SUCCESS OF INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT OF A CRITICALLY IMPERILED POPULATION OF RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS IN SOUTH-CAROLINA

By late 1985, the population of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides bor ealis) at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, had declined to a l ow of four individuals. Because of extensive timber harvesting prior t o the 1950s, the older live pine trees that Red-cockaded Woodpeckers r equire for cavity construction were limited. We monitored the response of the population to intensive habitat enhancement that included cons truction of artificial cavities, control of cavity competitors, and re moval of the hardwood mid-story to improve nesting habitat quality. Tr anslocations of Red-cockaded 'Woodpeckers from on-site and donor popul ations were undertaken to enhance the number of breeding pairs, the ov erall population size, and to minimize potential adverse genetic conse quences of a small population size. From 1986-1995, we carried out 54 translocations, installed 305 artificial cavities, and removed 2304 so uthern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) (a cavity competitor). Conc omitant intensive population monitoring revealed that the number of br eeding pairs of woodpeckers increased from 1 to 19 and the overall pop ulation size grew from 4 to 99 individuals, reflecting the highly focu sed habitat restoration effort. Intensive management has been successf ul in rehabilitating this critically small population of endangered bi rds.