ALTERING EXISTING COVER 651 



following arc a few general suggestions whicli may help in this respect. 



1. Where practical, woodlands should be managed on a sustained yield basis. This implies 

 that the cutting is to be spread over a number of years, preferably by a periodic lum- 

 bering off of crop trees. 



2. The areas to be cut in any one operation should be kept as small as practicable. 



3. Avoid encouraging stands composed of but one or two species. 



4. Where possible, maintain mixed stands composed of hardwoods and conifers rather than 

 a pure stand of either. 



5. Leave sufficient conifers, preferably in clumps, well scattered throughout the woodlands, 

 to furnish escape cover and winter shelter for the birds. 



6. Encourage uneven-, rather than even-aged, stands. 



7. Follow the practice of periodic selective cutting of crop trees rather than clear-cutting 

 large areas. 



8. Always keep the basic cover requirements of grouse in mind. Carry out the timber 

 harvest so as to increase rather than decrease the number of good grouse habitats. 



The management of a covert to produce pulpwood as the main timber crop is likely to ha\e 

 serious repercussions on the grouse population unless the cut-over areas are fairly small 

 and are well scattered. This is seldom considered to be practical. On the other hand, where 

 a market is present for pulp, there exists a golden opportunity to make thinnings, cut in 

 connection with the maintenance of overgrown lands and woodlands, return a profit. On 

 New York's game lands several thousand acres of woodlands have been thinned in accor- 



A COMBINATION SUCH AS THIS OFFERS A CHALLENGING OPPORTUNITY TO PRODUCE LARGE CROPS 



OF BOTH GROUSE AND TIMBER 



dance with good forest and game management practices, the wood thus cut being transported 

 up to 80 miles to pulp mills for sale at a price sufficient to cover the cost of the entire 

 operation. 



Much the same situation exists as regards acid wood as a crop to be cut from grouse cov- 



