Summary
Active restoration of threatened or endangered species habitat may seem in conflict with the provisions of the Endangered Species Act because of the prohibition of “take,” which can include habitat modification as well as death or harm to individuals. Risk-averse managers may choose to forego active management in known or presumed endangered species habitat to avoid killing an individual animal or harming critical habitat. A Forest Service scientist used an existing landscape-scale model (LANDIS-II) to determine if restoration goals for red spruce forests could be met with forest management while still protecting habitat for the Virginia northern flying squirrel, which was recently removed from the Endangered Species List. The active management modeled shows that hands-off approaches to threatened or endangered species habitat can delay progress on restoration goals in this red spruce-dominated landscape. The harvests as modeled (size, rate of entry, proportion of area harvested) show that some restoration goals will not be met in 100 years. These results suggest that given current land management constraints, the restoration goals may be unrealistic and alternative strategies should be considered.
