Success of the Army's 1996 red‐cockaded woodpecker management guidelines

Abstract

Abstract In 1996, the U.S. Army's guidelines for management of red‐cockaded woodpeckers were revised to reduce training restrictions and promote recovery. These seemingly opposed objectives in fact turned out to be mutually supportive. The type of open pine forest that constitutes good red‐cockaded woodpecker habitat also provides visibility and maneuver freedom that is suitable for many types of military training. Training restrictions have not been shown to be particularly important in promoting expansion of red‐cockaded woodpecker populations, but they are certainly a disincentive to installation commanders who must balance the requirement to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with the requirement to train soldiers to fight and win wars. This paper describes the circumstances that led to the revision of the Army's guidelines, the approach that was used, and a summary of the important changes between the former and the new management guidelines. Population trend data are also presented, and show that red‐cockaded woodpecker populations on Army lands are increasing, suggesting that the new guidelines are beneficial. Furthermore, all Army installations with adequate forested acreage are vigorously pursuing continued population growth to achieve recovery. Lessons learned from the process of revising the Army's approach to red‐cockaded woodpecker management are likely to have applications for other species, particularly on military lands. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.