habitat – Land Between the Lakes

06 Feb 2017

Land Between the Lakes Ten Year Monitoring and Evaluation Report

Community, Planning, Plants, Stewardship, Wildlifeecosystems, evaluation, forest, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, management, monitoring, soils, species, tennessee, watershed, wildlife

It’s been eleven fiscal years since developing the Land Between the Lakes Area Plan. Our specialist have completed a ten year evaluation report assessing our progress. The report indicates strengths and weaknesses of Area Plan implementation. Now we need to hear from you. Your feedback on this report will help shape collaboration in the near future. Specifically, we want to know: Whether the report captures Area Plan implementation since December 2004 How to use the results in the report to improve collaboration on management of Land Between the Lakes You can read the ten year report by clicking on this…

31 Oct 2016

By LBL_Admin

Open lands-Helping Wildlife Survive

Field Guide, Fire, Hunting, Natural Resource Management, Plants, Recreation, Restoration, Stewardship, Wildlifefire, Forest Service, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, openlands, partners, prescribed burning, species, tennessee, wildlife

Dear friends, As part of our Land and Resource Management Plan, we designated approximately 10,600 acres as open lands. This acreage specifically supports insects, game animals, grassland type birds, and mammals through open lands management. Managing open lands involves keeping desired vegetation in an early stage of growth. We do this by cultivating and planting our wildlife plantings and cropland areas. We maintain grassland type habitat primarily by mowing, disking, prescribed fire and herbicide applications. These open land types provide food and shelter for hundreds of species at Land Between the Lakes. Since the turn of the 21st Century, natural…

06 May 2016

By LBL_Admin

Tree Planting at the Elk and Bison Prairie

Elk & Bison Prairie, Field Guide, Natural Resource Management, Plants, Restoration, Stewardshipbison, elk, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, natural resources, planting, prairie, tennessee, trees

Submitted by Yvonne Helton, Silviculturist We recently planted approximately 1500 shortleaf pine and 70 Bur Oak seedlings within the perimeter of the Elk & Bison Prairie. We chose areas where pine mortality occurred and staff burned off debris piles. So why did we plant Shortleaf Pine? We value fire tolerant traits such as its ability to re-sprout and natural resistance to fire scar rot. Shortleaf Pine also produces frequent cone crops. These attributes suit the Elk & Bison Prairie perfectly. Shortleaf Pine may also create a more diverse habitat. We observed declines of Virginia Pine in the Elk & Bison…

30 Mar 2016

By LBL_Admin

Buffalo Trail Prescribed Fire

Environmental Education, Fire, Hunting, Natural Resource Management, Recreation, Restoration, Stewardship, Wildlifeburn, fire, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, land management, prescribed, resource management, tennessee, wildlife

After a four-month delay, conditions were just right on Monday, March 28 for us to begin our prescribed burn. A moderate East to West wind gently blew into the forest and across the open lands. Humidity, temperature, and atmospheric conditions in the target area were optimal. The Bison Trail was our burn block for the day. Dozens of Forest Service employees, students, and volunteers from multiple organizations and agencies gathered at Land Between the Lakes’ well-equipped fire cache for a briefing. Leadership, old and new, laid out the plan. If everything went well, we would set alight almost 2,530 acres of the burn…

08 Jan 2016

By LBL_Admin

What are Core Areas?

Natural Resource Management, Questions from the Public, Stewardshipcore, diversity, forest, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, plan, research, tennessee

Given the number of times Land Between The Lakes has been logged in the past, are there any examples of mature canopy forest in Land Between The Lakes that would demonstrate what the under-story would do if the forest is left alone for extended periods of time? Be prepared to give examples, if they exist or explain why they don't, and discuss pros and cons of this area and how they are utilized in relation to environmental education and educating the public in proposed/utilized land management techniques. Summary There are areas that have had little to no management since the 1960s.…

06 Jan 2016

By LBL_Admin

How Land Management Affects Outdoor Recreation

Natural Resource Management, Questions from the Public, Roadsdiversity, fire, forest health, Forest Service, habitat, heritage, Kentucky, land between the lakes, land management, logging, native, plants, public involvement, recreation, roads, tennessee, timber, wildlife

How are proposed land management practices including logging, expected or anticipated to affect Land Between The Lakes' core mission of environmental education and recreation? Positives and negatives? Summary Timber management activities create opportunities for wildlife viewing. The timber sale activities help with road maintenance, thus allowing for dispersed recreation opportunities such as hunting. With improved wildlife habitat conditions, the opportunity to utilize environmental education into the role of land management is increased. Restricting or eliminating the use of timber sales as a tool for land management could be perceived as having positive impact on visuals and noise. Why Land Management?…

15 Dec 2015

By LBL_Admin

Cost for managing an oak-grassland habitat

Elk & Bison Prairie, Funding, Natural Resource Management, Questions from the Public, Restoration, Wildlifehabitat, land management, wildlife

What is the anticipated costs and what is currently budgeted for maintenance of the existing '8600' acres of savanna/grass lands? Accounting data for the costs of this project (8,600)? We project out our costs for programs such as timber and fire then submit a request for funding annually. This is done as one budget item. We do not break it down into such detail. As land managers we take into account our areas that need treatments and plan for those areas several years in advance. You can find more information about where we spend our funds in one of our…

01 May 2015

By LBL_Admin

Polecat Ponderings

#FridayEd, Environmental Education, Field Guide, Wildlifedog, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, odor removal, owl, pets, polecat, rabies, recipe, skunk, skunk recipe, spray, tennessee

By John Pollpeter Often we don’t give them much mind. We smell them dead on the road or checking out our campsite late in the evening. Skunks, or locally known as “polecats,” are a unique member of our Purchase Area ecology. The term “polecat” comes from a close relative found in Eurasia. The name transferred with European settlement. It is an old French word meaning chicken- “poule.” So in essence, polecat means “the cat that eats chickens." The word “skunk” comes from the Algonquin name, as does other common American animals like moose and opossum. One thing that makes…

12 Feb 2015

By LBL_Admin

Wildlife Refuges

#FridayEd, Community, Environmental Education, Field Guide, Hunting, Recreation, Wildlifebird, bird watching, birding, eagle, environmental education, habitat, hunting, land between the lakes, migratory birds, Mississippi Flyway, nature, Nature Watch, recreation, tourism, trails, wildlife refuges, wildlife watching

Submitted by Brian Truskey, Communications Apprentice at Land Between The Lakes At Land Between The Lakes our visitors can enjoy a variety of activities. Some of our most popular include off-highway vehicle riding, swimming, canoeing, camping, biking, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, environmental education, and of course, wildlife viewing, and birding. We manage and protect wildlife habitat in order to ensure that our visitors will be able to see wildlife in years to come. What are Wildlife Refuges? Wildlife refuges consist of land and water areas where wildlife can go to rest, winter, and feed – free from human intrusion. Land…

30 May 2014

By LBL_Admin

Wildflowers Bloom at Elk & Bison Prairie

Elk & Bison Prairie, Plants, Restoration, Stewardship, WildlifeElk & Bison Prairie, fire, habitat, Indian Pink, prescribed fire, wildflowers, wildlife

Submitted by Curtis Fowler, Range Technician at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area This gorgeous stand of Indian Pink was found in an area of the Elk & Bison Prairie that had been burned during a prescribed fire at the end of March. They are blooming along a shady creekside, creating perfect habitat for wildlife. Wildflowers can be found all across Land Between The Lakes throughout the year. Take a drive or a hike to see what you can find! For more information about Indian Pink, visit http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SPMA3.

Tag: habitat