How do private landowners help in the recovery of the red-cockaded woodpeckers in Florida?
Private landowners play a major role in the recovery of the species because private lands provide habitat to as much as 10 percent of Florida’s birds. Private lands also border public lands that contain RCWs. Land management techniques to help in the red-cockaded woodpecker recovery include: • Frequent prescribed burning on a 1-to 3-year rotation to prevent succession. • Roller chopping to control dense thickets of saw palmettos and shrubs. • Thinning dense timber stands to a “plantation” look.
