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Cornell Lab releases land management guidelines


Thrush Guide Highlight

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's land management guideline series is aimed at providing land managers with ideas for improving forest habitats for birds. They are written for two types of land managers: those responsible for large landscapes, such as public lands or entire states; and private landowners who manage small blocks of forest. Results from Birds in Forested Landscapes, a Lab-based Citizen Science project, provide the basis for the habitat management guidelines. Each publication in the series provides general forest management practices for improving forest-bird habitat and guidelines tailored specifically for geographic regions and species. The information is provided in easy-to-use graphs, tables, and summaries that help land mangers to evaluate site quality, prioritize management efforts, and design conservation plans.

A Land Manager's Guide to Improving Habitat for Forest Thrushes is the second and most recent in the Lab's management series. It provides management guidelines for Veery, Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, and Varied Thrush. The guide details specific management actions needed to improve habitat in Eastern/Midwestern forests, Northern forests, and Western forests.

Published in 1999, A Land Manager's Guide to Improving Habitat for Scarlet Tanagers and other Forest Interior Birds is the first publication in the Lab's management series. The publication's primary goal is to provide habitat improvement guidelines for Scarlet Tanagers in four regions--Midwest, Atlantic Coast, Appalachian, and Northern Forest. In addition, the guide also provides information on conservation and management of other forest interior birds, such as Eastern Wood-Pewee, Ovenbird, Veery, and Wood Thrush.

To order a copy of the guidelines visit Lab Happenings at the Cornell web site.

To learn more about the Birds in Forested Landscapes project and how to sign up to participate in spring of 2005, visit Birds in Forested Landscapes at the Cornell web site.