U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Partners for Fish and Wildlife

Southeast Region

Definitions

Habitat Improvement

The Service undertakes various types of habitat improvement practices on private lands. Use of the term "habitat improvement" refers to any habitat restoration, enhancement, or establishment (singularly, or in any combination) as defined below.

Habitat Restoration

Photo: Bottomland Forest, USFWS

Photo: Longleaf Pine Stand -- USFWS

Is the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a site with the goal of returning full functions to lost or degraded native habitats. Habitat restoration includes:

practices conducted with the goal of returning a site, to the extent practicable, to the ecological condition that likely existed prior to loss or degradation;

practices conducted when restoration of a site to its original ecological condition is not practicable, but which will partially repair original habitat functions, and consist of native vegetation; and,

removal of the disturbing/degrading element to enable the native habitat to re-establish or become fully functional.

These definitions encompass periodic burning and other practices for controlling or eliminating unwanted vegetation when such practices are determined to be essential to the restoration of the target ecosystem.

Examples include: replanting trees and/or other native vegetation (e.g., planting bottomland trees or longleaf pine/wiregrass on suitable sites) and/or restoring hydrology (e.g., use of ditch plugs, water-control structures, levees or other practices to re-establish wetlands such as depressional wetlands on land-leveled agricultural fields; drained mountain bogs, Carolina bays, etc.).

Habitat Enhancement

Photo: Moist-soil management provides benefits to numerous waterfowl and migratory birds.

Is the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of native habitat to change specific function(s) or the seral stage present. Habitat enhancement includes:

practices conducted to increase or decrease a specific function, or functions for the purpose of benefitting Federal trust species; and,

practices conducted for the purpose of shifting a native plant community successional stage. This definition does not encompass regularly scheduled and routine maintenance and management activities, such as annual mowing or spraying for unwanted vegetation.

Example: establishment of a moist-soil management area that may increase the extent, and duration of hydrology, specifically to meet the needs of waterfowl or other migratory birds.

Habitat Establishment

Is the manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics present to support and maintain habitat that did not previously exist on the site.

Example: construction of a shallow-water impoundment on non-hydric soils that function like natural wetlands.