Managing Boreal Forest for Timber and Wildlife in the Tanana Valley of Eastern Interior Alaska
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Wildlife Technical Bulletin ADF&G/DWC/WTB–2020–17 Managing Boreal Forest for Timber and Wildlife in the Tanana Valley of Eastern Interior Alaska Thomas F. Paragi, Julie C. Hagelin, and Scott M. Brainerd ©2002 Robert A. Ott 2020 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation Wildlife Technical Bulletin ADF&G/DWC/WTB-2020-17 Managing Boreal Forest for Timber and Wildlife in the Tanana Valley of Eastern Interior Alaska Thomas F. Paragi Wildlife Biologist 1300 College Road Fairbanks, AK 99701-1551 Julie C. Hagelin Wildlife Biologist 1300 College Road Fairbanks, AK 99701-1551 Scott M. Brainerd Regional Research Coordinator 1300 College Road Fairbanks, AK 99701-1551 (Present address: Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Anne Evenstadsvegen 80, NO-2480 Koppang, Norway) ©2020 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation PO Box 115526 Juneau, AK 99811-5526 The work described in this report was funded in part by Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration, Grant AKW-23, Project 34.0 and State Wildlife Grant T-32, Project 11. Hunters are important founders of the modern wildlife conservation movement. They, along with trappers and sport shooters, provided funding for this publication through payment of federal taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and through state hunting license and tag fees. Wildlife Technical Bulletins provide thorough review and analysis of data and other information available regarding a particular topic. They may incorporate data obtained from one or more original research projects undertaken by agency staff as well as data and information obtained from other sources. These reports are professionally reviewed by research staff in the Division of Wildlife Conservation. Each is provided a number for internal tracking purposes. This Wildlife Technical Bulletin was reviewed and approved for publication by Scott Brainerd, Research Coordinator for Region III for the Division of Wildlife Conservation. Wildlife Technical Bulletins are available from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Wildlife Conservation, P.O. Box 115526, Juneau, Alaska 99811-5526; phone (907) 465-4190; email: [email protected]; website: www.adfg.alaska.gov. The report may also be accessed through most libraries, via interlibrary loan from the Alaska State Library or the Alaska Resources Library and Information Service (www.arlis.org). Please cite this document as follows: Paragi, T. P., J. C. Hagelin, and S. M. Brainerd. 2020. Managing boreal forest for timber and wildlife in the Tanana Valley of eastern Interior Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Wildlife Technical Bulletin ADF&G/DWC/WTB-2020-17, Juneau. Please contact the authors or the Division of Wildlife Conservation at (907) 465-4190 if you have questions about the content of this report. The State of Alaska is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This document is available in alternative communication formats. If you need assistance, please contact the Department ADA Coordinator via fax at (907) 465-6078;TTY/Alaska Relay 7-1-1 or 1-800-770-8973. ADF&G does not endorse or recommend any specific company or their products. Product names used in this publication are included for completeness but do not constitute product endorsement. Note: This version differs slightly from the original version published online in that the photo caption below has been changed. Cover Photo: Early fall view of boreal forest from the Parks Highway between Fairbanks and Nenana, showing the Tanana River and flats, Alaska Range foothills, and Mount Hayes. ©2002 Robert A. Ott. Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 An Impetus for This Report: Changing Demand for Wood ....................................................... 1 Building on Earlier Cooperation ................................................................................................. 3 What this Bulletin Presents ......................................................................................................... 4 Intended Readership and Use...................................................................................................... 4 Wildlife and Timber Management in the Tanana Valley ............................................................... 5 Understanding Wildlife Habitat Needs ........................................................................................... 8 Themes, Principles, and Guidelines for Forest Habitat Management .......................................... 10 Key Themes for Maintaining Wildlife Habitat ......................................................................... 10 Principles and Guidelines for Forestry Practices ...................................................................... 11 Principle 1. Manage forests for a range of habitat types that support diverse wildlife species, because this is likely to maintain forest ecosystem resilience to environmental disturbances........................................................................................................................... 11 Principle 2. An integrated approach to forest and wildlife management at the stand and landscape scales maintains habitat benefits. ......................................................................... 12 Principle 3. Stand-level planning and management of habitat and wildlife can mitigate wildlife damage to desired forest products. .......................................................................... 13 Principle 4. Landscape-level planning for both wildlife habitat and access management is appropriate given competing interests, the scale of natural disturbances, and desire for a managed forest on state lands. .............................................................................................. 13 Principle 5. Consider best practices for wildlife habitat conservation in managed forest as hypotheses that can be verified for effectiveness and adjusted over time using an adaptive management approach to optimize desired outcomes for both forests and wildlife. ............ 14 Implementing Cooperative Management Approaches .................................................................. 16 Application of Guidelines to Timber Sale Planning ................................................................. 16 Benefits of Adaptive Management and Hypothesis Testing ..................................................... 17 Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................................................... 23 Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 25 Contents of Appendices ................................................................................................................ 26 Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................... 109 Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................... 111 Wildlife Technical Bulletin ADF&G/DWC/WTB-2020-17 i List of Figures Figure 1. Forest types and potential seral forest (recent burns and tall shrub that includes young deciduous trees) that compose the dominant vegetation types in the boreal region of Alaska as defined by Bird Conservation Region 4 (Bird Studies Canada and NABCI 2014). ................... 2 Figure 2. Map of Tanana River drainage, forest inventory boundary (Hanson 2013), the Tanana Valley State Forest, Alaska Native corporation lands, and larger communities in the Tanana Valley, eastern Interior Alaska. .................................................................................................. 3 Figure 3. Map of the Tanana Valley State Forest, other state lands commonly having forestry as a designated or co-designated use, state area plans regions, and other lands where forest management may occur in eastern Interior Alaska. .................................................................... 6 List of Tables Table 1. Forestry management actions, spatial scale, and best practices to produce desired outcomes for wildlife habitat and wildlife species. .................................................................. 18 Table 2. Management considerations for wildlife species and expected resulting impact on humans or forests. ..................................................................................................................... 20 List of Appendices Appendix A. Administration of forest practices and policy guidance on wildlife habitat ........... 31 Appendix B. Overview of Interior Alaska, the Tanana Valley State Forest, and resource management considerations. ..................................................................................................... 35 Appendix C. Concepts of forest–wildlife relationships and habitat management. ....................... 49 Appendix D. Synthesis of information on the principles and guidelines for managing forest– wildlife relationships in boreal