Welcome to the American Ornithological Society 2018 Annual Conference. We are pleased to have you join us at the lovely Hilton El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, AZ.
The Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis; RCW) is listed as Endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act. The Oakmulgee Ranger District of the Talladega National Forest harbors the largest RCW population in Alabama. Despite efforts to restore RCW habitat and install artificial cavities in the Oakmulgee, the number of active RCW clusters has not exceeded 120, although the District's Recovery Plan objective is 394 active clusters. Our objectives are to identify factors limiting RCW population growth and identify management methods that could reduce these limitations. We held four structured decision making workshops with representatives from the United States Forest Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Longleaf Alliance, the Birmingham Audubon Society, and local residents. We built a decision network that predicted the relative likelihood of a range of management options to meet stakeholder objectives, including increase the number of RCW clusters. In addition, we collected field data related to factors the decision network identified as influencing the number of RCW clusters. Cavity insert installation had the greatest probability of increasing the number of RCW clusters and prescribed burning was most likely to meet the combination of stakeholder objectives. There was some support for midstory removal meeting stakeholder objectives. Sensitivity analysis of the decision network suggested that the number of RCW clusters is affected by helper and breeder survival, recruitment rates, food availability, and herbaceous understory. The decision network based on stakeholder objectives will be the framework for addressing future questions.
