Groups delve into key points of biodiversity

AUGUSTA – Biodiversity has been one of forestry’s biggest buzzwords in recent years, a misunderstood ecological term that too often has landowners worrying about draconian new restrictions.

But a group of landowners, foresters and loggers who attended a workshop at the State Arboretum on Thursday learned how simple it can be to do the right thing for wildlife habitat.

“Biodiversity is basically just everything that’s out there in the woods,” said Rob Bryan, a forester employed by Maine Audubon. “A lot of foresters are probably coming close to doing this without even realizing it.”

Bryan, in cooperation with the state and the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine, led the morning discussion on how to manage a forest for timber as well as habitat.

The key, he said, is thinking about the needs of “umbrella species,” those animals whose habitat needs also serve a whole range of other wildlife.

For example, the pine marten, which lives in a mature northern spruce-fir forest, shares its habitat with two reptiles, eight amphibians, 40 mammals, 80 birds and countless insects, according to research done by University of Maine scientists.

Animals that need particularly large ranges, such as the Northern goshawk, or those that need a variable-aged forest, such as the ruffed grouse, tend to be ideal umbrella species.

If habitats for umbrella species are created on adjacent pieces of land that feature the different types of forest, then you’ve protected the whole range of life, Bryan said.

If landowners protect the extreme habitats – a really young forest and a really old forest – “stuff in the middle will probably take care of itself,” he said.

Here in Maine, the forests don’t lend themselves to the type of old growth that causes the kind of controversies experienced in the West. Forestland in Maine can be harvested regularly and still provide all types of habitat. We have no spotted owl – only species such as the pileated woodpecker or the white-tailed deer that need a maturing forest.

Ironically, the southern Maine forest is struggling with a need for young or early-succession forest – the type of habitat that grows up after a forest burns or is harvested. Such critical species as snowshoe hare, grouse and woodcock need young forests.

If no one harvests, the impact on habitat can be as detrimental as that of clear-cutting, Bryan said.

The key is providing a balance among the types of habitat all across the landscape. To do so, those who own an acre or two on the edge of town are as important as the large landowners such as Irving or Plum Creek.

Those who own small pieces of land are crucial to habitat protection, because it is their land, near towns, that tends to be targeted for development. Just a few acres kept by a single landowner in a suburban area can provide a crucial wildlife corridor for an animal such as the fisher that tends to travel from one wetland to another, Bryan said.

To succeed, however, landowners have to work together. If every property is managed the same way, some species will be lost. Rather, a landowner whose neighbors all have created preserves can and should cut a lot of timber to add some young forest to the mix, Bryan said.

Because of people’s varying priorities, some biodiversity is being preserved already by default, said Paul Miller of SWOAM. Maybe 90 percent of landowners are “coming close” to managing for habitat, he said.

Sometimes, if a landowner needs to do a heavy timber harvest – to cash out an investment – habitat can’t be a priority. But most landowners are thinking about long-term sustainability – preserving their capital – and for them, managing for habitat would mean only a slight, short-term financial loss, if any at all, Miller said.

All responsible forestry tends to benefit wildlife to some degree, he said.

A series of workshops being sponsored around the state by the various forestry and environmental groups are about teaching landowners and loggers to speak “ecology,” so they can describe their practices to foresters or when seeking to certify their land as sustainable, he said.

Additional workshops have been scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon April 15 at the Sanford Fish and Game Club; April 22 at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft; May 6 at the Georgia-Pacific Training Center in Old Town; May 13 at the Northern Maine Fairgrounds in Presque Isle; and June 17 at the University of Maine at Machias. The cost is $15, and certification credits are available. For information or to register, contact Rob Bryan at 781-2330 or Paul Miller at (866) 845-3047.