The Fort Valley Experimental Forest, ponderosa pine, and wildlife habitat research (P-53)

Abstract

Wildlife research at the Fort Valley Experimental Forest began with studies to determine how to control damage by wildlife and livestock to ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) reproduction and tree growth. Studies on birds, small mammals, and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) browsing were initiated in the early 1930s and 1940s but these were short term efforts to develop control techniques. While researchers at Fort Valley and other study areas expressed a need for more information on forest wildlife, there was no major effort in this direction until 1962 when the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station established the first Wildlife Research Work Unit in Arizona on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. In cooperation with state and federal agencies, research was started on non-game birds, wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), and effects of forest manipulation on mule deer and elk (Cervus elaphus) habitat. A major long-term focus was on the ecology and management of the Abert’s squirrel (Sciurus aberti) and its relation to management of ponderosa pine.

Parent Publication

• Fort Valley Experimental Forest-A Century of Research 1908-2008 (P-53)

Citation

Patton, David R. 2008. The Fort Valley Experimental Forest, ponderosa pine, and wildlife habitat research. In: Olberding, Susan D.; Moore, Margaret M., tech coords. Fort Valley Experimental Forest - A Century of Research 1908-2008. Conference Proceedings; August 7-9, 2008; Flagstaff, AZ. Proceedings RMRS-P-53CD. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 98-110