Priority bird species associated with forest-woodland habitat include the Cerulean Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Whip-poor-will, and Wood Thrush.

Large expanses of relatively intact hardwood forest are among the Central Hardwoods’ greatest ecological assets. They suppress populations of nest and brood predators and the brood parasite, the Brown-headed Cowbird. Reproductive success tends to be relatively high in these forested landscapes. Offspring of forest birds breeding in the CHBCR may colonize more fragmented forests of the Midwest where reproductive success is too low to sustain local populations. Today, forested landscapes are threatened by fire suppression and urbanization. Conversion to campgrounds and pasture has been especially prevalent in bottomland forests along rivers.

Brown-headed Nuthatch Photo courtesy of US Forest Service.

Vast expanses of native short-leaf pine woodlands were present in the CHBCR prior to the logging boom of the early 20th century and once supported birds that are now of national importance such as the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (an endangered species), Brown-headed Nuthatch, and Bachman’s Sparrow. Although short-leaf pine can still be found in mixed forest stands in the Ozarks, both fire suppression and widespread logging led to the demise of the pine ecosystem in the CHBCR. As a result, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker has been extirpated, and the Brown-headed Nuthatch nearly so, with only a small population remaining in Arkansas.

Restoration of native pine woodlands is now underway in several areas in the Ozark region, with the most notable being the 10,000-acre Pine Knot project on the Mark Twain National Forest.

Forest-Woodland Habitat Projects

Cerulean Warbler Assessment
Shortleaf Pine Restoration
St. Francois, Missouri Glade and Woodland Restoration