ECOLOGICAL FORESTRY: Restoring, rehabilitating, and maintaining diverse and resilient forest ecosystems

Thomas LaPointe, Refuge Forester

Silvio O. Conte NFWR

802-962-5240; thomas_lapointe@fws.gov

Cindy Williams

Forestry Models

Custodial (AKA “Set Aside”) Sustained yield Multiple-use Production Extensive

Greg Corace

Ecological Forestry

Forestry that focuses on restoring, rehabilitating and maintaining the ecological integrity of forest ecosystems

Ecological Forestry - Tenets

Forests are dynamic ecosystems that evolve over time and if left alone are shaped by natural agents

Manipulating forest ecosystems by emulating natural disturbances regimes will encourage native diversity that is better able to cope with stressors

At the stand scale, provide biological legacies (typically large old trees, snag trees, cavity trees, coarse woody debris, etc) similar to those that survive natural disturbances

At the landscape scale, the crucial point is to regenerate areas at approximately the same rate as the natural disturbance cycle would have, and to ensure that the natural diversity in age and structure are conserved and maintained

Biological Integrity, Diversity, and Environmental Health (BIDEH)

…”favor management that restores or mimics natural ecosystem processes or functions to achieve refuge purpose(s)”

…”the highest measure of biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health (as)...those intact and self-sustaining habitats and wildlife populations that existed during historic conditions”

Challenges

Human demand for timber Unpredictable changes of

land use associated with a predominately privately owned landscapes

Severely degraded and altered ecosystems

Complexity in managing and balancing ecosystems at multiple spatial scales

Recommendations

Consider ecological forestry when developing goals, objectives, and strategies for forest ecosystems

Read more about it Towards a New Forestry – Jerry Franklin Principles of Ecological Forestry–Robert Seymour and

Malcolm Hunter Ecologically Based Forest Management – John Kotar

Consult a forester, forest ecologist, or other resource professional with knowledge in this field

Umbagog NWR, New Hampshire

Umbagog NWR, New Hampshire

Cindy Williams

Questions?