WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT TIPS

GREEN LANDSCAPING

Whether you are thinking about planting a small urban plot or a few acres with native landscaping, you may have some questions about getting started and what you can expect from your new wildlife habitat at your site, or even in your backyard. First, you need to decide what you want to do with your land. Are you going to incorporate some native plants into your garden? Restore an area to its original presettlement condition? Is your goal to attract wildlife or to solve an environmental problem such as flooding? 

By establishing a wildlife habitat program, you can:

• save time and $$ with lower maintenance          
• have healthier places to work          
• reduce harm to the environment

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WILDLIFE HABITAT

Wildlife and wildlife habitat play a vital role in the ecological and biological processes that are essential to life itself. The functioning of the biosphere, and hence the maintenance and enhancement of human life, depends on countless interactions among plants, animals, and microorganisms.

These ecological processes are essential for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and other endeavours necessary to human life. They also help maintain environmental quality by degrading and otherwise removing some pollutants and by preventing waste accumulation. Some of the biological processes in which wild species play a key role are pollinization, germination, seed dispersal, soil generation, nutrient cycling, predation, habitat maintenance, waste breakdown and pest control. Birds, for example, can be important in controlling insect pests. 

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, means the variety of life on earth and includes the entire web of living organisms from soil microbes, plankton, frogs, and trees to grizzly bears and blue whales. From the perspective of sustainable use, wildlife is a renewable resource that provides many benefits and socioeconomic advantages. Sustainable use is defined as "the use of components of biodiversity in a way and at a rate that does not lead to long term decline" but maintains the "potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations."ⁱ Sustainable use will ensure that the numerous tangible and intangible benefits of wildlife that we enjoy today can be enjoyed by future generations as well.

Wildlife habitat regardless of whether it is upland or wetland habitat, is significant because of a number of functions it performs to support wildlife. Wildlife needs adequate space and habitat for the following basic life requirements: 

USING A GREATER VARIETY OF PLANTS, PRIMARILY NATIVES

What are native plants?
Native plants (also called indigenous plants) are plants that have evolved over thousands of years in a particular region. Native plants occur in communities, that is, they have evolved together with other plants. As a result, a community of native plants provides habitat for a variety of native wildlife species such as songbirds and butterflies.

Numerous organizations produce lists of native plants, often with information on the conditions they require. There are also state and federal agencies and programs, native plant nurseries and societies you may wish to contact, or software you can use. In addition, many state programs provide technical resources as well as financial assistance. 

Why are native plants important?
Native plants have been growing and evolving for thousands of years and, as a result, have adapted to its soil type, rainfall, and temperature. As a result they are more likely to thrive with minimal care than exotic plants. That can mean less need for water, fertilizer and pesticides. Also, native plants are less likely to create environmental havoc when they're planted, unlike aggressive exotics such as kudzu. 

Native plants have evolved so that they have an integral place in the ecosystem (local community of plants and animals). Other plants, animals and/or insects may require them for habitat or nutrients during all or parts of their life cycles. When natural areas are lost or cut into pieces or harmed in other ways from our activities, what' s left becomes all the more critical for the survival of many species. By using native plants we can help offset these losses. Of course, not every native plant will thrive in every location. It's important to know your site conditions and the requirements of the native plants when making a selection.

Some important facts to remember:

• Native plants do not require fertilizers.          
• Native plants require fewer pesticides than lawns.          
• Native plants require less water than lawns.          
• Native plants provide shelter and food for wildlife.          
• Native plants promote biodiversity.          
• Native plants save money. 

PROTECTING NATURAL AREAS

Natural areas are relatively undisturbed areas composed primarily of native plants. Examples include woodlands, prairies, bogs, and meadows. It is important to protect natural areas because: 

• they cannot be easily or fully replaced once they are lost.          
• they provide homes for diverse species, the values of which (e.g., medicines) we are only beginning to understand.          
• they help prevent flooding by catching rain and slowly releasing it back to surface and groundwater.          
• the plants emit oxygen and filter air and water pollutants.          
• they often have recreational and educational value.

Other helpful tips include reducing lawns and changing maintenance practices, avoiding and removing invasive plants, using natural design and conserving natural resources.

ⁱ Convention on Biological Diversity