Assessing the Effects of Timber Management on Mammal and Bird Communities at Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Junior
Major
Wildlife Biology
Institution 25-26
Murray State University
KY House District #
5
KY Senate District #
1
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Andrea Kae Darracq, Ph.D.
Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract
Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge (CRNWR) is mostly characterized as Bottomland Hardwood Forests, along with some of the last remaining xerohydric flatwoods. These systems are important to support unique flora and fauna, as well as providing many important sources of revenue for the state. In 2019, the refuge implemented a management plan focused on forest thinning to promote desirable species. We started camera trapping at 79 locations throughout CRNWR in 2019, in areas with and without planned forest management. Since then, we have sampled most fall and springs and conducted acoustic sampling for birds in Spring 2021 and 2022. Now that much of the timber management plan has been implemented, the goal of our study is to continue these sampling efforts in spring 2026 to evaluate the influence of timber management on the mammal and bird communities at CRNWR. In spring 2026, we will continue to sample the same sites for three weeks. All pictures will be identified using Wildlife Insights, and all bird calls will be identified with Cornell’s BirdNet analyzer. For the mammals, we will calculate a relative abundance index for species with sufficient detections. Additionally, for both mammals and birds we will calculate species richness and conduct multispecies occupancy modeling. We will then assess the influence of timber management on each of these dependent variables using a before after control impact design. The information we learn can be used to inform future timber management practices for CRNWR and other areas comprised of similar bottomland hardwood ecosystems.
Assessing the Effects of Timber Management on Mammal and Bird Communities at Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge
Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge (CRNWR) is mostly characterized as Bottomland Hardwood Forests, along with some of the last remaining xerohydric flatwoods. These systems are important to support unique flora and fauna, as well as providing many important sources of revenue for the state. In 2019, the refuge implemented a management plan focused on forest thinning to promote desirable species. We started camera trapping at 79 locations throughout CRNWR in 2019, in areas with and without planned forest management. Since then, we have sampled most fall and springs and conducted acoustic sampling for birds in Spring 2021 and 2022. Now that much of the timber management plan has been implemented, the goal of our study is to continue these sampling efforts in spring 2026 to evaluate the influence of timber management on the mammal and bird communities at CRNWR. In spring 2026, we will continue to sample the same sites for three weeks. All pictures will be identified using Wildlife Insights, and all bird calls will be identified with Cornell’s BirdNet analyzer. For the mammals, we will calculate a relative abundance index for species with sufficient detections. Additionally, for both mammals and birds we will calculate species richness and conduct multispecies occupancy modeling. We will then assess the influence of timber management on each of these dependent variables using a before after control impact design. The information we learn can be used to inform future timber management practices for CRNWR and other areas comprised of similar bottomland hardwood ecosystems.