Red-cockaded woodpecker use of seed-tree/shelterwood cuts in eastern Texas: R. N. Conner, A. E. Snow & K. A. O'Halloran, Wildlife Society Bulletin, 19(1), 1991, pp 67–73

Abstract

Establishment or maintenance of suitable habitat for any wildlife species is an important aspect of its management, especially for endangered species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis). Populations of the red-cockaded woodpecker are declining over much of the bird's current range, most likely because of the lack of suitable habitat (Carter et al. 1983, Conner and Rudolph 1989, Costa and Escano 1989). Jackson (1982), Locke et al. (1983), and others anecdotally noticed that red-cockaded woodpeckers used residual pines (mature pines left uncut during a harvest) for cavity excavation in seed-tree and shelterwood reproduction cut areas. Seed-tree and shelterwood reproduction cutting methods remove most trees but leave some residual pines to provide seeds and in some cases shelter for the next generation of pines. Conner and O'Halloran (1987) suggested that shelterwood cuts would produce trees similar to red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees. Conner and Rudolph (1989) reported that fragmentation caused by clear-cutting was associated with small clan size. Shelterwood cutting may reduce fragmentation if residual pines are not eventually removed, thus reducing the