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| Landowner, John Hoover |
John Hoover,
a Centre County Pennsylvania forest landowner, in fact, John was Tree Farmer of the Year for Pennsylvania in 2011, is featured as a “Habitat
Hero” by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Habitat Heroes
are America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who demonstrate how
wildlife and working lands can prosper together. They are caring for wildlife
while producing food and fiber the nation needs to strengthen rural
communities.
John’s
Habitat Hero story is by the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV), one of
NRCS’ conservation partners working to help private landowners adopt
conservation measures that benefit forestry and agricultural operations while
helping birds and other wildlife species. John is working with the NRCS, AMJV
and other partners including the American Bird Conservancy to manage for both
golden-winged warbler and cerulean warbler habitat through Working Lands for Wildlife
and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
John says
walking through his Pennsylvania forest is like walking through rooms of a
house. "Each room is different and has its own use," he says,
referring to the different age classes of tree stands on his property. Some are
old. Some are young. Over the years, John has learned a diverse forest can
yield better timber while benefiting wildlife.
Click here
to view an interactive version of the feature presentation.
Story by
Matt Cimitile, Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture
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| View from Hoover's property |
Since 1866 –
a year after the end of the Civil War – John Hoover’s family has owned property
in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Over the decades, the largely forested property
became subdivided and boundary lines and titles blurred with most of the land
going into disuse. Nearly 40 years ago, when John inherited a portion of the
original property, he figured the best way to unclutter boundary lines and make
better use of the land was to buy as much of the surrounding forest and
original deed as possible.
“I’m a
mechanical engineer and mostly dealt in new product design and development,”
said Hoover. “And this land issue was a challenge, a unique problem that I
wanted to solve. It took me more than a dozen years but I ended up bringing
together 600 acres under single ownership.”
Hoover currently
lives in Connecticut but plans to retire soon and relocate to a home next to
his forest.
The land is
situated in a corridor that connects the 5,900-acre Bald Eagle State Park with
4,000 acres of State Game Lands. Its location makes it a potentially valuable
commodity as a linkage for wildlife and natural resources, a vital connector
between two protected areas.
“Something
that occurred to me after I acquired all this land, is that I didn’t really
have a goal in mind for the property itself,” said Hoover. “So, I talked with a
forester, and he told me about the benefits of harvesting trees for the health
of the forest and as a way to enhance game species such as deer, turkey and
grouse.”
The first
harvest, which cut and thinned out aspen trees, saw a dramatic increase in game
species on the land. Six more harvests followed. Each targeted at a specific
section of the property.
Each
successful harvest helped his bottom line by selling timber while diversifying
both his forest and the species of wildlife that visited it.
“As I walk
through the land, I look at it as entering different rooms of a house. Each
room is different and has its own use," Hoover said.
"The
property is subdivided like that, with individual smaller and uneven aged
tracts created by forest harvests conducted at different times. Some with
really intense management, and others where I have not done anything."
Getting Help
Hoover has
reached out for help along the way, including the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV), USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), American Bird Conservancy, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources, Pheasants Forever and others.
Through
these groups, Hoover was able to get technical and financial assistance to help
plan and implement forest management practices. With this help, he has not only
improved his bottom line, but he has been able to create top-notch wildlife
habitat.
Right now,
Hoover is participating in two conservation efforts.
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| golden-winged warbler |
The first is
Working Lands for Wildlife, an NRCS-led effort to help private landowners like
Hoover restore declining habitats to help at-risk species. In the Appalachians,
NRCS is helping landowners manage for young forests to benefit the golden-winged warbler and other species.
Golden-winged
warblers in the last 45 years have suffered one of the steepest population
declines of any songbird. Since the 1960s, the young forests that the bird uses
for nesting has decreased by 43 percent in the Appalachians.
Working with
foresters and biologists, Hoover developed a management plan and then went
about creating young forest habitat on his property to provide ideal foraging
space, shelter, and nesting sites for a host of wildlife that depend on this
type of ecosystem.
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| cerulean warbler |
Meanwhile,
Hoover is also participating in the Cerulean Warbler Appalachian Forestland Enhancement Project, which is led by AMJV and funded through NRCS' Regional Conservation Partnership Program. The regional project seeks to
implement active forest management on private lands to improve 12,500 acres of
forest habitat and 1,000 acres of reclaimed mine lands for the cerulean
warbler, offsite link image which
like the golden-winged warbler, has suffered from population declines.
Cerulean
warblers prefer older forests with canopy openings, which like young forests,
are not common in Appalachia. Hoover is currently thinning out dense mature
forest areas that contain tall deciduous trees to create open canopies and gaps
to allow sunlight to reach the forest floor, promoting the growth of saplings,
shrubs, and other vegetation in the forest understory.
Multiple Benefits
In addition
to helping the golden-winged warbler and cerulean warbler, managing for
healthier forests also leaves the best trees on the tract: tall, straight, and
defect free. They will be the seed source for the next trees that make up the
future forest, Hoover said.
“I am
blessed and lucky to have a good chunk of land that allows me to do different
activities on different sections,” said Hoover. “I’m able to focus on hardwood
development in one area that doesn’t benefit wildlife as much but benefits
trees, and in other areas I can focus management that is best for bird and
other wildlife habitat.”
“The mix of
all this activity creates various forest stages on the property that works out
very well for wildlife and the overall health of the land.”
Want to Learn More?
To learn
more about assistance opportunities, landowners should contact their local USDA service center.
You can meet
some of the other producers managing for top-notch wildlife habitat on their
working lands by visiting the NRCS Habitat Hero web page.
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