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 ====== Guides for Wildlife Habitat Management ======
+====Habitat Needs ====
+===Gray Squirrel ===
+Hardwoods are a must for gray squirrels. They require partial hardwood stands of trees old enough
+(25 years) to produce mast and provide dens (40 years). The squirrels home range is 2-8 acres.
+Reproduction is 2 1/2 times more successful in tree cavities than nests. Den entrance holes are
+usually 2 1/2-3 inches in diameter and den cavities 14 inches in depth. They should be waterproof
+and 15 feet or more above ground level. A squirrel needs about 1 1/2 lbs. of hard mast per week
+from September through March. Preferred foods are hickory nuts, beechnut, white oak group and black
+(or red) oak group acorns, in that order. Supportive foods are berries, soft mast, buds, seeds, and
+fungi. Red maple is particularly important in early spring and mulberry in May and June. Typical
+seasonal foods of gray squirrels are:
+  August-October:                       November-January:             May-July:
+   Hickory & Pecan                       Hickory                       Buds & Flowers
+   Beech                                 Beech                         Berries
+   Blackgum                              Walnut                        Mulberry
+   Acorns (White oak group)†             Acorns (White oak group)†     Fungi
+   Acorns (Black Oak Group)              Acorns (Black oak group)      Blackberry
+   Sugarmaple seeds                      Blackgum                      Yellow Poplar
+   Pine seeds                            Yellow Poplar
+   Walnut
+   Fungi                              February-April:
+   Dogwood                              Acorns (Black oak group)†
+   Hawthorn                             Hickory
+   Hornbeam                             Beech
+   Chinquapin                           Buds & Flowers (Maple, Oak, Elm, etc.)
+   Yellow poplar                        Fungi
+   Black Cherry                         Magnolia
+                                        Cucumber
+† The black (or red) oaks are characterized by bristles on the tips of leaf lobes and fruit matures
+at end of second season. White oak fruit matures at the end of the first growing season and leaf
+lobes are not bristle tipped
+===Bobwhite Quail===
+Interspersed open forests, brush, grass, and cultivated fields are the best habitat for quail, but
+they survive in many forest types. Choice nesting cover is one-year-old grass. They also nest at
+the edges of forest clearings 1/5-acre or larger. Eighty-five percent of the quail diet consists of
+seeds. Legume, grass, and weed seeds are most important foods (in that order). Normal range is 40
+acres. Quail nest from April to September.
+Important Food Species common to Piedmont and Coastal Plains forests, together with plant
+part utilized are:
+^Herbaceous plant         ^Plant Part    ^Trees, Shrubs and Vines              ^Plant part |
+|Ragweed                  |Seed          |Maple                                |Seed       |
+|Beggarticks              |Seed          |Hackberry                            |Seed       |
+|Partridge Pea            |Seed          |Flowering Dogwood                    |Seed       |
+|Goatweed                 |Seed          |Persimmon                            |Seed       |
+|Chufa, nut grass         |Tubers        |Bayberry                             |Seed       |
+|Tick trefoil (beggarweed)|Seed          |Blackgum                             |Seed       |
+|Wild Millet              |Seed          |Pines, Longleaf, Loblolly (preferred)|Seed       |
+|Lespedeza                |Seed          |Cherry                               |Seed       |
+|Grasses                  |Seed          |Oaks                                 |Seed       |
+|Pokeweed                 |Berry         |Sumacs                               |Seed       |
+|Smartweed                |Seed          |Blackberry                           |Berry      |
+|Vetch                    |Seed          |Grapes                               |Berry      |
+|Panicum                  |Seed          |Magnolia, bay                        |Seed       |
+|Milk peas                |Seed          |Sweetgum                             |Seed       |
+|Butterfly peas           |Seed          |
+===Wild Turkey===
+Good turkey habitat contains mature stands of mixed hardwoods, groups of conifers, relatively open
+understories, scattered clearings, well-distributed water, and reasonable freedom from disturbance.
+Home range is about one square mile. Turkey diet consists primarily of grass and weed seeds in the
+fall, mast and forage in the winter and spring, and forage and insects in the summer. Acorns,
+dogwood berries, clover, and pine seed are the foremost foods. Soybeans, corn, chufas and pasture are
+the agricultural crops most frequently used. Openings are essential for brood range.
+Food of Wild Turkey:
+^Grass and Weed Seeds        ^Other Tree seeds       |
+|Paspalums(bull grass)       |Sweetgum               |
+|Panicums                    |Pine                   |
+|Native Legumes              ^Insects and Snails     |
+^Hard Mast                   |Grasshoppers           |
+|Acorns                      |Millipedes             |
+|Beechnuts                   |Insect Larvae          |
+|Pecans                      ^Berries                |
+^Forage                      |Blackberries,Dewberries|
+|Clovers                     |Huckleberries          |
+|Grasses                     |Strawberries           |
+|Sedges                      ^Grain                  |
+^Soft Mast                   |Oats                   |
+|Dogwood                     |Corn                   |
+|Grapes                      |
+|Cherries                    |
+===Ruffed Grouse===
+This game bird is found in the southern Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland and Appalachian
+Plateaus, usually above 2,000 feet in elevation. It prospers in the early stages of forest
+succession but occurs in mature stands as well. Grouse use fruit, seed, catkins, buds, and green
+parts of over 300 plants for food. Broods require insects from late May through July. Thickets,
+vine tangles and dense shrub growth are used for escape cover. Nesting cover is usually open
+understories near drumming logs and openings or old logging roads that serve as brood range. Home
+range is 40 to 50 acres.
+Some Favorite plant foods of grouse are:
+^Spring          ^Summer           ^Fall        ^Winter        |
+|Apple           |Blackcherry      |Crataegus   |Birch         |
+|Serviceberry    |Raspberry        |Apple       |Horphornbeam  |
+|Yellow Birch    |Blackberry       |Viburnum    |Grape         |
+|Sumac           |Dewberry         |Beech       |Apple         |
+|Strawberry      |Strawberry       |Huckleberry |Acorns        |
+|Hophornbeam     |Mulberry         |Sumac       |Greenbriar    |
+|Various Catkins |Touch-me-not     |Birch       |Hazelnut      |
+|                |Partridge Berry  |Dogwood     |Sumac         |
+|                |Crataegus        |Grape       |Laurel        |
+|                |                 |Acorns      |Clover        |
+|                |                 |            |Teaberry      |
+|                |                 |            |Gold Seal     |
+|                |                 |            |Hepatica      |
+|                |                 |            |Christmas Fern|
+===White Tailed Deer===
+Deer Survive in most forest and non-forest conditions and types. The early stages of timber rotation
+and intermediate cuts produce abundant deer browse and fruits. During the fall and winter, deer prefer
+hard mast (acorns, pecans, beechnuts) and evergreen forage. Rapid-growing green browse and herbage are
+principle spring and summer foods. Deer require about 6 to 8 lbs. of green weight food daily each
+lbs. weight. Their home range seldom exceeds 300 acres where food, cover, and water are
+interspersed. Prescribed burning and fertilization attract deer because of improved nutrition and
+palatability of food plants.
+Important deer browse species by physiographic  province, in order of preference are:
+^Mountains             ^Piedmont             ^Coastal Plain     |
+|Greenbriar            |Japanese Honeysuckle |Black Titi        |
+|Azalea                |Greenbriar           |Tall Gallberry    |
+|Blueberry             |Yellow Poplar        |Greenbriar        |
+|Chestnut              |Azalea               |Honeysuckle       |
+|Dogwood               |Viburnums            |Blackberry        |
+|Blackgum              |Sourwood             |Yellow Jessamine  |
+|Oak                   |Blackgum             |Myrtle Holly      |
+|Sourwood              |Dogwood              |Wild Rose         |
+|Mtn. Laurel           |Soft Maple           |Deer's Tongue     |
+|Huckleberry           |Blueberry            |Mushrooms         |
+|Strawberry Bush       |Cherry               |Sumac             |
+|Buffalo Nut           |Persimmon            |Prickly Pear      |
+|Japanese Honeysuckle  |Blackberry           |Yaupon            |
+|Blackberry            |Strawberry bush      |Sassafras         |
+|Sumac                 |                     |Viburnums         |
+|Hydrangea             |                     |Strawberry Bush   |
+|Aralia                |
+|Grape                 |
+|Rhododendron          |
+====Timber Prescription Guides for Wildlife Habitat Management By Stages of Stand Development====
+===Gray Squirrel===
+**Seedling or Open**:
+   Exclude Fire or grazing. Without desirable hardwood sprout or seedling reproduction,
+   opportunities for habitat improvement are slim. If present when regenerating,
+   retain two den trees per 5 acres that have a 25-year life expectancy or more.
+**Sapling**:
+   Thin to release a variety of oaks, hickory, walnut, beech, and pecan trees.
+   Protect grape vines, exclude fire and retain vigorous den trees.
+Pole:
+   Thin early and heavy to release mast trees and to promote vigorous growth of
+   future sawtimber trees and understory fruit-bearing shrubs and trees.
+   Retain existing or potential den trees such as maple,beech, and black cherry.
+   Promote vigorous growth of future sawtimber and fruiting of understory
+   shrubs and trees. Oak, beech and hickory should comprise about 1/2 stand.
+**Young Sawtimber**:
+   Cut to favor a good mixture of large mast producers and den trees.
+   Retain existing den trees and thin. Protect grape vines.
+   Thin heavily dense mid-stories.
+**Mature Sawtimber**:
+   Make salvage and sanitation cuts and retain a variety of healthy mast producing
+   and den trees. Prior to regeneration, make heavy cuts to encourage oak reproduction.
+   Regenerate hardwoods with clearcuts or large group selection to get rapid early growth.
+   Inventory to assure that oak reproduction is present prior to regeneration harvest cutting.
+===Bob White Quail===
+**Seedling or Open**:
+   This stage of pine stands can be most productive for quail since regeneration areas are
+   excellent habitat for 1-4 years. Double chop during October-March to lengthen period of
+   site preparation for quail. Plow out or leave one-year roughs one acre in size for nesting.
+   Plant pines at wide spacing (300-500 per acre). Protect old home sites, spring heads, and
+   branch bottoms. If warranted, plant legumes in long, narrow (about 20 ft wide) food strips
+   through the woods (see local game biologists for specifics).
+**Sapling**:
+   Prescribe burn older sapling pine stands to encourage herbaceous growth. Thin to hasten
+   stand development and open forest floor. Maintain small openings with disc or fire.
+   Protect old house sites, branch stringers, and food patches.
+**Pole**:
+   Thin early and heavy in pine stands. Prescribe burn in 3 year intervals to promote grasses,
+   weed seeds. Exclude fire from the best seed and berry producing understory areas.
+**Young Sawtimber**:
+   Develop park-like pine sawtimber stands by thinning and burning. Exclude fire from edges,
+   plum thickets and fringes of branch bottoms. Prescribe burn portions of stands on 2-3 year
+   schedule. Plow out one-year roughs for nesting and special food areas. Use natural openings
+   and fire-breaks for supplemental food patches of 1 to 2 acres per 160 acres. Plant legumes
+   such as lespedeza bicolor, partridge pea, and common lespedeza. Strips should be long
+   and narrow and lead away from bays and springs.
+**Mature Sawtimber**:
+   maintain park-like stands. At regeneration, protect seed and fruit bearing trees and shrubs
+   along fringe or edge. Log and do cultural activities in winter or late fall. Under such
+   conditions pine stands can be managed for decades on good sites if trees are given room
+   to grow and if selected insect and disease tree removals are made. Prescribe burn every
+to 3 year interval.
+===Wild Turkey===
+**Seedling or Open**:
+   This stage provides nesting and brood range. Plant pines at 10' X 10' or 10' X 12' spacing
+   to aid rapid stand development and lengthen the grass and form production period. Avoid
+   site disturbances March through June to protect nesting and brood areas. Manage for
+   sawtimber rotation in both pine and hardwood stands. One-forth of each square mile should
+   be managed to produce mast bearing species if possible.
+**Sapling**:
+   In hardwoods thin to favor oaks beech and other turkey mast. In older sapling pine, burn
+   December-February to encourage grass and forb production. (Turkeys seldom use stands of
+   this stage).
+**Pole**:
+   Thin to release mast producers in hardwoods and pine hardwood stands. Retain 20 to 50% of
+   the stand in oak and beech. In pine, prescribe burn portions of the stand at 3 to 5 year
+   intervals in December through February. Protect shrubs bearing fruits and soft mast in
+   selected areas, especially in transition zones between pine hills and bottoms when burning.
+**Young Sawtimber**:
+   Cut to improve and maintain a variety of mast bearing trees and fruit bearing shrubs. Break
+   up large areas of dense understory. Use fire or logging to keep pine stands open. Confine
+   harvesting season to July-February and remove all products in same operation to reduce
+   disturbance.
+**Mature Sawtimber**:
+   Apply 80 to 100 year rotation. Maintain pine in medium to fully stocked stands to prevent a
+   heavy midstory. Burn pine stands in December-February on a 3 to 5 year cycle. Consider
+   surrounding stands in selective regeneration areas to maintain diversity. At harvest and
+   before regeneration, plan to remove all commercial and noncommercial stems to assure
+   development of intolerant mast bearing seedlings and sprouts. Harvest July-February in one
+   operation or as quickly as possible in stand sizes up to 100 acres in size. Distribute cuts
+   to minimize disturbance and other impacts and retain sawtimber stands needed for turkey
+   habitat.
+===Ruffed Grouse===
+**Seedling or Open**:
+   Prepare sites for conifers and maintain openings by prescribed fire or discing possibly in
+   early spring. Protect and maintain old house places, thickets of thornapple and grape, old
+   apple trees, and patches of clover, which are aids to hunting. Plant or encourage conifer
+   patches (1 to 5 acres in size) in extensive hardwood areas.
+**Sapling**:
+   Develop a wide variety of species when making precommercial thinnings. Break up extensive
+   stands of conifers with pockets of hardwood.
+**Pole**:
+   Cut to maintain a variety of tree species and encourage understory shrub growth. Thin
+   early and frequently.
+**Young Sawtimber**:
+   Maintain rapid growth of overstory and vigorous shrub understory through thinnings. Reduce
+   midstory stems. Maintain a variety of species mixture in overstory and understory.
+**Mature Sawtimber**:
+   Maintain vigorous shrub understories while favoring rapid growth in the overstory through
+   thinnings. Regenerate in well-distributed stands (1 to 40 acres in size). Space and
+   schedule cuts to make at least one available during each cutting period.
+===White Tailed Deer===
+**Seedling or Open**:
+   Plant pine seedlings at 10' X 10' or greater spacing (436 less per acre). Prepare sites in
+   early spring. Favor burning over mechanical means to retain root crowns of browse plants.
+   Protect hardwood regeneration from grazing and over-browsing. Avoid long continuous
+   wind-rows that that deter deer movement. Retain old house sites, water areas, thickets,
+   and unique winter cover areas (primarily in oak-hickory stands).
+**Sapling**:
+   In older sapling pine stands, prescribe burn to produce forbs and browse. Thin hardwood
+   stands to favor oaks and other fruit bearers. Favor a variety of high and consistent
+   consistent fruit and nut yielders. Exclude fire and grazing from hardwood stands.
+**Pole**:
+   In thinnings, favor oaks and other mast trees. Stimulate early diameter growth. Retain a
+   wide variety of fruit and mast trees in the understory. In hardwood stands favor black
+   oaks 2 to 1 over white oaks, and exclude fire.
+**Young Sawtimber**:
+   Selectively cut hardwood stands, cut to maintain a variety of mast trees; where it is
+   scarce, protect winter cover and browse such as honeysuckle, laurel, etc. Prescribe
+   burn pine stands every 3-5 years. Intermediate cuts help produce sprouts and other
+   browse. Maintain openings by burning or mowing.
+**Mature Sawtimber**:
+   Maintain hardwood stands at full or near-full stocking until regeneration; then cut stand
+   heavy enough to encourage oak reproduction. Protect evergreen browse, cover and water
+   areas in harvest cuts. Defer regeneration of mature hardwood mast stands where scarce
+   (less than 20% of area within a 300-acre range). Cut pine stands frequently to maintain
+   understory browse variety and break up dense midstories. When regenerating select and
+   and retain key areas such as hardwood component stringers, evergreen browse patches,
+   water holes, and old orchards, etc.

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