Defenders' Experts
Biodiversity Management Strategies
Although humans have been actively managing forests for production of food
and other forest products for thousands of years, it's only recently that
biodiversity conservation has begun to receive much consideration by forest land
managers.
The traditional approach to conservation of forest habitats and species has focused heavily on establishment of reserves, where timber harvest, road-building and other human activities are prohibited or severely restricted. The vast majority of these forests in the United States are public lands specially designated to protect their natural values, such as parks and wilderness areas.
But most of these reserves encompass less productive forests found at higher elevations, often in rugged terrain that made them inaccessible or less attractive for timber harvest and development. Many of the most productive and biologically diverse forests are in private ownership and - like most public forests - are largely managed for commodity production.
Given the inadequacy of existing reserves, and the limited prospects for significant additions to the current conservation network, many conservation biologists are increasingly looking to the broader landscape for options to help conserve forest biodiversity.
Rather than viewing forests as "protected" or "unprotected", this approach considers biodiversity management on a continuum, ranging from strict conservation management at the high end to minimal conservation value at the low end. Although large, ecologically intact reserves remain a cornerstone of most conservation strategies, more modest changes in management that effectively move lands to higher levels on the biodiversity management spectrum can make important contributions as well.
Biodiversity management strategies can be applied at a variety of scales. Large regional or landscape-scale strategies like the federal government's Northwest Forest Plan, which extends across three states within the range of the northern spotted owl, focus heavily on land use allocations to protect a diversity of habitat types and species. Site-level management strategies typically emphasize specific management techniques, often within the context of on-going commercial timber production, to create landscape conditions targeted to support specific elements of biodiversity.
In this section. . .
Many conservation biologists are looking to the broader landscape for options to help conserve forest biodiversity.
Two landscape-level plans take different management approaches: the Northwest Forest Plan and the Blue River Landscape Study.
The Northwest Forest Plan is a system of late-successional reserves that are intended to provide essential habitat for northern spotted owls and other terrestrial wildlife associated with old-growth forests.
The Blue River Landscape Study is a long-term project designed to test an alternative landscape management strategy based on historical fire regimes and other disturbance processes.
Variable density thinning allows more flexibility to retain existing snags, logs and deciduous trees, as well promoting shrubs and complex canopies.
