Natural Resources

Wildlife Management - Return to Natural Resources Page

Maintaining quality habitat and wildlife diversity is a primary goal of the park district. Many of our natural areas are reverting to forests where little to no management takes place. In these areas the natural process of succession will determine what plant and animal communities are best adapted to the site.

In order to achieve higher wildlife diversity, some areas are maintained as habitats other than forest, such as prairie, brush lands and wetlands. Areas that have already been heavily disturbed by human actions, such as farming practices, are often good locations for management. Utilizing these areas for active management allows us to increase diversity without disturbing rare or sensitive species.

One valuable tool in wildlife management is surveying the plant and animal species in an area to see what species are using an area. Preservation Parks is beginning to complete annual biotic surveys within our parks so we can interpret the quality of our natural areas. After data have been collected for a few years, the surveys will be available on our Web site and in printed materials.

Plant surveys that focus on the major vegetative communities have been completed for most of our parks. By studying the vegetation types found within our parks we can infer wildlife diversity and habitat quality. These surveys are converted to maps which aid in development and conservation decisions.

Bird surveys are conducted annually by staff and volunteers to monitor the success of our management programs. “Christmas Bird Counts” are conducted within our parks each winter as part of a nationwide attempt to monitor bird populations over time. Also, nest box monitors help keep track of nest box condition and record the many birds fledged from them each season.