Upland Ecosystem Restoration Project
(UERP)

Upland ecosystems in Florida depend on frequent fire to sustain ecosystem function, ecological diversity and wildlife resources. Unfortunately, changes in land use and incompatible fire and timber management have greatly altered plant communities resulting in population declines of northern bobwhites and numerous other fire dependent wildlife species. Concerns over these declines by conservation groups and state and federal agencies responsible for management of upland habitats provided impetus for Tall Timbers to develop a cooperative project to help coordinate and guide restoration of habitats needed for bobwhites and other imperiled wildlife. This project is called the Upland Ecosystem Restoration Project (UERP) and is cooperatively funded by Florida Division of Forestry, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

An important concept of UERP is to maintain flexibility and independence such that optimizing actual restoration on the ground is possible. UERP will seek opportunities to effect change and must be able to take advantage of opportunities and adapt as necessary. Individual restoration projects will be based upon research or previous land management experience. Project success or failure will be determined through successful monitoring of the response of wildlife populations to each habitat alteration (chopping, thinning, prescribe fire). It is important, however, that management agencies are engaged and completely informed and supportive of all restoration projects. Therefore, we have established a steering committee composed of leaders from land management agencies and a technical committee composed of biologists and land managers to ensure the greatest conservation benefit is obtained from each project.

Over the course of the next 10 years, UERP plans to establish projects which will affect restoration of > 100,000 acres of upland habitat on public land. This effort will lead to an unprecedented coordinated effort between state agencies, NGO’s and conservation groups to restore upland habitat for multiple conservation objectives. The major project goals are:

1. Restore sustainable populations of northern bobwhite’s to public lands throughout Florida. Since 1966, bobwhite numbers, as well as numerous other species have declined drastically on public land. The decline is a direct result of the dramatic decline in early successional plant communities.
   
2. Increase the use of prescribed fire on a 1 – 2 year rotation on selected areas. Upland ecosystems depend on frequent fire to sustain function and ecological diversity. Over 40 imperiled plant species as well as a myriad of wildlife species require early successional habitat.
   
   
3. Reduce pine basal area to between 40 – 60 ba on selected areas. Even highly modified habitats such as pine plantations could be improved ecologically with increased fire and thinning, which is important because >500,000 acres occur on conservation or managed land.
   

While the Upland Ecosystem Restoration Project is a cooperative effort among numerous state and federal agencies, NGO’s and conservation groups, we specifically thank the following agencies for their funding support:

• Florida Division of Forestry
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

UERP Links of Interest

• The Quail Conservation Collaborative - A collaboration between Quail Forever (QF) and Monsanto that will help QF, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy and the Southeast Quail Study Group to protect and enhance quail habitats.
• UERP Report - A newsletter of the Upland Ecosystem Restoration Project
• UERP Brochure - Making a Difference for Florida's Upland Ecosystems (PDF)

Email Greg Hagan, UERP Coordinator