Wildlife Habitat

Wildlife need food, water, cover, and space to live and reproduce--collectively known as their habitat. Each species has unique habitat requirements, and the presence of a given species in an area varies depending on the availability of the habitat that they depend on. Wildlife food resources include aquatic and upland plants, fruits, seeds and nuts, insects and other animals, and nectar. All wildlife require water, almost daily, yet aquatic organisms clearly depend on it more than upland species. Cover provides protection from weather and predators and sites for nesting, resting, travel, and other activities. The juxtaposition of food, water, and cover determines the wildlife community that occurs in a given area. The ability of wide-ranging animals to move across the landscape—known as wildlife connectivity—is also important. Wildlife species diversity and abundance in a given area is often dependent on elements of habitat structure such as horizontal and vertical habitat diversity; the presence of cavities, other nest trees, and woody debris; and the variety of food resources.

The Town of Durham is actively managing several conservation areas to benefit wildlife and their habitats. With funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and NH Fish and Game, the Town has created a 60-acre meadow-shrub-young forest habitat on the Oyster River Forest and a 15-acre patch at the Thompson Forest to benefit New England cottontail, songbirds, bees and other pollinators, and other wildlife. The fields at Wagon Hill Farm are mowed in the fall to allow songbirds, monarch butterflies and other pollinators an opportunity to reproduce and migrate.

Wildlife stewardship plans guide management efforts on several town properties; see the supporting documents below.

If you are landowner interested in managing your land for wildlife, check out the weblinks below.