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  • How to Create Young Forest
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Yellow Warbler
Tom Berriman
A fresh way to create wildlife habitat

young

Forest

Why we need young forest

Young forest and shrubland are in short supply. As Eastern forests age, we need to make some younger habitat in key places to provide essential food and cover for certain species of wildlife whose numbers are dwindling.

It's really early successional habitat
Fresh growth = flourishing wildlife
Want to make some young forest?
Learn Why

How to create young forest

Landowners and conservationists are making this special habitat using techniques that mimic natural disturbances, giving rise to small trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses. Wildlife depends on such diversity to thrive.

The right techniques for the task
See more wildlife in your woods
Making young forest in an era of climate change
Learn How

Wildlife Needs Young Trees and Native Shrubs

Photo of a woodcock feeding
American woodcock
Photo of a New England cottontail in young forest habitat
New England cottontail
image of eastern towhee
Birds
Photo of a Greatm Spangled Fritillary butterfly on a milkweed flower
Pollinators
image of wood turtle
Turtles
View More Wildlife >

Latest News

snowshoe hare in northern New England
news
Young forest helps hide and camouflage snowshoe hares
A primary species of the northern woods needs all the help it can get

When windstorms or logging create small gaps in older forest, and these openings fill in with dense young spruce and fir, snowshoe hares find good hiding cover and food sources. The gaps collect and maintain snow cover longer than more-open woods, providing settings where white hare can blend in and be less exposed to predators.

image of red admiral butterfly
news
Will we become a country without our most enchanting insects?
Nature writer cites "crisis of awareness" when it comes to native butterflies

As human grow detached from nature, we lose our reverence for animals like butterflies, and that can be dangerous, both for ourselves and for these beautiful and fascinating creatures.

New England cottontail in conservation breeding program
news
Lab work boosts breeding success in New England cottontails
URI animal science students help native rabbits in conservation breeding program

Research into hormone levels and mate-choice selections by female New England cottontails makes conservation breeding more effective.

View All News >

Find a Habitat Project Near You

Federal and state agencies, conservation and wildlife organizations, land trusts, towns and municipalities, and private landowners (both large and small) are creating important young forest and shrubland to help northeastern wildlife. Many areas are open to visitors who want to get a "feel" for this special habitat.

Partners Creating Young Forests and Shrubland

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service logo
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
USDA Logo
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
logo for Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
NFWF logo
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Logo for Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program.
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program
Wildlife Management Institute - established in 1911 - logo, seal
Wildlife Management Institute
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National Forest in North Carolina to create young forest habitat

Healthier forests mean cleaner water and better habitat for everything from salamanders to bats

Strategically harvesting trees and planting other native trees preferred by wildlife are part of an 800-acre management project planned for a national forest in North Carolina.

New England cottontails flourish on a Massachusetts island

It’s a Bunny Paradise

Biologists released 13 rare New England cottontails on Noman’s Land Island in 2019. Now, around 400 of the rabbits roam the 600-acre island off the Massachusetts coast.

Controlled burns for private lands?

Study finds landowners are open to prescribed burns

Research by Penn State scientists suggests that owners of private lands are open to using prescribed burns to manage their forested acres.

image of New England Cottontail Initiative logo
New England Cottontail Conservation Initiative
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Young Forest & Shrubland

A fresh way to create wildlife habitat

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