ABSTRACT

Despite the need to work together to achieve mutual goals across forested landscapes, the language of the disciplines itself can interfere with success. Throughout this text, I will try to define terms that could be confusing or misinterpreted between the disciplines. For instance, a brief search of the Web using the terms “forest wildlife habitat” produced 7.7 million hits, including the following quotes from resource professionals: “In recent years, an increasing number of landowners have realized the economic importance of timber management as a way to enhance wildlife habitat.” “Several practices have damaged the wildlife habitat, including habitat fragmentation; past roads, excessive logging and development all worked to fragment large areas of intact habitat.” So, who is correct? All 7.7 million? Well, yes and no. We cannot understand how to manage forests to provide habitat for wildlife species, or more generally for biodiversity, unless we understand what habitat is and is not. But first, what is wildlife? It is important to first recognize that it is not a singular noun but a plural one. Wildlife encompasses many species. To think of wildlife as one thing is making the mistake of considering us (humans) and them (all other species) as two separate groups; we are all in this together, humans and other species. Biodiversity goes beyond the collection of animals that we often perceive as wildlife to include all forms of life — plants, animals, microbes, and all the bits of the earth that support them. Leopold (1949) suggested that “. . . to keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” Save the pieces. In our efforts to manage forests to

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meet wildlife and biodiversity goals, the pieces are the species and the resources those species need to survive and reproduce. So, let us think about what a species needs as habitat.