A Workshop to Resolve Conflicts in the Conservation of Migratory Landbirds in Bottomland Hardwood Forests

Abstract

Today's land stewards are faced with the challenge of managing natural resources in a social climate with increasing expectations of accountability for an even broader spectrum of ecological and social values. The "buzz" words of days past (i.e., biodiversity, wetland values and functions) are becoming the realities of ecosystem management. Nowhere is this challenge more demanding than in the bottomland forests of the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley and Gulf Coastal Plain where more than 75 percent of the resource has been lost to agricultural and urban development in the brief period following European settlement. Effective management of the remaining resource is complicated further by a highly diverse ownership with the majority (approximately 60 percent) of the remaining timberlands belonging to the private, noncommercial sector. If we are to succeed in managing the remaining forest resources, we must establish a coalition of professionals, a braintrust that draws from the knowledge, experience, and diverse perspectives of the many scientists and land managers working with industry, universities, and government agencies. This proceedings is a collection of papers presented at and related discussions that followed a workshop held at Tensas National Wildlife Refuge near Tallulah, Louisiana, on August 9-10, 1993. The purpose of the workshop was to establish a forum for dialogue between scientists and land managers and between foresters and wildlife biologists; the ultimate goal of this interaction was to identify additional constraints imposed by including the habitat needs of Neotropical migratory landbirds in managing bottomland forests. Specific objectives of this symposium were to: (1) provide an overview of the basic ecology of bottomland forests and Neotropical migratory birds, (2) familiarize wildlife biologists with principIes and techniques of stand management in bottomland hardwood forests, (3) summarize potential conflicts that exist in managing battomland forests for wiIdlife species with different habitat needs, and (4) provide participants with a realistic view of the diversity of perspectives and expectations that exists among bottomland hardwood forest protagonists. This publication contains numerous references to vascular plant and animal species. Rather than include scientific names with common names in the text of each paper, lists of mammal and bird species (Appendix A) and tree and shrub species (Appendix B) are included. Common and scientific names of trees and shrubs followed Little (1978). Common and scientific names of birds and mammals follow American Ornithologists' Union (1983) and Hall (1981), respectively.

Citation

Smith, Winston Paul; Pashley, David N.; [Editors] 1994. A Workshop to Resolve Conflicts in the Conservation of Migratory Landbirds in Bottomland Hardwood Forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. SO-114. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 37 p.