Forestry Friday … W Is For Wildlife

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squirrel, wildlife, nature

A squirrel peeks through the underbrush.

If you’re out in the woods and you find a big W painted on a tree, just remember W is for wildlife.  When planning and laying out a timber harvest, foresters have to protect the other resources in the forest, including wildlife.  In a working forest we use paint to communicate with the loggers.  A big W doesn’t just say don’t cut this tree.  It also says be careful and protect this tree.  Sometimes with sensitive wildlife we will even flag out an exclusion zone to keep equipment away for an important nest of den.  Another mitigation is to wait to harvest the trees until the nesting season is over.  We call this a limited operating season.

W-tree

The wildlife tree.

The trees in the picture with the blue painted band around them are the harvest trees.

A working forest can provide wood and protect wildlife.

A working forest can provide wood and be a home for wildlife.

In this case the W tree was left because it has a large nest in it.

Nest, wildlife, forestry

A large stick nest like this one may have been built by a raptor.

I never know what wildlife I’ll see when I’m out and about, but I can always count on this critter.

Squirrels tremble in her presence!

Squirrels tremble in her presence!

29 thoughts on “Forestry Friday … W Is For Wildlife”

  2. Pingback: Did You Know That Friday is Now Forestry Friday? « A Writer's Playground

  3. Now that’s what I call a stick! I’m impressed to see the W on wildlife trees. In my local bush reserve, I’ve noticed that they will also leave trees which are dead sometimes, because they have hollows in them, important for our native birds and possums.

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    • Habitat for cavity dwellers. Yes we leave the snags too. Great for all kinds of critters. Blitz loves her sticks and the occasional log. We don’t always agree on what makes a good throwing stick.

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  5. Buna ziua!…De doua zile am schimbat numele la blog…deoarece au fost neintelegeri si am fost nevoita sa schimb numele la blog. Eu sunt aceiasi Ileana si va astept in casuta mea virtuala cand doriti si cand puteti!…O zi frumoasa alaturi de familie!…Noua mea adresa…
    http://doareuileana.wordpress.com/

    Hello! … Two days ago I changed the name of the blog … because they were misunderstanding and I had to change the name of the blog. I am the same Ileana and wait in my virtual box when you want and when you can! … A beautiful day with your family! … My new address …

    http://doareuileana.wordpress.com/

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