At-risk Species

Forest products companies participating in forest certification programs are expected to take appropriate steps to conserve at-risk species in forests they manage and from which they procure wood.

Member Companies also often use data describing occurrences of high-priority species to address conservation of biological diversity in their forest management and procurement operations.

Because many at-risk species and communities are uncommon and difficult to identify, foresters, loggers, and landowners often find it challenging to account for them during forest management and procurement activities. Therefore, NCASI is engaged in several projects to address these needs. An example is supporting collaboration with NatureServe to explore development of information about management practices in working forests that contribute to conservation of at- risk species, including a mobile-friendly website to retrieve a list of species by each generalized cover type that they could encounter in the area and information about recognizing and managing each species.

Staff are also working with NatureServe to facilitate more cost-effective access to that organization’s multi-jurisdictional data (MJD) through a license held by NCASI.

In the southeastern US, open woodlands dominated by southern yellow pine provide habitat for many species of wildlife, especially for early successional species that are declining across the region. As a result, open-canopy pine forests are the focus of regional conservation efforts by agencies and conservation organizations. Some organizations have developed metrics of desired forest conditions for open pine habitat.

However, these metrics may not always be applicable in working forest landscapes. Staff are building on previous efforts to use FIA data to quantify open-canopy pine conditions on private, working forests.