Purpose

This project was designed to increase the amount of habitat available to Partners-in-Flight priority grass-shrubland bird species, such as Eastern Towhee, Prairie Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat and Field Sparrow, and woodland species, such as Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee, through the restoration of native glade, savanna and woodland communities in the St. Francois Bird Conservation Area. The area lies within the Ozark section of the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region. There is evidence that each of the grass-shrubland species targeted in this proposal has declined significantly in the region since the inception of the Breeding Bird Survey; both of the woodland species have also apparently suffered moderate declines.

Site Description

The St. Francois Bird Conservation Area lies within an ecological subsection known as the St. Francois Knobs and Basins that encompasses the structural center of the Ozark dome and is unique in having both igneous as well as sedimentary substrates. The region supports a diverse array of habitat types including igneous glades, oak savannas, oak and oak-pine woodlands, and oak and oak-pine forests. The subsection has 173 records for 90 state-listed species. Federally listed species within the subsection include Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis), Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens), Mead's Milkweed (Asclepias meadii), and Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium stoloniferum). Both of the federally listed plants are associated with the glade-savanna complexes in the area, as are many of the state-listed species.

Accomplishments

1. Over 4,500 acres (821 acres of private land and 3,717 acres of public land) of glade, savanna, and woodland habitat were restored within the Saint Francois Bird Conservation Area using prescribed burns (4,431 acres), forest thinning (2,247 acres), eastern red cedar removal (352 acres) and native grass seeding (100 acres).

2. Firelines were built to facilitate prescribed burns on 4,758 acres during the project and into the future.

3. Four workshops for agency personnel and the public on prescribed burning were conducted by Missouri Department of Conservation and other project partners. Public response to the workshops was very favorable.

4. A monitoring study assessed the response by birds to the management practices undertaken during this project. The study compared bird communities present within managed glade-woodland complexes, unmanaged glade-woodland complexes, and true forest. Monitoring sites were selected using Ecological Land Types developed by the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Ecological Classification Project. Results of the monitoring study will be published as part of a Master’s thesis.

Indirect Result

Based on the momentum created during the St. Francois project, a sister project with similar design and goals of glade/savanna/woodland restoration was developed by members of the project team at the nearby Sam A. Baker Bird Conservation Area. The Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Otahki Girl Scout Council and several private landowners restored 714 acres of habitat, funded by a grant from the Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative.

Partners and Funding

• American Bird Conservancy
• East Ozarks Audubon Society
• Missouri Department of Conservation
• Missouri Department of Natural Resources
• National Wild Turkey Foundation
• U.S. Forest Service

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundationalso provided funding.