Outreach plan to help partners implement the conservation strategy for the New England cottontail, 27 February 2019
Resources
Are you a landowner who wants to make young forest on your property? A land manager who’d like to learn more about this important habitat? A natural resources professional looking for more-technical information? If you are interested in adapting one of these resources for your own state or organization, please contact the author of the resource directly.
Use Resource Types at right to search for a specific category of Resource.
These birds, reptiles, and mammals need young forest to survive (7.5 MB file). Images for educational purposes only. Copyright for photos resides with photographers who generously supplied their work for this gallery.
36-page illustrated publication providing detailed information on how to create and maintain habitat for cottontails (17.8 MB file).
A booklet written in 1981 that still offers much pertinent advice on making habitat for woodcock (1.33 MB).
Scientific research article by L.E. Fenderson, et al, in 2014 Ecology and Evolution.
Technical report by Adrienne I. Kovach and Thea V. Kristensen, University of New Hampshire, December 2017 (4.85 MB download).
Scientific research article by John Litvaitis, et al, in 2021 Land (2.8 MB download)
24-page booklet on how to best create and maintain habitat for American woodcock in the Appalachians (2.2 MB).
12-page booklet on how to best create and maintain habitat for American woodcock in the Northeast (5.6 MB).
Habitat Suitability Index for evaluating habitat for New England cottontails on 60 managed sites. Masters degree thesis by Alena Warren, published December 2017.
Scientific research article in March 2016 PLoS ONE, published 2016, explaining how different landscape features allow New England cottontails to disperse and exchange genetic material between populations, and how other landscape features impede dispersal and genetic exchange (4.75 MB...
Scientific research paper by scientists associated with the University of Massachusetts explains how small forest openings - sometimes called patch cuts - can provide habitat for several birds listed by various states as species of conservation concern (603 KB download).
Scientific research article by Chadwick Rittenhouse and Adrienne Kovach on New England cottontail research published in December 2020 Wildlife Society Bulletin.
Scientific research paper in Northeastern Naturalist by Joan C. Milam, et al, on how native bees use flowers that grow abundantly in habitat areas being managed as young forest and shrubland for species such as American woodcock and New England cottontail (800 KB download).
Supplement for Deciduous Forests to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Great Lakes Region (290 KB download).
Supplement for Forest and Shrub Wetlands to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Appalachians (250 KB download).
Supplement for Shrub Wetlands to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-
Winged Warbler Habitats in the Great Lakes Region (255 KB download).
Supplement for Abandoned Farmlands to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Great Lakes Region (229 KB download).
Supplement for Grazed Forestland and Montane Pasture to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Appalachians (228 KB download).
Supplement for Deciduous Forests to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Appalachian Region (250 KB download).
Best management practices for golden-winged warbler habitats in the Appalachian region, a guide for landowners and land managers (788 KB download).
Supplement for Aspen Parkland Transition Zone of Canada to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Great Lakes Region (250 MB download).
Best management practices for golden-winged warbler habitats in the Great Lakes Region, a guide for landowners and land managers (700 KB download).
Supplement for Abandoned Farmlands to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Appalachian Region (210 KB download).
Supplement for Minelands to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Appalachians Region (190 KB download).
Supplement for Utility Rights-of-Way to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Appalachians (210 KB download).
Supplement for Utility Rights-of-Way to accompany Best Management Practices for Golden-Winged Warbler Habitats in the Great Lakes Region (220 KB download).
28-page manual detailing the best ways to make and manage habitat for this rare regional rabbit; 2013 edition (4.95 MB file).
28-page manual detailing the best ways to make and manage habitat for this rare regional rabbit; 2017 edition (7.3 MB file).
38-page illustrated technical guide on how best to restore or create habitat for New England cottontails in areas where forest canopy closure, invasive shrubs, heathlands, and the presence of non-native eastern cottontails affect management decisions (8 MB download).
24-page booklet on how to best create and maintain habitat for American woodcock and associated bird species in the Upper Great Lakes Region (2 MB).
Video offering front-seat view of a "brontosaurus" chewing down trees to renew habitat.
Article by Mike Freeman, published in the Fall 2015 Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society Magazine (575 KB download).
Popular article explaining how forest management activities on lands of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) contribute to wildlife conservation while mitigating the effects of climate change.
A forester explains how clearcutting can benefit wildlife and allow the forest to "start over," with better, healthier trees (315 KB file).
Sign by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, to be used on-site for habitat projects on state lands as part of the New York Young Forest Initiative (483 KB).
Communications strategy aimed at encouraging private landowners in an eastern West Virginia watershed to seek technical and financial assistance to undertake young forest habitat projects benefiting golden-winged warbler, cerulean warbler, and associated wildlife. Has application to other...
Scientific research article by Amanda Cheeseman, et al, in September 18 Ecology and Evolution (2.75 MB download)
Scientific research paper by Scott H. Stoleson of the U.S. Forest Service showing that deep-forest birds and their young frequently move to young forest habitat following the breeding season (482 KB download).
Brochure describing Connecticut's Private Landowner Technical Assistance Program to create shrubland habitat for New England cottontails(1.7 MB download).
Comprehensive plan (updated 2017) for conserving the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis).
Comprehensive plan (2012) for conserving the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis).
18-page illustrated manual on how to successfully trap, handle, and process cottontails in the field (2.67 MB download).
Sign produced by New York Department of Environmental Conservation explaining the need to conduct timber cutting on select wildlife management areas to create young forest habitat (1.26 MB download).
Banner to be used at public information meetings, fairs, and outdoor shows, introducing and explaining the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's Young Forest Initiative (6.26 MB download).
A timber harvest can be an excellent, cost-effective way to create young forest habitat for wildlife and promote a diverse and healthy forest. Five attractive, easy-to-understand publications offer guidance for landowners considering a timber harvest. Although focused on Vermont, the guides...
Display developed by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department on how harvesting trees can create young forest and help wildlife (811 KB download).
Scientific paper published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin describing a habitat suitability model that conservationists can use to monitor progress in creating and maintaining habitat for New England cottontails (1.28 MB download).
Research study in western Massachusetts shows that creating and maintaining young forest in pitch pine-scrub oak barrens increases the amount of habitat available to whip-poor-wills for courtship, roosting, and nesting (1.5 MB download).
23-page document covering the topics of dead wood, soil compaction, nutrient conservation, and wildlife habitat in temperate forests, including specific forest types of the Northeast (490 KB).
Scientific paper in PLOS-ONE journal explaining how landowners who went out on their properties with natural resource technicians expressed higher trust in the agency helping them create habitat, plus better perceptions of management outcomes.
USDA Forest Service research paper by Mariko Yamasaki, Christine A. Costello, and William B. Leak on effects of different forest management practices on breeding birds and tree regeneration (1.8 MB download).
Scientific paper by D.I. King, et al, reporting on research monitoring nesting success on 15 powerline corridors in western Massachusetts (450 KB).
Scientific paper by Bill Buffum, Christopher Modisette, and Scott McWilliams examining the effect of financial incentives on family forest owners' decisions regarding whether or not to manage their woodlands to create young forest.
Scientific research article by Eric Miller in 2011 Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service brochure describing wildland fire and its benefits to wildlife and humans when managers use it safely to renew wildlife habitat and reduce fuel loads in fire-prone areas (780 KB download).
Design for folder to hold young forest communications materials.
20-page guide describing how to retain biomass in forests to preserve forest ecosystem health; useful when planning habitat management actions to create young forest for wildlife (1 MB).
28-page booklet by Paul Catanzaro, Anthony D'Amato, and other contributors, published in 2019 by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (5.4 MB download).
Interpretive sign for display in areas being managed for young forest habitat (567 KB download).
Two-sided sheet explaining how managing forests in Connecticut helps wildlife and the environment, while promoting climate change mitigation, the economy, and recreational opportunities (3 MB download).
Videos explaining how wildlife needs young forest and how landowners and natural resource professionals are working together to create this important habitat in Wisconsin.
Article by Cristina Santiestevan explaining the challenge of educating the public on why cutting trees can be good for wildlife, plants, and the environment. From March/April 2015 Virginia Wildlife magazine (2.9 MB download).
Fruits and migrant health: Consequences of stopping over in exotic- vs. native dominated shrublands on immune and antioxidant status of Swainson's Thrushes and Gray Catbirds. Paper published in 2017 in The Condor.
Script for young forest public service announcement. Can be customized for use in any state in the Northeast.
2-minute radio spot on how important young forest is to wildlife and forest health. Can be used anywhere in the Northeast. Also serves as a template for customizing a similar message for any state (1.8 MB file).
Visit this website to learn about the golden-winged warbler, another declining species that needs young forest.
Two-sided sheet of basic habitat practices for golden-winged warblers in Pennsylvania and Maryland forestlands (1.6 MB download).
Comprehensive 158-page guide by Paul R. Salon and Chris F. Miller of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service on using conservation plantings to create and improve wildlife habitat (6.1 MB).
High Branch Conservation Service, Hartland, VT, 2017 (2.3 MB download). These guidelines were supported by State Wildlife Grant funding awarded through the Northeast Regional Conservation Needs (RCN) Program. The RCN Program joins thirteen northeastern states, the District of Columbia, and the U...
High Branch Conservation Service, Hartland, VT, 2017 (2.6 MB download). These guidelines were supported by State Wildlife Grant funding awarded through the Northeast Regional Conservation Needs (RCN) Program. The RCN Program joins thirteen northeastern states, the District of Columbia, and the U...
High Branch Conservation Services, Hartland, VT, 2017 (3.1 MB download). These guidelines were supported by State Wildlife Grant funding awarded through the Northeast Regional Conservation Needs (RCN) Program. The RCN Program joins thirteen northeastern states, the District of Columbia, and the...
Mathematical tool for evaluating New England cottontail habitat quality.
Sign by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to explain why young forest habitat is being created on managed sites (3.65 MB download).
Working Lands for Wildlife 2017-2021 Conservation Strategy for Golden-Winged Warbler Recovery, by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (13.3 MB).
Sign identifying habitat created for New England cottontails and other wildlife (7.2 MB download); land managers can contact state biologists to see if signs are available for their state.
Infographic on the New England cottontail: history, range, and habitat and population goals to help the species (160 KB download).
Journal article reporting research showing that the numbers and diversity of birds (including species of both young forest and older woodlands) are higher on woodcock singing grounds than at random forest sites in Rhode Island (300 KB download).
Article on shrublands by Scott Weidensaul; originally appeared in Aubudon online on March 1, 2016 (20 KB download).
Article from Pennsylvania Game News magazine explaining how private landowners can evaluate whether their forests are providing habitat for wildlife that need younger growth, and how to take steps to create such habitat (9 MB download).
Article by Marianne Piche in No. 1, 2015, issue of Massachusetts Wildlife magazine. (To subscribe to this quarterly magazine, visit www.mass.gov/masswildlife or call 508-389-6300.)
Scientific paper in 10 April 2019 Wildlife Research describing possible methods for surveying rabbit populations that may allow biologists to evaluate the effectiveness of habitat-creation efforts aimed at helping the native New England cottontail.
Sign developed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for habitat-management projects on public land (2.5 MB download).
Summary report by Cornell University's Human Dimensions Research Unit exploring why private forest landowners in the New England cottontail range in New York manage their lands for wildlife habitat, and what steps and incentives might encourage landowners to create habitat (450 KB download).
Scientific research article by Amanda Cheeseman, et al, in 2020 Ecology and Evolution.
12-page reference guide for foresters, habitat managers, conservationists, and landowners who want to control the nonnative invasive shrub Japanese barberry (1.1 MB).
When talking about young forests, communicators can use these key messages to get across important concepts (193 KB file).
Fact sheet describing the Kunjamuk Young Forest Demonstration Project in the Adirondack region of New York State (1.6 MB download).
56-page guidebook on how to manage a woodland for wildlife, with an emphasis on ruffed grouse (1 MB download).
Scientific research paper by Thomas J. McGreevy, et al, in September 2021 Frontiers in Genetics (2.4 MB download)
Report by Cornell University's Human Dimensions Research Unit detailing a study on landowner attitudes, and barriers towards creating New England cottontail habitat (4.5 MB download).
Guidebook with management recommendations for helping forest birds in southeastern Ohio, including creating patches of young forest. Length, 33 pages (5 MB download).
Bulletin summarizing management recommendations for helping forest birds in southeastern Ohio, including creating patches of young forest. Length, 9 pages. Drawn from Managing Forest Birds in Southeast Ohio: A Guide for Land Managers (1 MB download).
Five-part video series on managing forests to help birds and other wildlife. Topics include Experiences from Ohio’s Woodland Owners; Creating Early-successional Habitat; Thinning and Crop-tree Release; Managing Invasive Species; and Planning for a Better Timber Harvest.
148-pg. manual offering detailed advice on how to manage and renew young-forest habitats in the Northeast; published 2006 (9.7 MB download).
Scientific research paper on genetic sampling of New England cottontails released into shrubland habitat on Bellamy River WMA in New Hampshire.
Scientific research article by Roger J. Masse, et al, in 2014 Forest Ecology and Management.
Brochure developed by Navarino Nature Center, Shiocton, WI, explaining woodcock habitat needs and life history, to be used by visitors on the Center's 0.4-mile Woodcock Trail (850 KB download).
2014 annual report on progress in conserving the New England cottontail
2015 annual report on progress in conserving the New England cottontail
2016 annual report on progress in conserving the New England cottontail
2017 annual report on progress in conserving the New England cottontail
2018 annual report on progress in conserving the New England cottontail
2019 annual report on progress in conserving the New England cottontail
2020 annual report on progress in conserving the New England cottontail.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fact sheet on the New England cottontail (1 MB download).
Template to use in printing news and information about New England cottontail conservation.
Template to use in printing news and information about New England cottontail conservation.
Template to use in printing news and information about New England cottontail conservation.
Outreach plan to help partners implement the conservation strategy for the New England cottontail (46 pages).
University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension brochure on this rare regional rabbit that needs young forest and shrubland habitat to survive (1 MB file).
Conservation strategy produced by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service aimed at helping the New England cottontail (1.2 MB download).
Six-minute video describing how conservationists and landowners are making young forest for wildlife in New Hampshire.
Scientific article by M. Barbour and J.A. Litvaitis examining physical condition, niche dimensions, and survival of New England cottontails in different-sized habitat patches during winter (695 KB).
A guide developed by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau Invasive Plants Working Group. Includes information on invasive plants' impacts on wildlife, such as the New England cottontail (18.5 MB).
Sign by Plum Creek Timber Company explaining how clearcut timber harvests lead to healthy, productive working forest while providing benefits to wildlife (1.7 MB download).
Sign by Plum Creek Timber Company explaining how working forest provides important habitat for wildlife (470 KB download).
Funding strategy for American woodcock conservation developed by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Migratory Shore and Upland Game Bird Support Task Force (2.3 MB download).
Brochure (2021) on managing habitat for wildlife while promoting forest health and the sequestering and storing of carbon by forest trees (7.9 MB download).
Fact sheet on RHDV2 by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
16-page manual for reforesting surface-mined lands in the eastern United States, published by Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia Tech (1.9 MB download).
Rangewide brochure describes efforts to conserve the New England cottontail, a species that needs young forest habitat (662 KB file).
Popular article on New England cottontail conservation from summer 2013 Northern Woodlands Magazine (7.47 MB file).
Brochure from University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension on how to recognize shrubland habitats and why such places are important to wildlife (440 KB file).
52-page manual describing forest management techniques, including tree harvesting, in the Northern Hardwood forest type, which extends from northern New England west to the Great Lakes states (3.1 MB download).
Scientific research paper in Forest Ecology and Management on using Landsat data to identify and quantify early successional forest in the Upper Great Lakes region, providing insight for habitat management planning and monitoring (1.5 MB download).
Four-page Working Lands for Wildlife guide, by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, on how to manage forests to help golden-winged warblers (675 KB upload).
28:46 video on young forests in Michigan, produced by Michigan Agency of Natural Resources Communications and Michigan State University Extension.
Technical book with 16 chapters focusing on young forest topics and research in the Central Hardwood Region, published 2011. Detailed chapter synopses provide information; the entire publication or individual chapters can be purchased from Springer International.
40-pg. guidebook helping conservationists explain the importance of young forest to the public and other key audiences (3 MB file).
Advice from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public affairs specialist presented in PowerPoint format (5.38 MB file).
Clearcutting, maligned and misunderstood, can jump-start new forest while helping wildlife, notes this brochure from Connecticut (461 KB file).
7-page information sheet by Jonathan Kays, Adam Dowing, and James Finley and published by University of Maryland Extension Service (1.87 MB file).
PowerPoint explaining why young-forest habitat is important and how to make and maintain it. Use when speaking to concerned citizens, clubs and organizations, and conservation audiences such as foresters and agency employees. (44.74 MB. To save file rather than simply opening it, right click on...
Suggested script for Young Forest PowerPoint Presentation (above). Common language and key messages to reach a broad range of audiences (5 MB file).
8 1/2 x 11 trifold brochure (5.33 MB file). To print double-sided on home/office printer, choose Actual Size under Page Sizing and Handling options. Select Print on both sides of paper and choose Flip on short edge option. If...
A full-color 60-page (6.5 MB) publication presenting the scope of the Young Forest Project and conservationists' achievements in creating this important wildlife habitat.
Scientific research article by John Litvaitis, et al, from 28 August 2013 Environmental Management journal (335 KB file).
90-pg. illustrated book profiling 65 species of wildlife that need shrubland and young forest, including 42 birds, 13 mammals, and 10 reptiles (9.1 MB file).
Technical article in Forest Ecology and Management on powerline corridors and their importance as young forest habitat for a rich array of native plants and wildlife (1.46 MB).
Scientific research article by Roger J. Masse, et al, in 2013 Behavioral Ecology.
24-page brochure listing some of the wildlife that may be seen in a forest as it grows back following a management action, such as a timber harvest (11.4 MB download).
For some kinds of wildlife, like the New England cottontail and American woodcock, shrublands provide the best possible habitat, as explained by this brochure from Maine (496 KB file).
Table-top or poster display (38” high by 60” wide) developed by Wildlife Management Institute for conferences, workshops, annual meetings, sports shows, public info sessions, and other young forest related activities. The display is designed to the printing specifications of...
Brochure explaining how young forest provides food and cover required by American woodcock, New England cottontails, and many other wild creatures (755 KB file).
Display developed by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department on how wildlife needs young forest habitat (573 KB download).
12-page report on progress made during 2016 by partners in the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership (1.15 MB download).
22-page report on progress made during 2017 by partners in the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership (5.58 MB download).
Brochure describing the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership effort (690 KB download).
Display on need to create young forest habitat to reverse declining population of the American woodcock (2.25 MB download).
Sign 1 (Trail Head) for Woodcock Trail on land owned by Penn State University. Sign developed by Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. For information purposes only; photo and graphics may not be used elsewhere without written permission. (100 KB download.)
Signs 2-16 for Woodcock Trail on land owned by Penn State University. Signs developed by Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. For information purposes only; photos or graphics used in the signage may not be used elsewhere without written permission. (4.54 MB download.)
Sign produced by Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine promoting the importance of shrubland and young forest for New England cottontails and other wildlife (2.3 MB download).
Sign developed by New Hampshire Cooperative Extension explaining importance of young forest to wildlife, for use on habitat management projects (2 MB download).
Bookmark explaining young forest habitat concepts to a general audience.
28-page guidebook on how to create young forest, for private landowners and those who manage public lands (state wildlife areas, parks, or forests), town or county forests, nature preserves, land trust properties, and hunting clubs (12 MB download).
Display produced by West Virginia Department of Natural Resources showing wildlife use of forests of difference ages during regrowth following a timber harvest (3.4 MB download).
Eight-panel brochure describing the Young Forest Project, published by the Wildlife Management Institute (3.4 MB download).
Presentation folder to hold printed materials; can be given to landowners, foresters, town and county conservation officials, land trusts, fish and game clubs, others (3.4 MB download).
2-minute Public Service Announcement (audio) on young forest from New Hampshire Fish & Game (1.8 MB file).
Video (04:26) explaining young forest and its benefits to the environment.
Video (00:50) introducing young forest habitat.
Linda Steiner is a hunter who knows through experience that young forest benefits a wide range of wildlife and not just game birds and mammals. (Article from April 2012 Pennsylvania Game News magazine; 1.9 MB file.)
