1. Jeff Walters - Virginia Tech
Management of Pine Forests, Fire and Endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Jeff Walters - Virginia Tech

2. Outline RCW management on MCBCL DCERP research What else is new
RCW as an umbrella species
RCWs and climate change
What else is new
More climate change
High densities of RCWs
RCW SSA

3. Onslow Bight Primary Core Population
27 groups 1991, (1st management demonstration project)

4. How Does Managing Habitat for RCWs Affect the Rest of the Bird Community?
Strong associations between vegetation and bird species

5. RCW as Umbrella Species
Avian Point Count Stations at MCBCL
Foraging Habitat Quality
148 point count stations
RCW matrix scores: potentially suitable suitable habitat
Great Crested Flycatcher
Kevin Rose

6. Red-headed Woodpecker
Foraging Habitat Quality – Positive Effect on Bird Diversity
Red-headed Woodpecker

7. Foraging Habitat Quality - Positive effects on RCWs
High density in best habitat

8. Positive effects on open pine species
Bachman’s Sparrow
Bachman’s Sparrow
Pine Warbler
Other species: Eastern Bluebird, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Red-headed Woodpecker

9. Foraging Habitat Quality – other species
Positive effects on 6/8 widespread species associated with open pine (e.g., Indigo Bunting, Northern Bobwhite) (2 neutral)
Negative effects on 3/5 shrub-associated species (1 neutral, 1 +)
Positive effects on 3/6 hardwood-associated species (2 -, 1 neutral)
Carolina Wren
Tufted Titmouse

10. Summary: Effect of Managing Habitat for RCWs on the Rest of the Bird Community – Good Umbrella!
Overall positive effect on the bird community
Positive effects on individual species widespread
A few negative effects, restricted to common species which remain common
Negative effects on hardwood- associated species surprisingly few (degraded pine savanna not good hardwood forest)
Management (burn!) promotes longleaf restoration goals

11. Climate Change and RCWs (MCBCL & Sandhills)
RCW is a habitat specialist with little capacity to shift range
Must adapt to climate change on site, through plasticity or evolution
Changing climate may affect RCW demography through effects of weather or habitat change

12. Climate Change and RCWs (MCBCL & Sandhills)
Changes over time in reproduction
Earlier laying dates, larger clutches, lighter nestlings, and more partial brood loss
Increasing productivity (fledglings per group)
Changes over time in survival
Higher first year survival, longer lifespan, later age of 1st reproduction
Larger groups
Changes reflect both habitat improvement and changing climate
PhD work of Vicki Garcia

13. Climate Change and RCWs
Some changes clearly climate-related
MCBCL
Sandhills
Laying Date

14. Climate Change and RCWs
Some clearly habitat related
Group Size

15. Climate Change and RCWs
Some likely a combination of both, including the bottom line: productivity (fledglings per group)
Sandhills
Fledglings/Group
RCW nestlings

16. Summary: Climate Change and RCWs in North Carolina
Most effects relate to reproduction
Higher temperatures = positive effects
True for both reproduction and survival
True for both study areas
Temperature effects dominate in the Sandhills
Increased precipitation = negative effects
Effects limited to reproduction
MCBCL accounts for most of these effects
Precipitation as important as temperature at MCBCL
Photo: Derrick Hamrick

17. What Else Is New? More Climate Change
Conditions improving for RCWs in North Carolina at northeastern part of range
May not be true at southwestern part of range
Fledglings/Group

18. Range-wide Analysis (Stephanie DeMay)
Geographic variation in productivity
North to south, tied to variation in survival
Trend is good in northeastern part of range
May be a problem in the Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Low productivity, but getting lower

19. What Else Is New? High Local Densities of RCWs
Reported from several populations
Always in best habitat
MCBCL example
2 original territories now hold 9 groups
7 budding events in 20 years
Important new paper by Garabedian et al.
Ibis 2018
First evidence of density-dependence
Possible densities and thus population sizes in restored habitat an open question

20. What Else Is New? RCW SSA Thanks to many of you
Draft Species Status Assessment Report For the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) Version 1.1
Thanks to many of you
Core Team, Advisory Team
Stephanie DeMay, Will McDearman et al.
Rough draft under review
Regional Office review April 3-4
Presentation by Core Team
Final draft this summer
March 15, 2018 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Atlanta, GA

21. Results Measured population growth rates 1998-2016
Most increasing
Global population model identifies factors affecting population growth
Small populations (6-29) = recruitment clusters, cavity management, translocation, midstory treatment, pine type
Medium populations (30-75) = recruitment clusters, midstory treatment
Large populations (>75) = recruitment clusters, cavity management, spatial aggregation
Negative or no effect of removing flying squirrels
Assume forest, ecosystem management (range-wide baseline)
Shows impacts single species management added to ecosystem management

22. Results (continued)
Current resilience (viability), population by population
Based on population size (<30, 30-99, , , >500)
Within resilience categories, ordered by population growth rate

23. Questions?