Wildlife Management

In the Albany Pine Bush Preserve management of rare and declining wildlife is guided by the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (or State Wildlife Plan) for New York State. This plan was prepared by NYSDEC in 2006 to satisfy federal requirements for the conservation of vulnerable wildlife species, called Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). The Preserve contains many SGCN species and ecological communities and is a priority conservation area in the State Wildlife Plan. As identified in the plan, many of these species require active habitat management. In addition to the Karner blue butterfly, 44 other SGCN are documented in the Albany Pine Bush, including 15 birds, 10 reptiles, four amphibians, and 16 insects. This rich biodiversity represents 8.4 percent of the 538 statewide SGCN and 28.5 percent of the 158 SGCN in the 7.5 million acre Upper Hudson River watershed.

The Commission’s ecosystem management strategies focus on the restoration and maintenance of suitable wildlife habitat. These strategies need to account for the life history requirements of each species to ensure that critical life stages (e.g. hognose snake nesting sites, spadefoot toad breeding pools) are not adversely affected and that adequate refugia of untreated habitat is provided to facilitate the rapid recolonization of treated areas by affected wildlife. In the case of the Karner blue butterfly, for example, the Commission’s will not treat more than one third of a sub-population with fire in any given year and adjacent thirds cannot be treated in consecutive years.

Details on wildlife management in the Albany Pine Bush are provided in The Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.

Species of Greatest Conservation need in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve

Insects

1. Frosted elfin (Callophrys irus)
2. Henry’s elfin (Callophrys henrici)
3. Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis)
4. Regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia)
5. Tawny crescent (Phyciodes batesii batesii)
6. A noctuid moth (Chytonix sensilis)
7. A noctuid moth (Chaetaglaea cerata)
8. Barrens buck moth (Hemileuca maia maia)
9. Barrens dagger moth (Acronicta albarufa)
10. Barrens itame (Itame sp 1)
11. Bird dropping moth (Cerma cora)
12. Broad-lined catopyrrha (Erastria coloraria)
13. Pine barrens zanclognatha (Zanclognatha martha)
14. Mottled duskywing skipper (Erynnis martialis)
15. Persius duskywing skipper (Erynnis persius persius)
16. Ringed boghaunter (Williamsonia lintneri)

Reptiles and Amphibians

1. Eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
2. Smooth greensnake (Opheodrys vernalis)
3. Worm snake (Carphophis amoenus)
4. Northern black racer (Coluber constrictor)
5. Black ratsnake (Elaphe obsoleta)
6. Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina)
7. Snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
8. Spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata)
9. Wood turtle (Clemmys insculpta)
10. Musk Turtle Stinkpot (Sternotherus odoratus)
11. Jefferson salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum)
12. Blue-spotted salamander (Ambystoma laterale)
13. Eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii)
14. Fowler’s toad (Bufo fowleri)

Birds

1. American woodcock (Scolopax minor)
2. Black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)
3. Blue-winged warbler (Vermivora pinus)
4. Golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)
5. Brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)
6. Prairie warbler (Dendroica discolor)
7. Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus)
8. Tennessee warbler (Vermivora peregrina)
9. Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus)
10. Yellow-breasted chat (Icteria virens)
11. Black-throated blue warbler (Dendroica caerulescens)
12. Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
13. Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus)
14. Scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea)
15. Sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus)
16. Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)