Homeowners Guide to Protecting
Wildlife Habitat
This Post has been archived and its content might be outdated. If you are looking for recent content, please check this Department's Homepage.
Wildlife habitat is where animals find what they need to survive: food, water, cover from predators and weather, breeding and rearing sites and over-wintering areas. The two most important components of wildlife habitat are the plant community structure and plant species composition. Plant community structure refers to the vertical layers of vegetation: the herbaceous, shrub, sapling (young trees), and tree layers. Each of these vegetative layers differs in temperature, amount of sunlight, species of insects that live there, and food sources produced. Because of these differences there are specific animals that inhabit the different vertical layers. When a vertical vegetative layer is removed from a site, this removes a specific habitat for specific wildlife species. In general, the more diversity of vertical layers within an area, the more feeding, nesting, and cover opportunities are available for wildlife. So, providing a diversity of vertical vegetative layers on your property ~ will go a long way in providing wildlife habitat.
Wildlife and native plants have co-evolved over millions of years. Animals learned over time, how to utilize native plants for feeding, nesting and cover purposes. Keeping indigenous plant species on your property or planting with indigenous plants is one of the best ways in which to protect and provide wildlife habitat.
Here are some ways in which you can protect and provide wildlife habitat on your property:
Protect or restore vertical vegetative layers. For example, if you have trees but no shrubs, plant native shrubs where possible under the trees. Use attractive native plants for the herbaceous layer – bear-berry, wintergreen, low-bush blueberry, and hairgrass. [Note: Lists of available species for the Sudbury area may be obtained from the Sudbury Conservation Commission.]
Plant native species that provide food and cover for wildlife. Mast (nut-producing) and berry-producing native plants can provide significant food sources for wildlife even on small lots. Examples of good food source species: red cedar, white and pitch pine, red and scarlet oak, highbush blueberry, red chokeberry, pin cherry and arrowwood. [Note:The Sudbury Conservation Commission has full list of native species.]
Prune limbs and trees conservatively. Landscaping practices such as wholesale removal of mid-story limbs on trees, also known as up-lifting, can remove all the wildlife habitat value associated with the trees. Many species feed, find cover and nest in the mid-canopy. Some species nest or feed in the canopy when the mid-canopy is intact, but are reluctant if the cover provided by the mid-story limbs is gone.
Use herbicides and pesticides thoughtfully or go organic. Chemicals can be toxic not only to humans, but to wildlife. Think of the harmful and fatal impacts spraying pesticides on trees in the spring can have on young nesting birds and mammals, and on insectivore food supplies. Little is known about the impacts fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides have on the microbes and other invertebrates that live in our lawns. These species are all part of the food chain and large scale removal of them can mean a loss of food supply for species like robins who eat worms, and catbirds who are ground gleaners.
Domestic pets pray on small mammals and ground nesting bird species. Cats and dogs can reduce local populations of white-footed mice, chipmunks and young squirrels which are important food sources for the native wildlife such as hawks, foxes and coyotes. Predation by cats of ground nesting birds such as Bob-whites and ruffed grouse is of national concern. Keep your pets restrained or at least put bells on your cat to give wildlife a warning of its presence.
Structures such as fences can block and impede wildlife movement. Place fences one and one-half feet above the ground in order to allow wildlife passage.
Leave some dead wood on your property. Dead standing wood (snags) and dead down wood (logs) are important wildlife habitat features. They provide breeding habitat for cavity nesters such as woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees and owls. They are also important food sources for insectivorous birds and provide important perching sites for raptors. Logs provide over-wintering habitat for salamanders, cover for rodents, and nutrients to the soil. So leave some dead wood and you will be rewarded with excellent wildlife viewing in return.
These are just a few ways you can retain bio-diversity in your community. Wildlife is a major component of every ecosystem; each species plays a role. Protecting a healthy ecosystem is our responsibility as stewards of the land. And it enables wildlife to enhance our lives on a daily basis.
C. Diane Boretos
Assistant Conservation Agent
Mashpee Conservation Commission
*Published in the MACC Newsletter, Volume 30, No.4 (September/October 2000), p. 5.