EARLY SUCCESSIONAL: Population/Habitat Objectives
Species that rely on open grasslands and shrublands for
breeding are among the species with the highest rates of population
decline in the planning unit (Appendix III). Species associated
with open grasslands tend to be area sensitive while species
associated with shrublands do not. Objectives should focus
on identifying large patches of open grassland for conservation
planning and educating land managers about appropriate area-specific
management strategies.
Objective 1) Maintain enough open grasslands (in combination
with high-marsh habitat) to support 200 pairs (goal of 400
shared with salt marshes) of Henslow's Sparrows.
Justification: The Henslow's Sparrow is in danger
of extinction within the planning unit. As indicated above,
this species has disappeared from grassland habitats over
the past 30 years within the planning unit. Because this species
is very area-sensitive and has specialized habitat requirements,
a dedicated effort will be required to restore habitat for
this species.
Assumptions: Restoring and maintaining habitat for
the Henslow's Sparrow will provide nesting habitat for other
priority grassland species such as the Bachman's Sparrow,
Northern Bobwhite, and Dickcissel and foraging habitat for
other priority species such as the American Kestrel, Common
Barn Owl, and Loggerhead Shrike.
Objective 2) Maintain enough open grassland to support 100,000
pairs of Grasshopper Sparrows distributed across the planning
unit.
Justification: The Grasshopper Sparrow is not currently
in danger of extinction within the region. This species remains
widely distributed and common within appropriate habitat.
However, Grasshopper Sparrows are area-sensitive and the availability
of grassland patches of appropriate size is declining within
the planning unit. This decline is particularly evident around
urban centers and away from the Delmarva Peninsula and inner
Coastal Plain of New Jersey. Maintaining this species within
all portions of the physiographic region will require a dedicated
effort to manage available patches.
Assumptions: Restoring and maintaining habitat for
the Grasshopper Sparrow will provide nesting habitat for other
priority species such as the Horned Lark and foraging habitat
for other priority species such as the American Kestrel, Common
Barn Owl, and Loggerhead Shrike.
Objective 3) Shift the management of open lands <10 ha
in size from high-intensity grassland management to low-intensity
shrubland management.
Justification: All of the grassland-obligate species
within the planning unit reach their highest density and probability
of occurrence within patches >10 ha in area. Because of
this requirement, idle open lands that are managed as grasslands
and are <10 ha are "ecological dead zones". These
patches do not support grassland obligate species (due to
size requirements) or shrubland species (due to habitat requirements).
None of the priority shrubland species are area-sensitive.
From the perspective of shrubland bird management, these patches
represent "lost opportunities". Shifting the management
of these lands from grasslands to shrublands would greatly
increase the availability of habitat for shrub-dependent birds
within the region.
Assumptions: Management of small fragments of open
land for shrubland species would provide adequate habitat
to support stable populations of priority shrub-dependent
species within the planning unit.
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