By Jamie Nack, Extension Senior Wildlife Outreach Specialist Chances are deer play a significant role in how you evaluate the success of your woodland stewardship. Whether that’s because deer and deer hunting are the primary reason you own your woodland property or because deer have the ability to significantly impact forest regeneration and species composition of your woodlands….or perhaps it’s both! When it comes to managing deer, the key to […]
Blog
Category: Increasing wildlife and their habitat
Leaving wood for wildlife
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to see it, does it make a mess? On a recent trip to my in-laws, I took a walk with my dog in their woodlot. It was a crisp fall day and the wind whistled through the open under-story. Most of the leaves had […]
Finding a rare species on your property
We made a pretty exciting discovery in our woods recently. While walking our trails, we came across a wood turtle. Now, we have seen our fair share of uncommon wildlife on our property (recently including a red fox family), so we were not TOO starstruck. But it was still neat to observe one firsthand and […]
Better birding: How to get started?
While taking a family walk on Mother’s Day, my wife pointed out a female Baltimore Oriole in its yellow plumage. My sister-in-law, who could not ID the bird, was impressed. She sighed, ‘I wish I knew birds…’ Her comment got me thinking. How did we learn about birds and what tips would I share with […]
The right shrubs for the right habitat for the wildlife you are looking to attract
In a previous article, we discussed some of the basics for how to choose which wildlife trees and shrubs to plant. For this article, I would like to share more specific details about several shrubs, why to choose them, and where to plant them. These native shrubs fit a fairly wide array of soil and […]
Engaging the Next Generation: Let’s Get Kids Outside! by Jamie Nack
Imagine my delight, when my daughters (9 and 11) complained about not being able to go outside during the polar vortex back in February. School had been cancelled due to the extreme cold and we were “stuck” at home and inside. My husband and I have made it a high priority to connect our children […]
Choosing the right trees and shrubs to plant to attract wildlife
A landowner approached me looking for some advice as to which trees and shrubs to plant to bring more wildlife into her property. Before I could give her a list to procure, I needed to know a bit more about what she is looking to attract and what the conditions are like on their property. […]
Vernal pools are springing up
My original assignment for this article was to write another wildlife monitoring piece. With the weather warming up though, my mind was wandering to the greener side of things. I’ve seen some green poking through the soil, so instead I’m going to talk about a specific type of wildlife habitat, what wildlife might use it, […]
Forest openings for wildlife
Creating an opening in your woods to attract wildlife isn’t difficult if you build it right and maintain it. My wife truly enjoys seeing wildlife on our property and at the old homestead. And we do quite a bit to get a variety of wildlife to visit and stay on our land; from creating brush […]