Wildlife Habitat

What is a Wildlife Habitat?

Providing wildlife habitat refers to the process of creating a healthy environment with food, water, and shelter for wildlife. In New Jersey, less than half of the state remains undeveloped, and many species have declined because of loss of habitat. Providing wildlife habitat, even in small spaces, can have a positive environmental impact and attract birds, butterflies, beneficial insects, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians.[1] Providing wildlife habitat around a new home can be as easy as minimizing disturbance of the existing site, or as involved as planting a wildlife-friendly garden (see Tree Protection and Placement).

How to Provide a Wildlife Habitat

When creating wildlife habitat select a wide variety of plants that are suited to the site’s soil, sun exposure, drainage, and space conditions. Whenever possible, incorporate native plants that are beneficial to native wildlife (see Native and Adapted Plants). Resources such as Jersey-Friendly Yards offer an easily searchable plant database and plant information.  Just like humans, wildlife needs food, water, and shelter. A diverse palette of berry and seed-bearing plants provide food for local wildlife. Ponds, fountains, or other water features add valuable sources of water for birds and other wildlife. Provide shelter with low-lying shrubs or structures such as bird and bat houses and brush piles offer protection and breeding sites for ground-nesting birds and small mammals. Connect open space on-site to similar open-space habitats off-site to maximize connectivity and safe passage for wildlife and to maintain the connection to the broader ecosystem.[2] Protect wildlife by minimizing artificial fertilizer and pesticide use. Incorporating native plants and creating a diverse landscape reduces the need for artificial fertilizers and synthetic pesticides needed to maintain a healthy garden.

See the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey for additional suggestions about creating wildlife habitat.

See below for more specific examples of wildlife habitat creation techniques.

Butterfly Gardens

A butterfly garden attracts butterflies and other pollinators that benefit flowering plants in the area. Place the garden in a sunny area of the yard and include nectar-producing plants to provide a consistent supply of nectar throughout the year. Examples of plants that provide nectar for butterflies include milkweed (Aesclepias sp.), sunflower (Helianthus sp.), and beebalm (Monarda sp.). Plant taller plants or shrubs on one or more sides to provide shelter from the wind.[3] Slightly fermented fruit slices also attract butterflies to the garden area.[4]

Deter Problem Animals

Securing access to trash cans and compost decrease the number of non-native and aggressive animals that are attracted to the site.[5] Native animals are often natural predators of non-native animals and introducing habitat for native animals may help to reduce the number of non-native and aggressive animals present.

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated pest management uses a combination of environmental and social pest controls coupled with the reduced use of chemical pesticides (see Integrated Pest Management strategy).[6] Additionally, decreased use of broad-spectrum pesticides often increases natural predatory insects which eat the problem insects.[7]

Natural Fertilizers

The production of many commercial chemical fertilizers releases large amounts of carbon dioxide.[8] Create natural fertilizer by setting up a compost site (see Composting). Combine food scraps such as vegetable peels, coffee grounds, and eggshells with yard debris to create a natural and nutrient-rich fertilizer over time.

Control Light Pollution

Sources of constant artificial light can negatively affect wildlife in addition to attracting unwanted nocturnal insects and animals (see Downlighting).[9] Minimize sources of light pollution by reducing the number of extra light sources or installing motion-sensitive lights to protect wildlife.

Provide Habitat for Migratory Bird Flyways

New Jersey lies along the Atlantic Flyway, a designation along the east coast that includes diverse habitats managed to help support migratory birds.[10] Providing shelter, water and food sources for birds year-round supports the survival of migratory birds along the Atlantic seaboard.

Example

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

The EQIP program offers financial and technical assistance to landowners interested in creating or restoring habitat for endangered or threatened wildlife such as bog turtles and larger habitat types including grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands. The program also supports the planting of pollinator habitats on lots of at least .25 acres. The program reimburses landowners at a rate of 45-90% of the average cost of implementing the specified habitat improvements.[11]

A recent residential subdivision near Easton, Maryland included provisions for wildlife habitat in its design by creating wetlands and protecting forested areas, serving as a model for an alternative subdivision design that preserves open space and enhances wildlife habitats.

Located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the Cookes Hope at Llandaff development includes 26 residential lots on 284 acres. Developers conducted an initial survey of existing wildlife as well as soil and hydrology studies of the site to determine the best locations for wetland restoration and ponds, preserving forested land and roads and housing.[12]

The nature-based lot design provides water quality benefits for the adjacent creek and new natural habitat to serve as resting sites for migratory birds along the Atlantic Migratory Flyway (Figure 2).[13]

Benefits

Benefits of creating a wildlife habitat within a residential development include:

• Increased enjoyment through viewing native animals and insects.
• Environmental education opportunities.
• Increased biodiversity.
• Monetary benefits such as the USDA/NJDFW Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.
• Decreased reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
• Increased number of natural pollinators attracted to the region.
• The potential for increased property values due to an increased desire for land with open space that provides habitat for wildlife.
• Increased CO2 absorption.
• Reduction of heat island effect.

Costs

The cost of creating a backyard wildlife habitat varies based on the scope of the project and whether or not homeowners use professional labor for the design or planting. Most local home and garden stores or nurseries sell many of the components necessary to build a backyard wildlife habitat.

Resiliency

Providing wildlife habitat fosters ecological resilience by increasing the biological diversity of native plants and animals in a given area, which in turn, enhances the ability of the natural system to rebound after a disturbance.

[1] Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ. http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/protecting/backyard/ (accessed May 14, 2018).

[2] Hopper, Leonard J. 2007. Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ. Google Books Link: http://books.google.com/books?id=4Toh06XEqMoC&dq=minimize+building+footprint+to+reduce+site+disturbance&source=gbs_navlinks_s (accessed May 14, 2018).

[3] Vera Krischik, University of Minnesota Extension. Creating a Butterfly Garden. https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/landscaping/butterfly-gardening/creating-a-butterfly-garden/ (accessed May 14, 2018).

[4] Walter Reeves. Com. Butterfly Puddle – Building. http://www.walterreeves.com/insects-and-animals/butterfly-puddle-building/  (accessed May 14, 2018).

[5] Hopper, Leonard J. 2007. Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

[6] USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Integrated Pest Management (IPM). https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1044470.pdf  (accessed May 14^th, 2018).

[7]  Vera Krischik, University of Minnesota Extension. Creating a Butterfly Garden. https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/landscaping/butterfly-gardening/creating-a-butterfly-garden/ (accessed May 14, 2018).

[8] Beth Mole, Society for Science and the Public, 2014. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fertilizer-produces-far-more-greenhouse-gas-expected (accessed May 14, 2018).

[9] Hopper, Leonard J. 2007. Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ. Google Books Link: http://books.google.com/books?id=4Toh06XEqMoC&dq=minimize+building+footprint+to+reduce+site+disturbance&source=gbs_navlinks_s (accessed May 14, 2018).

[10] Audubon. Flyways of the Americas.- Atlantic Flyway. https://www.audubon.org/atlantic-flyway (accessed November 20, 2018).

[11] USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in New Jersey. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/nj/programs/financial/eqip/  (accessed May 14, 2018).

[12] The Conservation Fund. A Sustainable Chesapeake: Better Models for Conservation. https://www.conservationfund.org/our-work/strategic-conservation-planning/resources/a-sustainable-chesapeake (accessed May 14, 2018).

[13] Ibid.