The Louisiana Statewide Red-cockaded Woodpecker Safe Harbor Program

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The Federally-endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) (RCW) is the only southeastern woodpecker to excavate its roost and nest cavities exclusively in live pine trees. The RCW is approximately the size of the northern cardinal. Species Information. It is distinguished from other ladder-back woodpeckers by its large white cheek patch and its cooperative breeding strategy.

The RCW has very narrow habitat requirements. It requires pines at least 60-years old (preferring 80-100-year old trees which are infected with red heart fungus). RCWs cannot persist in the long term without suitable cavity trees and adequate foraging habitat. Herein lays the crux for private landowners. They must retain a minimum stocking level of 3000 sq. ft. of pine basal area of trees 10 inches and greater diameter at breast height, on at least 75 ac. for each RCW family group on their property. These guidelines may pose a disincentive for most landowners to manage for the RCW. The solution? Safe Harbor.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) with its partner the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) finalized a programmatic safe harbor agreement for the state of Louisiana. LDWF received a permit from the USFWS on January 25, 2005 to administer this program. This permit allows LDWF to enroll non-Federal properties in the program by entering into Safe Harbor Management Agreements (SHMAs) with landowners. The SHMA is the document that, once approved by LDWF, outlines a cooperating landowner's baseline number of RCW groups, voluntary RCW management activities and timetables for their implementation. In exchange for entering into a SHMA, landowners receive a Certificate of Inclusion which authorizes the incidental take of any RCW group or habitat that is above the landowner's baseline responsibilities.

The baseline number, or number of RCW groups present on the property at the time of enrollment, is determined by a survey completed by qualified personnel experienced in RCW surveys. The baseline number of groups can be zero and is subject to approval by LDWF and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Upon signing their SHMA the landowner voluntarily agrees to manage for their baseline groups and their foraging habitat. If, after entering into a SHMA, the number of RCW groups increases on the landowner's property due to their beneficial and voluntary management, they are not responsible for those above-baseline groups and may, if they choose, remove their cavity trees and associated foraging habitat. If a landowner chooses to exercise this option, they must give LDWF a 60-day notice so that LDWF and/or the USFWS can give a consolidated and coordinated effort to capture the affected RCWs and translocate them to a recovery population. This shows LDWF's and USFWS's commitment to landowners management objectives and to the survival and recovery of this endangered species.