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WILDLIFE
HABITAT
Habitat
fragmentation -
Many species of animals and plants
need large, continuous areas of habitat
to survive and don’t fair well
when forests and rangeland are chopped
into smaller and often isolated patches
of developed and undeveloped land. |
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 Wild
animals, both big and small, and native plants,
short and tall, are losing their homes around
the country. Even in our National Forests and
Grasslands, critters like the bull trout are at
risk because their habitat has been damaged or
decreased. The National Forest Foundation puts
habitat degradation and fragmentation on its list
of top threats to our National Forests and has
made habitat restoration a main priority.
Wildlife rely on their habitat for food, shelter,
protection from predators and safe places to reproduce.
Each species of plant and animal has its own unique
set of requirements for its habitat, including
minimum size, biological composition and climate,
which, when not met, pose threats to that species’
survival. Healthy habitats require that the ecosystems
which comprise them remain healthy and resilient.
The 192-million acre National Forest System includes
virtually every type of habitat found within our
country, including: tropical and temperate rain
forests, ocean coasts, rivers and lakes, grasslands,
mountain and alpine ecosystems, deciduous, conifer
and mixed forests, old growth forests, arctic
tundra, deserts and wetlands. The conditions of
these habitat types ranges from pristine wilderness
to highly developed and damaged.
Restoration
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The procedure of returning functions
and processes to ecosystems, which
includes re-establishing chemical,
physical and biological components
and restoring an ecosystem’s
natural resilience to disturbances. |
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These habitat types are home to thousands of species
of wildlife, including one third of all federally
listed endangered species, such as salmon, black-footed
ferrets and Kirtland's Warblers. National Forest
lands play an instrumental role in the recovery
of other endangered species, including the bald
eagle, greenback cutthroat trout and gray wolf.
When those ecosystems are compromised or damaged,
habitat is lost, leaving species without the food,
shelter and protection they need to survive and
reproduce.
Restoring
Wildlife Habitat >> |
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