Additional Management Options:
Wildlife Management
An effort has been made to italicize technical words or phrases and clearly define them in the glossary.
Depending on the landowner's objectives, timber management practices, such as harvesting, site preparation, and prescribed burning can be used to enhance wildlife habitat. However, due to the diversity of habitats and wildlife species in the state, it is impractical to provide specific recommendations for wildlife management in this document. If wildlife is a priority on the site to be managed, contact the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources for detailed recommendations prior to initiating timber management activities. Management advice can also be obtained through certified consulting wildlife biologists or licensed foresters.
Listed below are examples of general practices which will enhance many wildlife species.
- Leave primary SMZs wider than the minimum widths specified in the section entitled Streamside Management Zones .
- Maintain stands of trees in different age and size classes dispersed through the forest.
- Leave some mature mast-producing trees, such as oak, which are important for squirrels, turkeys, and raccoons. They also benefit deer, quail, and many other wildlife species. Mast producers are most effective if retained in groups or stands.
- Manage for tree species diversity as well as age class diversity across the forest.
- If clearcutting, harvest smaller areas in somewhat linear, irregular shapes, preferably along natural topographic breaks.
- Leave strips of trees connecting mature stands to serve as cover and wildlife travel corridors where areas have been or will be clearcut within a few years of one another.
- Leave snags and hollow den trees for cavity-dependent wildlife species, preferably in association with groups of mature trees.
- Provide supplemental wildlife plantings. These plantings can be made on old logging decks, under electric transmission lines, at edges of clearcuts, in firebreaks, or in other openings.
- Discharges into waters of the U.S. expressly for wildlife management purposes require a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Charleston (803-727-4731).
Contents
Streamside Management Zones /
Forest Road Construction /
Timber Harvesting /
Site Preparation /
Reforestation /
Prescribed Burning /
Pesticides /
Fertilization /
Minor Drainage /
Endangered Species Act /
Stream Crossings /
Glossary
Forest Management/ Reference Resources / Environmental Forestry/ Braided Stream Systems