18 



Land Planning Report 



as the application of such measures as are necessary to 

 keep forest land productive, contribute to the welfare 

 of wildUfe. 



The requu'ements of game for various types of cover 

 are directly related to silvicultural methods used in 

 cutting, slash disposal, and reforestation. Cutting 

 operations break the forest canopy, and provide food 

 and cover by encom'aging the growth of low herbaceous 

 and shrubby vegetation, and succulent sprouts highly 

 relished by various wildlife species. On the other 

 hand, game populations so increased may be expected 

 to diminish gradually as the forests mature and the 

 food supplj' diminishes. Management must seek a 

 proper balance based on the relative importance of 

 each resource in the locaUty concerned. 



Modifications of management plans for both timber 

 and wildlife will often be possible. For example, it may 

 be practicable on intensively managed areas to so locate 

 timber cuttings that at all times there wiU be sufficient 

 feed and shelter, within the cruising range of the 

 wildlife species concerned, to maintain relatively large 

 populations. 



Silvicultural Practices and Wildlife: Silvicultural 

 practices on eastern national forests are designed to aid 

 in the production of wildlife as well as timber. This is 

 given definite apphcation on the AUeghenj^ Forest in 

 Pennsylvania. Of the timber trees there, beech is the 

 most important producer of wildlife food, beechnuts 

 being utilized bj^ deer, bear, squirrels, and grouse. 

 Beech, although a valuable tunber tree, has a decided 

 tendency to develop a wide-spreading "wolf tree" 

 habit in open stands. It is silviculturally desu-able, 

 therefore, to remove defective limby beech on cut-over 

 areas, so that the next stand may be composed of tall, 

 straight, well-formed stems. Following a study of the 

 situation it was decided, however, that it was desirable 

 to reserve an average of four large crowned beech per 

 acre, incident to silvicultural unprovement of cut-ov^er 

 areas. This policy has been put into practice as a 

 definite measure for coordinating wdldlife with timber 

 production. Serviceberry, a nontimber species, is 

 definitely protected on the Allegheny, because of its 

 value as a producer of wildlife food. 



The George Washington National Forest in Virginia 

 furnishes another example of the effect of silvicultural 

 measures on wildlife. In 100,000 acres, of the Massa- 

 nutten Working Circle 1,249 acres of the best sites were 

 subjected to timber stand improvement treatment by 

 the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. An average 

 of 37 stems were cut per acre, 70 percent of which were 

 10 inches or less in diameter. The average acre 

 supported 253 stems after treatment, including such 

 producers of wildUfe food as hickory, oaks, cucumber, 

 dogwood, black gum, and sumac. The area treated 



on this working circle is only slightly more than 1 per 

 cent of the total, and the treatment is expected to 

 promote better production of timber without inter- 

 ference with wildlife. As more fundamental data 

 regarding intricate local biological relationships become 

 available, even greater coordination should be possible. 



Improvement of Game Conditions an Objective of 

 Forest Planting: The importance of wildlife require- 

 ments is also recognized in the national forest planting 

 program. Improvement of game conditions is listed ^ 

 as one of the objectives in planting. It is the policj' to 

 plant first those areas which may be expected to produce 

 the most valuable timber crops; that is, the most 

 productive sites. It is recognized, however, that exten- 

 sive areas of unbroken coniferous forest — either virgin 

 stands or maturing plantations — afford ample cover, 

 but little feed for many wildlife species. It is there- 

 fore necessary to make definite provision, whenever 

 possible, for supplies of fruits or browse, within or near 

 coniferous plantations. Natural growth may some- 

 times be utilized for this purpose. The Canaan Moun- 

 tain planting project of the Monongahela National 

 Forest in West Virginia may be cited. This area of 

 21,000 acres originally supported dense stands of 

 spruce, hemlock, and hardwoods. Logging and 

 repeated fires wrought colossal changes. Since the 

 tract has come into national forest ownership, protec- 

 tion from fire has resulted in a new growth of hard- 

 woods, with some admixtm-e of conifers, over most of 

 the area. On about 2,500 acres of the most severe burn, 

 however, it has been necessary to reestablish the forest 

 by plantmg. Red spruce, the native species, was the 

 most logical choice, and was the chief species used. 

 Small quantities of black cherry, a wildlife food pro- 

 ducer, were planted in mixture with the spruce. 



Of greater importance to wildlife, however, is the 

 natural growth of mountain ash, viburnum, holly, and 

 other hardwood species. During the establishment of 

 plantations on this project, most of this native hard- 

 wood growth was undisturbed. As the plantations 

 mature, it is anticipated that adequate wildlife cover 

 and food will be suppUed by the resulting coniferous 

 hardwood mixture. 



The planting problem on the Ozark National Forest 

 in Arkansas, on which the predominating type is hard- 

 woods with more or less short-leaf pine in mixture, 

 consists of restocking abandoned old fields scattered 

 throughout the forest. Short-leaf pine is used almost 

 exclusively for planting the old fields. The result will 

 be comparatively small blocks of almost pure conifers, 

 breaking the hardwood cover. Many of these old 

 fields, however, support a scattered stand of persim- 

 mon, sassafras, black gum, and other hardwood pro- 



> p. 129-S, National Forest -Manual. 



