Wildlife biologists Andy Weik (left) and Leah Ceperley (center) discuss early successional habitat management with refuge manager Stan Skutek (right) at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, W.Va.. Credit: USFWS/Erin Holmes.

  In late November, Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge biologist Andy Weik traveled from Maine to West Virginia to help Canaan Valley refuge staff evaluate habitat management options for American woodcock and other species that use early successional forest habitats.  Through rain, snow, and the occasional “blue cloud”, the biologists and managers spent three days in the field assessing the management potential of alder thickets, old fields, and second-growth hardwood stands.  They evaluated the constraints on regenerating woody vegetation posed by browsing of white-tailed deer, and flooding and felling trees by beaver.  They also examined alder and aspen experimental regeneration plots that Canaan Valley staff had implemented during the past year.