Amid rising numbers of at-risk wildlife in the South, the American Forest Foundation (AFF), a leading forest conservation organization that works with family forest owners, recently released a new report that reveals private and family landowners in the South offer a solution to helping at-risk wildlife species.
Across 13 southeastern states, Southern forests rank at the top in terms of biodiversity when measured by the number of wildlife and plant species. But, due to forest conversion to non-forest uses such as agricultural land, housing development and commercial expansion, fragmented waterways, natural fire suppression and an influx of invasive species, a significant number of the South’s wildlife species are now at risk. Currently, there are 224 forest-dependent species listed as endangered or threatened, with 293 candidate and petitioned species that could be listed in the near future.
At the same time, these Southern forests supply much of the raw material for consumer wood products worldwide, and support nearly 1.1 million people in rural communities with employment.
According to AFF’s new report, Southern Wildlife At Risk: Family Forest Owners Offer a Solution, family landowners, who own the majority (58 percent) of forests in the South, are key to providing forested habitat for at-risk species. Eighty-seven percent of landowners in the South say protecting and improving wildlife habitat is the top reason they own land. In addition, 73 percent state they want to do more on their land for wildlife in the future. Landowners cite an uncertainty about whether they are doing right by their land, difficulty finding support and the cost of management, as barriers.
“AFF’s report shows that family landowners need to be a key piece of any proactive conservation strategy to improve and restore wildlife habitat,” said Bob Farris, State Forester of Georgia. “If we can help these families get engaged and address stressors on wildlife with practices such as invasive species control, stream crossing repairs, restoring tree species, active forest management and more, we can better protect our at-risk species.”
Read more at Forest Business Network: https://www.forestbusinessnetwork.com/63020/new-report-reveals-southern-forest-landowners-want-to-help-at-risk-wildlife-species/