Project Listing

Science Spotlights

For the latest on current CFRU projects, go to the Science Spotlights listed below.

New		Cool and Clear: CFRU Studies Water Quality in the Maine Woods
		CFRU: Understanding Tomorrow's Forests Today

Current Projects

Protecting Wildlife Habitat

Improving our understanding about how forest practices affect wildlife habitat

Influence of Forest Practices on Habitat Selection by the Canada Lynx

Canada lynx occurs over much of the northern United States and Canada, but Maine has the only verified population in the eastern United States. Lynx occur in harvested landscapes in Maine, but little is known about how they respond to sub-stand scale changes in forest structure associated with forest harvesting. This project evaluates the effects of forest practices on this federally threatened species to determine how lynx respond to the structural features of their habitat at fine spatial scales. Determining responses to structural features within forest stands will provide guidelines for maintaining important elements within harvested forests. Read more

Effects of Precommercial Thinning on Snowshoe Hare and Other Wildlife Species

Snowshoe hare are the primary prey for the federally threatened Canada lynx. This project studies the effect of forest management on the abundance and distribution of snowshoe hare as indicators of Canada lynx population dynamics. Precommercial thinning is an increasingly popular forest management tool in Maine but its immediate and post-treatment effects on wildlife are not well understood.

Precommercial thinning has been questioned due to potential impacts on not only early-successional habitat, but also on mid and late seral stages. PCT may indirectly impact snowshoe hare dynamics as it changes stand structure which directly affects habitat. This project continues the long-term efforts of the CFRU and its researchers to understand the impact of forest management on wildlife communities. Read more

Marten as a Tool for Planning Forest Landscapes

With many species specific conservation measures already in place (e.g. bald eagle nesting sites, deer wintering areas, riparian zone, etc.) it is challenging for land managers to accommodate the diverse communities of wildlife at the stand scale while managing the forest at the landscape level. Scientists from the CFRU and the University of Maine Department of Wildlife Ecology are investigating the use of umbrella species for achieving broad wildlife conservation goals while simplifying management requirements. Marten are used as one example of an umbrella species because of its broadly representative habitat association.

Umbrella species approaches to conservation are questioned because of the difficulty of quantifying the benefits of overall biodiversity and the potential for excluding other species. This project aims to accurately model 1) the benefits of the target umbrella species and the costs to managers of alternative conservation strategies and 2) the biodiversity benefits and costs to other species which may not be included under the umbrella. Read more