Research in Wildlife 

 Habitat Management 



Ways of enhancing produc- 

 tion of wildlife by improve- 

 ments in forest habitats 

 have been studied by many 

 researchers in the South. 

 The grazing of cattle on 

 forest ranges, for example, 

 was found to produce 

 variable impacts on wildlife 

 as well as on timber produc- 

 tion (e.g., Pearson 1980). 

 Moore and Terry (1981) 

 found that continuous 

 year-round grazing on 

 southeastern pine lands 

 often degrades both wildlife 

 habitat and range condi- 

 tions, whereas short periods 

 of grazing followed by rest 

 periods tend to improve 

 wildlife habitat. 



The classic early work of 

 H.L Stoddard (1931) deal- 

 ing with management of 

 quail outlined methods for 

 enhancing habitat of this 

 important game species. 

 Strong interest in white- 

 tailed deer in the South 

 also stimulated considera- 

 ble research on this species 

 by scientists such as R.A. 

 Read, LK. Halls, H.L. Short, 

 J.R. Stransky, and T.H. 

 Ripley. A symposium on 

 deer, convened in Nacog- 

 doches, TX, in 1 969, consoli- 

 dated known information 



and proposed guides for 

 improving deer habitat and 

 production in forest areas 

 (Halls 1969). 



Other research included 

 evaluations of forage avail- 

 ability and digestibility and 

 the physiology and nutrition 

 of deer (e.g., Halls and 

 Boyd 1982). Related studies 

 explored relationships be- 

 tween deer management 

 and habitat and silvicultural 

 practices. These revealed 

 substantial changes in 

 yields of forage with timber- 

 stand development and 

 emphasized the need for 

 maintaining a productive 

 understory by periodic 

 thinnings and prescribed 

 burnings. 



Cooperative work with State 

 game agencies has often 

 been of major significance 

 in wildlife management 

 research, as in the case of 

 studies with the Louisiana 

 Wildlife and Fish Commis- 

 sion dealing with deer 

 potentials in selectively cut 

 pine -hardwood stands 

 (Blair and Brunett 1977). 

 Much additional research 

 also has been conducted 

 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service and by State game 



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