Conservation Target : Habitat Management Management Goal: Manage and promote healthy habitat for all organisms on tribal lands and waters. Biological Conditions Contributed Service Conservation Strategies Variable Provisioning, Supporting, Cultural Management, Restoration, Research History and Adaptive Process: All organisms, even people, require habitat to live. As an ecological management unit, we work to manage and promote healthy habitats for all organisms on tribal lands and in tribal waters. This requires a broader assessment and prescription beyond food plots for wildlife or standard early successional management designs. We might even consider management designs beyond the rudimentary biodiversity maxima perspective. From this largely ecological perspective, our office is central to habitat management that benefits the people and the ecosystem. We currently manage several small plots that total approximately 46.8 acres of wildlife openings across tribal reserve. In the late 2000s, some of the openings were cleared of trees and dense vegetation to create open space and a food source for grazing animals. These openings also provide a safe space away from populated areas- including highways, residents, and businesses. Yearly surveys of hard mast within the forest, evaluated the acorn production of oak species which can be directly related to growth of certain animal populations, were conducted from 2008-2017. These surveys took a considerable amount of staff time and were discontinued in 2017 due to the lack of data needs compared to other regional efforts (surrounding management units collect these data). Concerning low Hellbender density seems associated with the lack of cover rocks and the fact that concrete hellbender huts could not sustain our high-grade rivers, we created concrete slab habitats in 2018. The need for additional assessment on the effects of the hellbender habitat additions on the stream flow and levels (a No Rise permit) has stalled the addition of these rocks to the river. Additionally, we provide input for management of public and private lands as needed and as it might pertain to the promotion of certain species- plant or animal. Many of our hurdles for managing larger wildlife populations are limited by the lack of large-scale uninterrupted landscapes. We will need to work closely with state and federal partners to clear sites and implement management plans in an organized way.
MANAGEMENT ACTIONS
Current Methodology for Conservation Strategies Management: Maintain >50 acres for wildlife and pollinators across Tribal Reserve, powerline and waterline right of ways and Kituwah. Several concrete slabs to be used as hellbender habitat in Tribal Waters. Results and Discussion for Information Transfer and Processing Ecological: Management: Worked 20 acres of openings including plowing, mowing, and invasive vegetation removal. Planted ¼ acre of native pollinator seed. Worked with BIA to burn wildlife openings. Social & Cultural: Provide outreach opportunities for Cherokee Choices students regarding native pollinators.
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