. The stand level characteristics disturbances historically, and therefore these components. The forests are principally all variations in between. Along with the Atlantic forests are considered to be disturbance northern hardwoods with varying components After evaluating the current habitat conditions, dependent. Some recommended silvicultural Coastal Pine Barrens, this zone has a high density of oak and red spruce. A cooler climate, more work with the landowner to assign and prioritize practices mimic this disturbance. of human settlement and cities, and forest birds rugged terrain, and higher elevations are management activities based on combined timber are highly dependent on the remaining tracts of important underlying habitat components and bird habitat objectives, and incorporate Bird- forest. in this zone. These forests are productive friendly Best Management Practices (BBMPs) breeding grounds for a high diversity of birds. during implementation (see page 23 for more details). STEP 1 IDENTIFY REGIONAL CONSERVATION NEEDS Massachusetts hosts a broad diversity of natural forest communities across the state. These forest communities are commonly grouped into three ecoregions based on similar forest types, ecosys- tems, and wildlife communities (Figure 2). Each Brown Thrasher and Northern Bobwhite are Canada Warbler and Wood Thrush are two Mourning Warbler and White-throated Sparrow are two important birds that can benefit from some important birds that can benefit from some two important birds that can benefit from some has a slightly different assemblage of birds, as silvicultural practices in the SE ecoregion silvicultural practices in the C ecoregion silvicultural practices in the W ecoregion well as different patterns of human land use: Figure 2. The three ecoregions of Massachusetts with outlines of municipal borders. Each region has a slightly different bird community and different land use patterns and considerations. 2 3 When analyzing an ecoregion, consider the Table 1. Focal Bird species by ecoregion. SE – (Southeast) Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens following: C – (Central) Northeastern Coastal Zone W – (West) Northeastern Highlands • What are the resident Focal Birds • How densely populated is the region? For (Table 1)? Some species are included in all example, the Northeastern Coastal Zone and Species Regions three ecoregions; others are limited to only Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens are more densely one or two. While some species occur populated by humans, resulting in greater Mature Forest Black-and-white Warbler SE C W statewide, they may only be designated as fragmentation of forest habitats. The effects of Wood Thrush SE C W Focal Birds