MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION 



The State of Michigan in 1957 set aside three 

 tracts of 1,040 ha each (Mayfieid 1963, Radtke 

 and Byelich 1963). Two were planted with open 

 stands of jack pine, and all have attracted Kirt- 

 land's warblers (KWRT 1976). 



The Kirtland's Warbler Management Area, es- 

 tablished by the U.S. Forest Service in 1961, 

 consists of some 1,620 ha of jack pine forest 

 which is being managed for the warblers. Manage- 

 ment activities on these refuges have included 

 selective cutting, burning, and replanting to 

 achieve the desired habitat type. The warblers 

 have nested successfully in each of these areas 

 (KWRT 1976). 



An intensive program to eliminate nest para- 

 sitism by the brown-headed cowbird was begun in 

 1972 and has proven immensely successful. 



The Kirtland's Warbler Recovery Team 

 drafted a Recovery Plan (1976) whose primary 

 objective is to reestablish a wild population 

 throughout the former range at a minimum level 

 of 1,000 pairs. Five steps are necessary to reach 

 the primary objective: 



1. Maintain and develop suitable nesting 

 habitat throughout the former range 



2. Protect the species on its wintering 

 grounds and along the migration route 



3. Reduce key factors adversely affecting re- 

 production and survival 



4. Monitor breeding populations to evaluate 

 responses to management practices and envi- 

 ronmental changes 



5. Reintroduce the species into the Upper 

 Peninsula of Michigan or in other States to 

 establish independent, self-sufficient popula- 

 tions. 



AUTHORITIES 



John Byelich (Recovery team leader) 



P.O.Box 306 



Mio, Michigan 48647 



George W. Irvine (Recovery Team) 

 Huron-Manistee National Forest 

 421 South Mitchell Street 

 Cadillac, Michigan 49601 



Nels Johnson (Recovery Team) 

 Regional Biologist 



Michigan Department of Natural Resources 



P.O.Box 128 



Roscommon, Michigan 48653 



Wesley R.Jones (Recovery Team) 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 Federal Building, Fort Snelling 

 Twin Cities, Minnesota 55111 



Harold Mayfieid (Recovery Team) 

 9235 River Road 

 Waterville, Ohio 43566 



Robert Radtke (Recovery Team) 

 U.S. Forest Service 

 633 West Wisconsin Avenue 

 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203 



L.H. Walkinshaw 

 4691 Timberlane Road 

 Lake Wales, Florida 33853 



Richard Winters (Recovery Team) 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 301 Manley Miles Building 

 1405 South Harrison Road 

 East Lansing, Michigan 48823 



PREPARER'S COMMENTS 



None. 



LITERATURE CITED/SELECTED 

 REFERENCES 



KWRT (Kirtland's Warbler Recovery Team). 1976. 

 Kirtland's warbler recovery plan. pp. 



Lane, J. 1975. Kirtland's warbler in Mexico. Am. 

 Birds 29(1):144. 



Mayfieid, H. F. 1953. A census of the Kirtland's 

 warbler. Auk 70:17-20. 



. 1960. The Kirtland's warbler. Cranbrook 



Inst. Sci., Bloomfield Hills, Mich. pp; 



. 1962. 1961 decennial census of the Kirt- 



land's warbler. Auk 79:173-182,263-268. 

 -. 1963. Establishment of preserves for the 



Kirtland's warbler in the state and national 

 forests of Michigan. Wilson Bull. 75:216-220. 



. 1972. Third decennial census of Kirt- 



land's warbler. Auk 89:263-268. 

 . 1973a. Census of Kirtland's warbler in 



