A key component of the Public Lands Initiative (PLI) is the NDA’s ability to maximize efficiency and streamline operations. Last fall, as part of our PLI, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) set a goal of implementing 454 acres of pre-commercial thinning on Croatan National Forest (CNF). The NDA leveraged those efficiencies and completed nearly five times that (2,169 acres), coming close to accomplishing the Forest Service’s 2,332-acre five-year goal in just one month. Additionally, with the help of an Ecosystem Grant from SITKA, NDA plans to survey red-cockaded woodpecker clusters and install at least a dozen cavity inserts in the same National Forest later this year.
“NDA has accomplished a lot of amazing habitat improvements under our Public Lands Initiative in the past few years, but we are especially proud of the work on this particular project because we were able to capitalize on our relationships to amplify work on the ground. When the Forest Service bids out similar activities on their own, contractors often have prior knowledge of approved rates and charge the maximum amount possible, but not with us,” said NDA Senior Director of Conservation Matt Ross. “Here, we used a combination of the fact we aren’t the government, our network of land management professionals in the private sector, and a competitive bidding process to not only get the work accomplished that was expected, but we treated significantly more acres.”
This project focuses on longleaf pine restoration as well as improving recruitment areas and foraging habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers but also includes supporting healthier deer populations and enhancing hunting opportunities. Thinning overcrowded young pines allows more sunlight to reach the forest floor, stimulating the growth of high-quality forage and cover for deer, and improves overall health of the forest by removing diseased trees and reducing competitive stress (Before and after thinning is shown in the photos above). Furthermore, these stands will be followed-up with prescribed fire throughout the life of the stand to promote a longleaf-dominated ecosystem and increase early successional vegetation in the understory, an important component of quality deer habitat.
NDA entered into a 20-year master stewardship agreement with the USFS that calls for a variety of wildlife habitat enhancement projects across the country, including this project on CNF in North Carolina, one of four National Forests in the state. Croatan National Forest is mostly coastal land that’s bordered on three sides by the Neuse River, the Bogue Sound, and the White Oak River and is characteristic of its pine forests, salt estuaries, bogs, and pocosins.
Habitat management practices including forest stand improvement and prescribed fire are often conducted by hunters and land managers to benefit deer and improve their hunting experience. What’s not as easily understood is the myriad of other game and non-game wildlife species that directly benefit from these practices. The near-threatened red-cockaded woodpecker is one such example, which makes its home in the fire-dependent longleaf pine savannas that are a major component of Croatan’s 160,000-acre sprawl. Through this partnership, NDA and the USFS identified an important opportunity to improve the forest with two vital keystone species in mind.
This is a major success story for not only deer, but also for a species at-risk and the important ecosystem it calls home. NDA’s work alongside the USFS greatly improves wildlife habitat on our public lands and provides access to the thousands of deer hunters and outdoor enthusiasts who explore our National Forests. Thanks to the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund for financial support of NDA’s Public Lands Initiative, which aims to address access, hunting and forest health issues across North America.
