Date 2007

**Managing Kansas Forests for Wildlife**

Kansas Forest Service

Manhattan, Kansas

Kansas forests and woodlands are used by 50 percent of our state's
breeding birds. Fourteen of our state-protected animals (threatened and
endangered species) are associated with upland forests and 16 with
floodplain forests. Clearly, Kansas forests and woodlands provide
important wildlife habitat and a variety of cover based on age and
species of the trees. However, much can be done to improve wildlife
habitat in Kansas forests through management, which will create a
variety of cover across the landscape based on age and species of the
trees. Kansas Forest Service foresters and Kansas Department of Wildlife
and Parks (KDWP) wildlife biologists are available to help landowners
assess their forestland's wildlife potential in terms of food, shelter,
and water. It also helps when forest landowners have identified the
specific wildlife they are encouraging since species may have different
habitat needs.

Each animal or bird has a specific niche in the forest that may range
over several square miles (white-tail deer) or only a couple acres
(eastern fox squirrel). A niche is the role or "occupation" the specific
critter plays in the forest. The more niches, the more wildlife. Natural
events like windstorms and fires create different habitats or forest
management can be used to artificially introduce them. The management
practices used to create additional habitats depend on the successional
stage of the forest. Tree or shrub planting, natural regeneration,
thinning, and harvest can all be implemented to improve wildlife
habitat.

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Successsional stages of a forest are:

[Young Forests]{.underline}

Young forests in the seedling/sapling stage can be thinned by removing
less desirable wildlife trees like elm and honeylocust and leaving
desirable species like oak, hickory, and walnut (hard mast species).
Forests in this stage do not have a closed canopy and thus more sunlight
reaches the forest floor which encourages blackberry, elderberry, and
herbaceous plants that provide browse, forage, and seeds. The five-lined
skink, wild turkey, yellow-breasted chat, red bat, grey fox, and bobcat
are species that find their niche in young forests.

[Immature Forests]{.underline}

Immature forests are defined by some wildlife biologists as having a
mixture of sapling and pole-size trees still too young to produce much
mast for wildlife. In addition to mast, immature forests also tend to
lack grasses, forbs, and shrubs because they have been shaded out by a
closed canopy. Tree cavities are often missing. Immature forests can be
improved by thinning less desirable species thereby reducing competition
for the tree crowns of oak, hickory, and walnut of good form and growth
vigor. Downed material from thinning operations can be used to create
ground-level cover brush piles 4 to 5 feet tall and 10 to15 feet wide.
Any snags (standing dead trees) or den trees (living trees with a cavity
in the trunk or limbs) should be retained. The eastern screech owl,
brown snake, five-lined skink, summer tanager, little brown myotis, and
white-footed mouse are examples of animals that use immature forests.

[Mature Forests]{.underline}

Mature forests with small to large saw-timber sized trees are abundant
mast producers, generally have several good den trees, and offer
moderate browse. Mature forests should be managed to retain den trees,
snags, and mast producing trees. Harvesting these stands can create
different habitat if needed. Selective harvesting of mature forests
mimics storm damage by creating openings in the canopy. These openings
will provide a microhabitat of a young forest within the mature forest.
Sections of mature forests can also be managed for "old growth." In
those cases, some wildlife biologists suggest a minimum of 15 acres of
forest at least 200 feet wide and the older,

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Managing Kansas Forests for Wildlife - 3 -

the better. These stands should have a significant oak component,
especially in the "white oak family" (bur oak, post oak, and chinkapin
oak) since they can live 150 to 200 years or longer. Some of the oldest
forests in Kansas are the Ancient Cross Timbers located in southeast
Kansas from Toronto Lake south into Oklahoma and Texas where white oaks
range from 250 to 400 years old. Spotted salamander, broadhead skink,
gray treefrog, downy woodpecker, ovenbird, Kentucky warbler, gray
squirrel, raccoon, and eastern chipmunk are wildlife associated with
mature forests.

[Snags]{.underline}

As standing dead trees slowly decay, woodpeckers hollow out nest holes
which are eventually used by chickadees, kestrels, and screech owls.
Many insects are found on snags and provide a food source for birds and
other wildlife. Large fallen trees provide important habitat for
chipmunks, salamanders, and frogs for up to 50 years. Seven snags per
acre of varying sizes will attract a diversity of wildlife. Some
examples are listed below.

-   Red-headed/pileated woodpeckers -1 snag, 20-inch diameter breast
    height (dbh)

-   American kestrel/flying squirrel - 4 snags, 10- to 20-inch dbh

-   Black-capped chickadee/eastern bluebird - 2 snags, 8- to 10-inch dbh

If not enough snags are present, trees may be girdled using a chainsaw
by cutting two continuous connecting rings 3 inches apart and 1 to 2
inches deep around the trunk of the tree. Girdles can be made at a
height on the trunk convenient for chainsaw operation. Some foresters
have experienced quicker kills when girdling from mid-July to
mid-September (Arlyn Perky, Crop Tree Management in Eastern Hardwoods,
C-2). Diffuse-porous trees such as maple, sycamore, basswood, and
cottonwood take longer to die from girdling as opposed to ring-porous
species like oak, walnut, locusts, ash, elm, hackberry, hickory,
mulberry, and Osage orange.

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[Den Trees]{.underline}

Most forests do not have a sufficient number of living trees with
cavities for nesting and cover for wildlife. Den trees are important
because they can provide both cover and food. Oaks are good den trees
because they are long lived. White oaks are slower to create cavities
due to rot resistance. Hickory, American elm, sycamore, cottonwood, ash,
and basswood are also good choices. As with snags, 7 den trees per acre
of varying sizes will attract a good mix of wildlife. Again, examples
are listed below.

-   Barred owls/fox squirrels /raccoons -- 1 den tree 20-inch dbh or
    larger

-   Gray squirrels/red-breasted nuthatch -- 4 den trees, 10- to 20-inch
    dbh

-   Tufted titmouse/house wrens -- 2 den trees, 8- to10-inch dbh

If not enough den trees are available, they can be created by wounding a
tree in a variety of ways such as:

-   Cut a limb 6 inches from the trunk (the larger the better) on
    American elm, ash, cottonwood, sycamore, silver maple, or basswood.

-   Chop out a 6- by 6-inch section of bark on the trunk of a tree,
    preferably one with signs of damage or decay.

-   Drill a hole at least 2 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep
    preferably under a limb that exceeds 3 inches in diameter.

Some wildlife biologists suggest creating dens on the south-facing side
of trees to provide more winter protection. Bird houses and den boxes
are a quicker way to make a den tree and instructions for their
construction may be found at the KDWP Web site
<http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/other_services/wildlife_diversity>.

[Edges and Openings]{.underline}

Edge is a transition zone between different types of niches such as
forestland to cropland or grassland. For this reason they attract a
diversity of wildlife species, especially when the edge is at least 30
feet wide with a gradual change from forest, to shrubs, to

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grass and forbs. Edge can be created by planting shrubs or allowing
native plants to naturally regenerate. Sometimes it is necessary to
eliminate livestock, mowing, or cultivation for edge to occur.

In most cases, Kansas forests tend to be linear in shape following
streams and bordering grass and cropland. However, in some cases where
large patches of forestland occur, creating small openings can provide
additional niches for wildlife. These openings can range from 1 to 3
acres in size. Some wildlife biologists believe 5 to 10 acres of small
openings should occur for every 100 acres of forestland.

It is important to remember that in most cases our forests provide a
variety of benefits if we manage them, regardless of whether the primary
objective is wildlife, aesthetics, recreation, forest products, or
simply to protect nature. The care and attention forest landowners
provide to their woodlands directly impacts the well-being of the
animals that inhabit them and in my opinion our quality of life.

\*Much of the information in this article was obtained from "Forest
Management for Missouri Landowners," Missouri Department of
Conservation, 2003, and used with permission from the author, Bruce
Palmer.

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