Wildland Systems Management

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Wildland Systems Management

• ASM 336
• Dr. Brian K. Miller
• Purdue Univ. Dept. of Forestry and Natural
  Resources

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What Are Wild Lands?
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Why Are Wild Lands Important?
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How Do Wild Lands Fit Within Production
Agricultural Systems?
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What Are the Main Wild Land Components Within a
Production Agricultural Setting?

• Wetlands
• Woodlands
• Field Windbreaks
• Shelterbelts
• Vegetative Filter Strips
• Road Sides
• Field Borders
• Non-Tillable Areas

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Wetlands
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Woodlands
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Woodlands Provide
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Field Windbreaks and Shelterbelts Can Achieve
Multiple Objectives

• Wind Protection
• Control Snow Drifting
• Wildlife Habitat
• Aesthetics
• Save Money
• Grow Useful Products
• Provide Income

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Windbreaks Can Vary in Width and Height
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Wind Protection
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Wind Protection
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Field Windbreaks and Shelterbelts Can Provide

• Wildlife Habitat
• Aesthetics
• Save Money

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Vegetative Filter Strips
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Field Windbreaks, Shelterbelts, and Vegetative
Filterstrips Can

• Grow Useful Products
• Provide Income

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Short Term Income Options
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Mid-Term Income Options
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Getting From Your Windbreaks and Filterstrips
Too!

• Cut branches for the florist trade
• Ornamental fruit
• Unusual branch form and color
• Flowers for forcing

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Selected Species Provide Similar Food And Cover
Values For Wildlife
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Long Term Income Options
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Field Borders
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Field Borders Provide

• Wildlife Habitat
• Travel Corridors
• Bio-Diversity
• Aesthetics

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Non-Tillable Areas
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Non-Tillable Areas Can

• Be Productive
• Be Managed
• Provide Value to the Landowner
• Are Essential to Sustaining Ecosystems and
  Biodiversity

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Road Sides
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Road Sides Provide

• Wildlife Habitat
• Travel Corridors
• Forage Production

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Buffers (Windbreaks, Filterstrips, Roadsides, and
Field Borders) Can

• Provide travel corridors for wildlife
• Increase habitat interspersion (provide the
  missing habitat component)

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Wildlife Habitat Is Sparse Often Lacks
Diversity In Ag. Landscapes
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CRP Can Help Establish Wildlands

• Receive maximum cash rental rate posted at FSA
  office 5 maintenance fee per acre per year for
  10 years
• 50 cost share to restore
• No easement required
• Eligible lands include planted to a commodity
  crop 4 yrs between 1996-2001 and still capable of
  producing a crop. Some marginal pasture land and
  land suitable for a riparian buffer may be
  included.
• Continuous signup or signup periods
• One time incentive payment of 100-150/acre

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EQUIP Can Help Establish Wildlands

• Producers agree to keep and maintain practices
  for 10 years.
• 50 - 75 cost share to establish practices that
  reduce non-point pollution, improve air quality,
  reduce soil erosion, or provide habitat for at
  risk species.
• No easement required
• Eligible lands include cropland, rangeland,
  grassland, pasture land, PNI forest land, and
  lands that pose severe env. threats.
• Additional incentive payments for up to 3 yrs for
  no till, prescribed grazing, wetland wildl.
  habitat mgmt, and early successional habitat dev.
  (Max. amount 450,000/ind/farmbill)

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WHIP Can Help Establish Wildlands

• Producers agree to keep and maintain practices
  for 5-10 years.
• 75 cost share for the establishment of 21
  conservation practices providing wildlife habitat
  (1,000-25,000)
• No easement required
• Eligible lands include any land can be enrolled
  regardless of acreage or cropping history
• Annual signup

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GRP Can Help Establish Wildlands

• Receive 30 (30 yr) - 100 (permanent) of FMV
  (less the grazing value of the land) or annual
  payments up to 75 of the grazing value of the
  land for the length of the agreement (10, 15, 20,
  or 30 yrs). Grazing, haying, mowing seed
  harvesting, fire are allowed. (Limits to future
  uses of land)
• 50-90 cost share to restore grasslands
• Permanent easement, 30-year easement, or a 10-30
  yr. rental agreement
• Eligible lands include grassland, or land that
  contains forbs and shrubs or lands in areas
  historically dominated by grassland, forbs and
  shrubs. (Min. of 40 contiguous acres)
• Continuous signup

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Wild Lands and Buffers Provide the Three
Essential Habitat Components Wildlife Require

• Cover
• Food
• Water

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Ground Covers
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Ground Covers

• Provide nest and brood cover for both birds and
  mammals
• Are necessary for grassland species
• Require regular maintenance
• A diversity of species mixes of different ages
  will support a greater diversity of wildlife
• Can provide food throughout the year

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Brood Cover
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Shrub Nesters
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Need Variety Both Short and Tall Shrubs
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A Variety Of Shrubs Provide Food Throughout The
Fall Winter
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Short Shrubs

• Shrub Dogwoods
• Northern Bayberry
• Barberry
• Red Chokeberry
• Elderberry
• Hazelnut
• Ninebark
• Arnot Bristly Locust

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Short Shrubs

• Good when perching predators are a concern
• Appropriate when machinery needs warrant
• Adequate when crop wind protection is not a
  priority
• Adds wildlife value to tall shrub and tree
  plantings
• Provides horizontal cover

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Tall Shrubs

• Flowering Crabapple
• Washington Hawthorn
• Redbud
• Apple
• Flowering Dogwood
• Highbush Cranberry
• Winter Berry
• Fruit Trees

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Tall Shrubs

• Good when perching predators are not a concern
• Appropriate when they do not interfere with
  irrigation equipment machinery
• Adequate when crop wind protection is not a
  priority
• Adds wildlife value to short shrub and tree
  plantings
• Provides vertical cover

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Tree And Cavity Nesters
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Trees

• Black Cherry
• Oak sp.
• Ash sp.
• Persimmon
• Black Locust
• Black Walnut
• Hickory sp.
• Sweetgum

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Trees

• Good when perching predators are not a concern
• Appropriate when they do not interfere with
  irrigation equipment machinery
• Necessary when crop wind protection is a priority
• Adds wildlife value to short shrub and tall shrub
  plantings
• Can provide hard mast and cavities for wildlife

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Summary of Wildlife Habitat BMPs in Agricultural
Buffers and Wildlands

• Provide nest habitat for ground, shrub and tree
  nesters
• Wider buffers provide more protection from
  predators
• Disturbance is needed to ground covers every 3-5
  years to reduce nest predators and to maintain
  habitat quality.
• A diversity of ground covers, shrubs and trees
  provide habitat for a wider variety of birds and
  mammals
• Nest boxes can enhance buffer nest habitat

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