Restoration, Management and Monitoring of Forest Resources in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley: Recommendations for Enhancing Wildlife Habitat

The science of forestry is evolving towards landscape planning and is furthering our understanding of the intricate relationships between forest structure and development. We are poised to make great advances in the restoration and management of bottomland hardwood forests and the diversity of wildlife species that require these forests. Furthermore, if the conservation community is to make strides in fulfilling the habitat needs of species dependent upon extant blocks of bottomland hardwood forest, it is imperative that land managers use their habitat needs to derive management prescriptions. It was our shared goal of population sustainability that led to the development of desired forest conditions for forested wetlands in the MAV. Progress towards attaining this goal can best be achieved in an adaptive manner. As such, a detailed, coordinated monitoring program is imperative. With that goal in mind, we offer the following forest restoration, management, and monitoring recommendations to enhance wildlife habitat.

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