Forestry Habitat Management Guidelines for Vernal Pool Wildlife

These habitat management guidelines (HMGs) are the product of extensive collaboration among a variety of stakeholders, including state and federal agencies, members of the forest management community, conservation organizations, university ecologists, and others. It is only through multi-stakeholder initiatives such as this that conservation science can effectively be integrated into land management practices. The Wildlife Conservation Society is pleased to have the opportunity to publish the results of this collaborative effort. Although the HMGs were originally prepared for use in Maine, the principles and techniques within this document are applicable throughout the northeastern United States and beyond.

The HMGs provide mechanisms for maintaining vernal pool biodiversity in forested landscapes, especially in the commercially harvested forests of northern New York and New England. Therefore, this document is an excellent companion to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s MCA Technical Paper 5, which addresses vernal pool conservation in suburban and exurban settings. Together, these publications provide techniques and recommendations that can help to maintain functioning vernal pool landscapes throughout the Northeast—from metropolitan regions to the wilds of northern New England