Course Project Proposal

Course Project Proposal

Impacts of Increased Urbanization on Wild Turkey Population

Nick Mancuso

Siena College
Loudonville, NY 12211
March 7, 2013

Introduction:

Wild Turkeys are an integral part of forest ecosystems in upstate New York as well as across the northeastern United States.  While this North American native has adapted to many different habitats in the changing environment, they, like many other species, do have difficulty dealing with human development.  Wild turkeys prefer a diet of nuts and seeds, berries, insects, and trees and when this food becomes scarce or when their habitat changes, the birds are forced to further cope with human impact.  Small areas, such as short lengths of trees and edges have now become suitable habitat for the large birds.

Open-space connectivity is very important to the wild turkey.  Roads, parking lots, railways, and other man-made buildings and infrastructure are notorious for disrupting preferred turkey habitat.  The interruption of natural processes for these birds by a lack of suitable habitat and connectivity can alter mating and foraging habits and have detrimental impacts on the local population’s numbers.

Although the wild turkey population is still plentiful, it would be logical to think that habitat destruction and alteration from human development takes its toll on the birds.  According to the observations of a number of unnamed local residents, with the economic downturn of the last few years coinciding with a lack of new development, the wild turkey population had been on the rise in the Town of Colonie.  In more recent time, development has picked up the pace again and significant plans have also been made for the future – moving further into wetlands and remnant woodlands and removing more and more trees.  In a matter of 4-5 years, the turkey population in the area has seen a noticeable decline, according to observers.  Does this increased development have a negative impact on the wild turkey population?

It is important to have baseline data of the wetlands, remnant woodlands, and overall open-space connectivity, and to have this information mapped out so that we can properly manage the wild turkey population and make policy decisions that will not harm the birds.  Wild turkeys are a symbol of living a simple, “country” life and an overall symbol of woodland recovery.  It seems as though these values and important environmental conditions may be put in jeopardy with increased local urbanization and human development.

Objectives:

This project will include the use of GIS to create a baseline for which human development can continue in the area without disrupting the wild turkey population.  The specific objectives include:

Primary:

Gather data
Map current human transportation corridors in the area
Map open-space, wetlands, remnant woodlands

Secondary:
Map potential wild turkey habitat
Map wild turkey population
*Discover overlap and make policy suggestions to potentially restore and maintain the wild turkey population

Methodology:

Data will be collected and mapped about the wetlands, woodlands, and open-space in the study area and data of human transportation corridors will also be mapped using ArcGIS.  Wild turkey habitat and population range in the area may also be considered and mapped using ArcGIS if time allows, determining connectivity in the study area and its overall effect on the wild turkey population.  A series of drafts will be created and a final product will be constructed and delivered.

Data Sources:

Data will be provided by Dr. Jean Mangun of Siena College and online databases.

Open-space

Wetlands
Woodlands
Roads
Railways
Parking lots
*Natural wild turkey habitat
*Wild turkey population range
*Overall connectivity

Work Plan:

3/4/13 meet with Dr. Mangun to discuss parameters
3/12/13 signed project contract; choose extent of study area (Town of Colonie? Just Loudonville, Newtonville, and Latham?); gather data and begin working with data in GIS
3/19/13 draft 1 submitted to client; map out wetlands and remnant woodlands
4/2/13 draft 2 submitted to client; map out hum development
4/9/13 draft 3 submitted to client, progress presentation
4/16/13 draft 4 submitted to client; revise map, final touches
4/23/13 final draft submitted to client; put poster presentation together

Deliverables

Weekly project blog postings and updates
Final (36x48 Landscape, Color, PDF) poster showing baseline data of woodlands and wetlands in the area, created with GIS