Conservation Corner – A Forest Ecology Primer for Hunters

Many of us have experienced it first hand. Any hunter who has endured a bone-chilling late muzzle-loader afternoon on their favorite mountain in mid-December, struggling through calf-high snow as the early winter sun all too quickly disappears into a clear, star-dappled indigo sky, knows that everything is in a constant state of flux throughout any given hunting season. The warm, shirt sleeve days of early archery season; the earthy smells of October; the brilliant red and yellow foliage of maples, birches and aspens – they all come and go in a mere matter of weeks. As the rut approaches and the calendar marches toward November, key food sources are devoured as deer and elk build up much needed fat supplies for the coming winter. Daylight fades, snow builds up on the mountain, dense eastern forests turn into a vast expanse of open hardwoods and the rut races to a climax and eventually winds down for another year.

It’s a process that most hunters I know love & appreciate. We feel grateful to be able to participate in this outdoor pageant each year. Observing these changes fuels our passion & respect and connects us with the land and its wildlife as we try to secure wild protein for our winter’s freezer.

The treasured wild places we seek so deeply as hunters are also constantly changing over periods of time – just like the hunting seasons that we wish would never end.  The study of these interactions, processes, relationships and systems in forest communities is the essence of the science known as forest ecology.

Here are three basic pillars of forest ecology for hunter-conservationists:

Everything on the land is connected – Trees, plants, water, soils, fungi, mammals, birds, insects, sunlight, rock, humans, scree, talus and earth. As a community, most hunters know this intimately and have experienced it first hand every time we’re out in the woods.

Aldo Leopold, the founder of Wildlife Management, understood these inexorable connections in nature in his classic essay “Green Fire” ” I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”

Forest ecosystems are dynamic, not static – they are constantly changing over time. The two main forces that influence forest ecosystem dynamics over time are:

Succession– This is how forests develop over time in relation to the extant species, spatial distribution, density of trees, canopy structure,  cavity trees, number of age groups and the amount of light reaching the forest floor. As forests develop, the composition and forest types change from tree species that are intolerant to shade (aspens, birches, cherry) to those that are most tolerant to shade (beech and hemlock). It’s the gradual transition of plant communities toward a state of ecological stability or ‘balance’ over time.

Disturbance – This is how forests are re-established – natural factors like fire, wind damage, insects, ice storms and human impacts like sustainable forestry, which can have a positive impact on habitat diversity when planned & implemented correctly. Disturbance is a disruptive process that allows sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor and catalyzes young tree and plant seedlings to start establishing in that space.

As the ecological ebbs and flows of forest succession and disturbance play out over time, the corresponding habitat and carrying capacity will also change with landscape conditions. Nothing on the land stays the same, just like our hunting seasons. Wildlife populations and species representation on the ground will shift with changing habitat conditions. In the East, many popular game species thrive in young forest habitats with abundant  edge, browse and cover. As the forest conditions change and mature over time, the habitat’s carrying capacity changes for those species. It becomes less attractive to certain big and small game mammals and birds and more attractive to others.

So, as hunters, what are the benefits for learning more about forest ecology?

1. Having a basic understanding of forest and wildlife ecology – the interrelationships, dynamics, processes and systems of nature that affect wildlife and wildlife habitat – will help you have a better appreciation for how animals use the landscape and why. In short, it can make  us better hunters.
2. As conservationists, it can help us understand what it takes to keep deer, elk, antelope, turkeys, song birds, bears, sage grouse and other wildlife on the landscape – the necessary space, water, food, cover and how these basic needs change over time and need to be considered on a watershed, landscape and ecosystem level when managing wildlife.
3. Developing a knowledge base will help you make informed stewardship recommendations to public or private land managers and to ‘speak the language’ when reviewing and discussing management plans for your favorite ground.
4. Learning as much as we can about nature makes for a highly enjoyable hunt, regardless of the ‘harvest’ outcome. As we learn more about natural systems and how they develop, interact, and influence everything, our eyes become wide open. We never look at the landscape quite the same. How many tree, shrub and plant species can you identify, how many different bird songs, how many tracks and where are they located? How has it changed since the last time you were here?

Understanding basic forest ecology helps foster a love and appreciation of the outdoors that adds a tremendous amount of value to our great hunting heritage.  For further reading, we recommend Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac and Bernd Heinrich’s Trees in My Forest.

Todd Waldron is a Hunt to Eat Ambassador from New York’s Adirondack Mountains and currently serves as the vice chair for NY Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.