Ecological forestry at National Wildlife Refuges: experiences from

ABSTRACT Although land management over much of the history of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) has emphasized single-species management, recent policy has encouraged land managers to focus on broader ecosystem restoration goals. One framework for forest ecosystem management that is becoming more popular in the NWRS and other federal and state resource agencies has been termed "ecological forestry"-an approach to forest ecosystem management where the focus is on incorporating an understanding of the outcomes of natural disturbances and stand development processes into designing silvicultural practices. This approach stresses understanding the effects of natural disturbances on biological legacies, structural and compositional heterogeneity, and the recovery periods between disturbance events (including how this recovery period influences stand complexity). Recently, resource managers and ecologists from Seney National Wildlife Refuge, The Ohio State University, and Central Michigan University have partnered to examine how these guiding principles can be integrated into NWRS forest ecosystem management. Specifically, we are partnering to develop management strategies to help: 1) restore the once extensive mixed-pine forest ecosystems of eastern Upper Michigan; 2) mitigate the effects of the beech-bark disease complex on American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), a foundation species in northern hardwood forests of eastern North America; and 3) promote more natural forest patterns for wildlife species of young jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) forest ecosystems, including the federally endangered Kirtland's warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii). These efforts are ongoing and will continue to be monitored over time. However, initial collaborations suggest that the NWRS provides an excellent crucible to study the application of ecological forestry principles and develop novel ways to manage forest ecosystems

Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure Deep Drilling Project Completes Coring

The Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure Deep Drilling Project (CBIS Project) completed its coring operations during September–December 2005 and April–May 2006. Cores were collected continuously to a total depth of 1766 m. The recovered section consists of 1322 m of impactites beneath 444 m of post-impact continental shelf sediments.The CBIS Project is a joint venture of the International Continental Scientifi c Drilling Program (ICDP) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Project activities began with a planning workshop in September 2003 attended by sixtythree scientists from ten countries. Field operations began with site preparation in July 2005, and coring began in September 2005. Drilling, Observation and Sampling of theEarth’s Continental Crust (DOSECC) was the general contractor for the drilling operations throughout 2005