Historically, most Federal-State cooperative tech- 

 nical assistance and cost-sharing programs directed at 

 landowners have concentrated on one or two com- 

 modity products. These programs also provide a 

 ready vehicle for informing owners about wildlife 

 enhancement opportunities when considering forest, 

 range, and agriculture management practices. 



Landowners usually do not know that standard 

 commodity practices can be modified to help protect 

 and enhance wildlife, often at low cost. Relatively 

 minor changes in the location, intensity, and timing 

 of land treatments can often be valuable. For exam- 

 ple, if fall plowing is Umited, waste grain or green 

 grass shoots can attract more waterfowl. As was pre- 

 viously mentioned, other practices that can some- 

 times be used to improve wildlife food and cover 

 including mowing, disking, planting, and carefully 

 controlling livestock grazing. 



On lands that support commercially valuable 

 timber, attention to how timber harvesting is carried 

 out can often improve the wildlife carrying capacity 

 of the land by providing more food and cover. Unfor- 

 tunately, even when options are generally under- 

 stood, landowners frequently do not really know 

 where to turn for technical assistance for multi- 

 resource planning and implementation. To take full 

 advantage of such opportunities, agencies and other 

 organizations would have to improve coordination of 

 technical assistance and information programs 

 substantially. 5" 



In addition tc direct assistance programs, lands 

 have also been bought outright by conservation 

 groups and public agencies to ensure preservation of 

 key habitats, most notably for waterfowl in the 

 northern Great Plains. Easements have been pur- 

 chased to provide an economic incentive to land- 

 owners to not drain, burn, or fill wetlands, while 

 allowing use of those areas for grazing, haying, and 

 cultivation in the dry season. The Fish and Wildlife 

 Improvement Act of 1978 recently provided for con- 

 tinuing purchases of such "conservation easements." 



In general, at least the costs of improving habitat 

 conditions or providing recreational opportunities 



5* The need to improve coordination among public assistance 

 programs was a frequent comment received during public review of 

 the draft of this assessment document. The owners of relatively 

 small acreages still face a variety of practical problems even when 

 they have the desire to invest in their lands and when adequate 

 technical assistance programs are available. These problems 

 include diseconomies of small scale, difficulties in hiring skilled 

 labor, and difficulties in acquiring investment capital. For discus- 

 sion of the problems and the approaches available for overcoming 

 them through cooperative programs among public and private 

 groups, see: U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Federal role in 

 the conservation and management of private nonindustrial forest 

 lands. Washington, D.C. 63 p. plus appendices. 1978. 



must be covered if private landowners are to become 

 interested in such activities. While public ownership 

 is needed in some instances to protect key habitats, 

 most wildlife- and fish-related recreational oppor- 

 tunities will continue to be on private lands, simply 

 because there are more private than public lands. 



Opportunities for Research 



The ability to satisfy future demands for the 

 market, social, and ecological values of wildlife and 

 fish associated with forest and range lands will con- 

 tinue to depend on the understanding of those 

 resources and progress in translating that understand- 

 ing into a form that can be used by those who decide 

 on budgets and by on-the-ground managers of land 

 and water resources. 



In recognition of the rapid changes occurring in the 

 resource base, recent State and Federal legislation 

 has accelerated planning processes that will largely 

 determine conditions for many years to come. For 

 example, the National Forest Management Act of 

 1976 requires that intensive land and resource man- 

 agement planning be completed on all National 

 Forests by 1985. To the extent that critical informa- 

 tion on wildlife and fish resources is not available, it 

 is likely that the activities that follow planning will be 

 less effective than they could be. 



During late 1977 and early 1978. a series of work- 

 shops were held throughout the United States to 

 define the major research needs related to forest and 

 range lands. The following were rated as the subjects 

 needing top priority in research programs concerning 

 wildlife and fish: 



• Evaluate the effects of prescribed burning 

 techniques, silvicultural practices, and 

 Uvestock grazing systems on water quality 

 and on wildlife and fish habitats; develop 

 improved management alternatives where 

 advantageous. 



• Develop multiple use management strate- 

 gies for aquatic and associated riparian 

 ecosystems that will protect, rehabilitate, 

 and enhance wildlife and fish habitats. 



• Define minimum habitat conditions 

 needed to maintain populations of vari- 

 ous wildlife species. 



• Establish a system for placing quantita- 

 tive values on such non-marketed forest 

 and range resources such as wildlife. 



• Determine the impacts of wilderness 

 designation and of general recreation 

 activities on the future abundance and 

 diversity of wildlife. 



150 



