COMMUNITY TOOLS: Managing and Restoring Land for Wildlife

Management and Restoration

Habitat Management: Some habitats require periodic natural disturbances to maintain their unique characteristics. By “managing” the land, we can often mimic these natural disturbances in places where the disturbance has been eliminated or diminished as a result of human activities. Where development has significantly reduced the diversity of habitats in some areas of the state, managing and restoring undeveloped lands helps to maintain this diversity. Management techniques that can be used to mimic natural disturbances include prescribed burning, mowing, timber harvesting, removing non-native species and planting native species.

Communities who own town forests or conservation land can manage these properties to protect or benefit wildlife. Management plans for public or conservation land should include restrictions adequate to protect the features and values at stake. Management of these lands can also provide an economic benefit to the town (e.g. sustainable timber harvesting) by following a defined management plan for maintaining wildlife habitats.

Habitat Restoration: Habitat restoration helps to maintain habitat diversity. Restoration includes restoring degraded wildlife habitats, restoring habitats to benefit at-risk species, and reducing the impacts of invasive species. What restoration is required depends on the nature of the degradation and the type of habitat.

Restoration opportunities often exist for early successional habitats such as shrublands (former farmland reverting to forest) and grasslands (pastures and hay fields). Early successional habitats are critical for some wildlife species. In New Hampshire, these habitats require active management by humans or natural disturbances in order to persist.

Some activities that restore habitat conditions are eligible for cost-share payments from the USDA-NRCS. Refer to the Resources for Managing and Restoring Habitats section for more information.

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STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

How to Manage & Restore Habitats on Community Land

STEP 1: Use your natural resources inventory and conservation plan as a guide for managing and restoring habitats.

Refer to Natural Resources Inventory and Wildlife and your town's natural resources inventory for information on critical wildlife habitats.
Refer to Conservation Planning for Wildlife and your town's conservation plan for guidance in prioritized habitat areas.

STEP 2: Identify potentially suitable town or city properties for management or restoration: town forests, conservation areas, etc.

Use the Wildlife Habitats Land Cover and Highest Ranked Habitats maps for your community to identify these properties.

STEP 3: Identify wildlife habitats on these lands, especially Critical Habitats as identified in the NH Wildlife Action Plan.

Use your community's Wildlife Habitat Land Cover Map to identify potential habitats that may benefit from management or restoration.

STEP 4: Identify Species of Conservation Concern that require these Critical Habitats and that are likely to occur in your geographic area.

Use Appendix D of the NH Wildlife Action Plan to cross reference Habitats and Species.

STEP 5: Conduct field studies and consult resources on the properties of interest.

Use this information to inventory actual existence of Critical Habitats and Species of Conservation Concern as identified in the NH Wildlife Action Plan. Document this in as much detail as possible – locations, photos, etc.
Document any invasive species on the property, and other features that may require restoration.

STEP 6: Research specific habitat requirements of the identified Species of Conservation Concern.

What are the threats to these species and recommended management of their habitat? Seek advice from UNH Cooperative Extension Foresters and other staff about forest and habitat management approaches and financial incentive programs for landowners (see Resources for Management and Restoration of Habitats)

STEP 7: Identify management or restoration options.

Seek advice from UNH Cooperative Extension Foresters and other staff about forest and habitat management approaches and financial incentive programs for landowners
See Resources for Management and Restoration of Habitats
Review Cost-Share/Financial Assistance for Landowners and find out what grant options are available to landowners interested in habitat management or restoration.

STEP 8: Identify professional assistance.

Consider hiring a forester, wildlife biologist, etc. to help develop the management or restoration plan.
Seek advice from UNH Cooperative Extension Foresters and other staff about forest and habitat management approaches and financial incentive programs for landowners, and options for restoration.

STEP 9: Create a management or restoration plan based on the above information.

Review management plans from other communities to get ideas about what you might want to include. Create a management plan using professional assistance or volunteers.
Work with a professional to create a restoration plan suitable for the habitats on the property.

STEP 10: Implement the management plan, and publicize it to keep your community informed.

See Conducting Public Outreach for Wildlife for more information on public outreach.

STEP 11: Evaluate the results of the management plan annually.

Publicize the results, e.g. increased use by wildlife, increased numbers of wildlife species, new wildlife species using the habitat, etc.
See A Landowner’s Guide to Inventorying & Monitoring Wildlife on Your Land. Measure results against original goals and objectives.

STEP 12: Monitor for the presence of Species of Concern over time.

Document monitoring of lands in writing, on maps and with photos

Learn More About Management and Restoration to Protect Wildlife....
Resources for Restoring and Managing Wildlife Habitats What is Habitat Management? - NH Fish & Game's website explains why habitat management is important, what it means, and why it's sometimes necessary not to "let nature takes its course." How to Manage Habitats - UNH Cooperative Extension's website contains information about how landowners can manage their property based on the wildlife habitats they own and the wildlife species that use those habitats. Wildlife Habitats - UNH Cooperative Extension maintains webpages on the most commonly-found habitats in the state, which include management (also called "stewardship") recommendations to protect wildlife species of conservation concern in each habitat type. See also the Habitat Stewardship Brochure Series. Success Stories - read about towns who have successfully managed public land for wildlife