C O L L E G E O F A G R I C U LT U R A L S C I E N C E S * C O O P E R A T I V E E X T E N S I O N Management Practices for Enhancing Wildlife Habitat M A N A G E M E N T P R A C T I C E S F O R E N H A N C I N G W I L D L I F E H A B I T A T y enhancing wildlife habitat on your property, you can Controlling noxious weeds and non-native Bimprove the habitat quality for wildlife while increas- invasive plants ing wildlife viewing and recreational opportunities. The Invasive or aggressive plant species are often easily estab- most common habitat management practices for wildlife are lished, but once established they expand beyond those described below. The descriptions are brief and general. For areas for which they were intended. Invasive more details about which practices are appropriate for your species are generally non-native species that property, consult a wildlife management specialist. can out-compete native species and reduce the diversity of natural plant communities Brush piles (See Table 1). Brush piles are piles of brush that are assembled to provide Invasive plant species can be dispersed by resting/escape cover and den sites for wildlife. Brush piles wildlife, livestock, and/or humans. Many are used for cover by eastern cottontails and other small were deliberately or inadvertently intro- mammals. Songbirds may use brush piles for perch sites, duced by humans. Some examples of especially if the piles are located near feeding or nest sites. invasive species that may out-compete Also, if brush piles are adjacent to a water source, amphib- native plants in Pennsylvania are ians and reptiles may use them for breeding, feeding, or multiflora rose, Japanese honeysuckle, resting. and purple loosestrife. Although The best brush piles for wildlife start with the largest some of these species provide materials (pole-sized logs) at the bottom and end with the benefits for wildlife, they can create smallest materials (small limbs or shrubs) at the top of the problems and, in the long run, have pile. The materials are arranged so that the brush pile is limited value for most wildlife. raised slightly above the ground. This makes it easier for Consequently, many landowners are animals to get under the brush pile and into cover. Placing experimenting with different the largest materials on the bottom of the pile also slows the techniques to control invasive brush pile's rate of decay. species and replace them with native plants. Wildlife species in Pennsylva- Brush piles are generally placed near food sources and in nia have evolved with the native plant places where low cover for wildlife may be sparse or absent. Purple loosestrife communities and derive the greatest Forest openings, forest edges, and timbered areas are good benefits from the variety of native plants. Controlling the places to build brush piles because many types of wildlife expansion of non-native plant species also contributes to feed in openings and along forest edges, often benefiting conserving biological diversity. from the additional cover provided by the piles. Some species of invasive plants (e.g., multiflora rose, kudzu vine, and mile-a-minute vine) are classified as noxious weeds in Pennsylvania, and it is illegal to plant them. In areas where you are not sure if a particular species may be invasive, contact local resource professionals to find out as much as possible about which species may be problems in your area. Bureau of Forestry service foresters, Natural Resource Conservation Service personnel, Penn State Cooperative Extension agents, and private natural resource professionals can provide information about the control of non-native species. 2 TABLE 1 - Non-native species known to have or suspected of TABLE 2 - Some of the benefits provided for wildlife by snags having detrimental effects on native plant communities Cavities Excavated in snags by primary cavity excavators like woodpeckers Acer platanoides Norway maple Used by woodpeckers for shelter and nesting cover Ailanthus altissima tree-of-heaven Used for nest sites by secondary cavity nesters Berberis thunbergii Japanese barberry (i.e., those species unable to excavate their own cavities) Elaeagnus angustifolia Russian olive like the wood duck, eastern bluebird, and gray squirrel. Elaeagnus umbellata autumn olive Loose bark Begins to loosen as a tree dies and forms "bark cavities" Lonicera japonica Japanese honeysuckle Lonicera maackii Bark cavities are used for cover, as roost sites for forest amur honeysuckle dwelling bats, and as nest sites for brown creepers. Lonicera morrowii Morrow honeysuckle Lonicera tatarica Tartarian honeysuckle Insects Become abundant in the decaying wood of snags Lythrum salicaria purple loosestrife Provide a valuable food source for insect eaters like Polygonum perfoliatum mile-a-minute vine woodpeckers and nuthatches Pueraria lobata kudzu vine Perch Sites Perch sites are provided for many birds including Rosa multiflora multiflora rose songbirds like the indigo bunting (singing perch), raptors like American kestrel (hunting perch), and kingfishers like the belted kingfisher (fishing perch). Creating snags Different species of wildlife prefer different types and sizes Snags are dead or partially dead standing trees that provide of snags in a variety of habitats. Some species prefer hard a number of important benefits to a variety of wildlife (see snags (dead or partially dead trees with fairly sound wood Table 2). Snags provide cavities for nesting and resting, and some limbs remaining) while others prefer soft snags perches for hunting and displaying, and an abundant supply (also called "punky," in advanced stages of decay, and rarely of food for insect eaters. In Pennsylvania, there are over 35 with limbs). Some species, like wood ducks and barred species of birds and 20 species of mammals that use snags at owls, require large snags simply because they need large some point in their life cycles. In addition, many species of cavities in which to nest. Other species, such as the tufted reptiles and amphibians also use the cavities in snags. titmouse, will forage and nest in cavities inside smaller snags. To accommodate a variety of species, many landowners try to maintain several types and sizes of snags. The best method to provide snags for wildlife is to retain existing snags in places where they will not create a dangerous situation for people using the nearby area for outdoor activities like hiking or cutting firewood. There are a number of guidelines suggested for the types, sizes, and numbers of snags that are best for wildlife. A reference where details about snags can be found is Dead Gray Wood for Wildlife (number 7 in the squirrel Pennsylvania Woodlands series), which is available free of charge from your county extension Gray squirrel and office. When the abundance or distribution of snags is pileated woodpecker 3 inadequate or if particular types of snags are desired, snags can also be "created." Creating snags involves deadening TABLE 3 - Types of plantings for wildlife trees so that they remain standing. Success depends on the Plant Type Examples Examples of wildlife benefits method used, the tree species you are trying to deaden, the current health of the individual tree, and the specific site Evergreens, conifers white pine * thermal cover for ruffed characteristics such as the presence of forest pests that may eastern hemlock grouse accelerate the tree's death. rhododendron * nest sites for mourning dove Retaining or creating snags is often incorporated into other * food for red squirrel habitat management practices. For instance, if clearing is planned to create an opening, some of the trees that could be Nut trees oak * food for wood duck, ruffed removed while clearing could instead be deadened and left hickory grouse, wild turkey, blue standing for use by wildlife. If a forest-edge cutting or a tree beech jay, black bear, eastern and shrub release is planned, some of the trees that would be chipmunk, squirrels, removed can instead be deadened and left standing. white-tailed deer Fruiting trees, black cherry * food for wild turkey, gray Establishing permanent vegetation for wildlife shrubs, and vines elderberry catbird, cedar waxwing, On some properties, trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants blackberry many songbirds, black bear, have been planted to provide benefits for wildlife. In most dogwood gray fox, white-tailed deer, cases, the plants selected provide either food or cover-or grape vine and small mammals both. Examples of the types of vegetation typically estab- lished and the benefits they provide to wildlife are listed in Cool-season grasses Kentucky blue- * insects for poults of ruffed Table 3. and legumes grass grouse, wild turkey orchard grass * food for meadow vole, red clover eastern cottontail, white Dutch clover white-tailed deer birdsfoot trefoil * nest sites for field sparrow, song sparrow, meadow vole * hunting sites for hawks, owls, foxes, snakes Warm-season switchgrass * nesting cover for upland grasses big bluestem game birds, waterfowl, and little bluestem ground nesting songbirds indiangrass * foraging cover for upland side oats grama game birds, waterfowl, Wild bergamot songbirds, eastern cottontail * food (seeds) for songbirds * winter cover for game birds, waterfowl, cottontail rabbits Wildflowers, forbs cardinal flower * nectar for butterflies, moths, New England aster bees, hummingbirds beebalm * seeds for songbirds joe-pye weed * forage for white-tailed deer columbine Black-eyed Susan 4 Fencing and tree shelters When trying to establish new plants for wildlife, it is sometimes necessary to protect plants from browsing and other damage until the plants are well established. Wildlife species in Pennsylvania that may damage young plants include meadow voles, cottontail rabbits, and white-tailed deer. Meadow voles and cottontails girdle (chew the bark and cambium layer off the stem near the bottom of the plant) woody-stemmed plants while deer browse seedlings, Fox shrubs, and stump sprouts. In agricultural areas, livestock may browse or trample young plants. Consequently, fencing or seedling protectors may be necessary to protect naturally Edges between forests and fields are used by both species regenerating or newly planted trees and shrubs. Fencing is that are typically found within the forest and also by species also used to exclude livestock from streams and wetlands typically found in fields. For example, the black-capped (see Stream bank fencing, p. 8). chickadee, a forest species, may nest along forest edges with the field sparrow, a species typically found in field habitat. There are a variety of fence types, including woven wire, In addition, "edge specialists," such as the indigo bunting, high-tensile strength, and electric fences, used to protect are typically present along forest edges because it is their seedlings. There are also a number of commercially avail- primary habitat. Other species like the wild turkey, eastern able tree shelters. These shelters are tall plastic tubes cottontail, or white-tailed deer may feed along a forest edge (usually made of polypropylene) and are used to protect because they are able to quickly retreat into the forest for seedlings from animal browsing. They may, in some cases, safety. Predators like the red fox or long-tailed weasel may accelerate seedling growth by creating a "greenhouse effect" be attracted to forest edges because an abundance of prey around the seedling. The use of tree shelters is a relatively may be found there. new method of seedling establishment and the long-term benefits of use have yet to be determined. One of the initial A number of methods to enhance forest edge habitat are problems found with tree shelters was that songbirds like described in this directory, including planting, letting natural eastern bluebirds and house wrens fly inside of them succession occur, and cutting. Adding brush piles and nest (probably to feed on insects), but cannot open their wings to boxes will also add habitat components along an edge. The fly out and then die within the tubes. Because of this, it is result of forest edge improvement work should be a wider necessary to cover the top of the tubes with bird-excluder edge habitat that provides a gradual transition from the nets. Apart from commercially available tree shelters, some shorter vegetation in the adjacent habitat to the tallest trees landowners create their own seedling protectors from in the forest, while providing food and cover for a variety of galvanized fencing. These protectors are simply mini-fences wildlife species. and can be custom made for single plants or groups of plants. All of these methods for protecting plants from Herbaceous forest openings damage by wildlife or livestock can be used on naturally Herbaceous forest openings are openings in the forest occurring vegetation as well as newly planted stock. canopy where enough sunlight reaches the forest floor to support herbaceous vegetation. Herbaceous openings can be Forest edge improvement of varying size and shape. They provide food, nest sites, and Many species of wildlife use edge habitat for nesting, cover for selected species of wildlife. Fields, orchards, haul feeding, and traveling. The main goal of forest edge roads, log landings, utility right-of-ways, or openings improvement is to increase available food and cover along a created within a forested area may all function as herba- forest edge by providing a variety of vegetation types and ceous openings that provide wildlife habitat. Wildlife layers, from the shortest herbaceous vegetation to the tallest species that benefit from herbaceous openings are listed in trees. Multiple layers present in vegetation provide more Table 4. Please note that although herbaceous openings in a places where wildlife can feed and find nesting, resting, or forest provide many benefits to a number of species, there escape cover. In addition, current research suggests that the are times when creating a forest opening can be detrimental nesting success of birds is greater along "complex" edges to species that require large unbroken expanses of forest with multiple layers of vegetation than along "simple" edges (e.g., the pileated woodpecker, northern goshawk, some with fewer layers of vegetation. neotropical migratory songbirds, and amphibians). Trade- offs between benefits and detriments should be carefully considered before creating new openings. 5 Wild turkey and poults TABLE 4 - Wildlife species that may benefit from herbaceous forest openings Species Season * Use Species Season Use Reptiles Songbirds Black snake Sp, S, F hunting Eastern bluebird Sp, S feeding Black racer Sp, S, F hunting Indigo bunting Sp, S nesting (along edge) Rufous-sided towhee Sp, S nesting (along edge) Raptors Field sparrow Sp, S nesting Great-horned owl Sp, S, F, W hunting Song sparrow Sp, S nesting Cooper's hawk Sp, S, F, W hunting Red-shouldered hawk Sp, S hunting Mammals Broad-winged hawk Sp, S hunting Eastern cottontail Sp, S, F, W feeding, nesting, cover Barred owl Sp, S, F, W hunting Meadow vole Sp, S, F, W feeding, nesting, cover Woodchuck Sp, S, F, W feeding Game Birds Gray fox Sp, S, F, W hunting Wild turkey Sp, S, F displaying, feeding, cover Red fox Sp, S, F, W hunting Ruffed grouse Sp, S, F feeding, cover Bobcat Sp, S, F, W hunting Woodcock Sp, S displaying, feeding, nesting White-tailed deer Sp, S, F, W feeding, cover Bobwhite quail Sp, S, F feeding, cover * Sp = Spring F = Fall S = Summer W = Winter 6 Nest boxes and other nesting structures ruffed grouse and mourning doves, or develop vertical One of the most popular ways to improve habitat for structure in an understory that will provide nesting and wildlife is to provide nest boxes or structures. Nest boxes, foraging sites for the wood thrush and other songbirds. platforms, and other types of Releasing and pruning old fruit trees nesting structures Fruit trees provide food for a wide variety of Pennsylvania's provide nest sites wildlife. For example, white-tailed deer feed heavily on for wildlife in areas apples in the fall. Other animals that benefit from fruit trees where natural nest include the black bear, songbirds, and small mammals. Also, sites (particularly as fruit decays on the ground, it creates an environment that cavities) are absent is favorable for the presence of earthworms, which is why or available only in woodcock can sometimes be seen feeding under fruit trees. low numbers. They are also used to On some properties, old, decadent fruit trees can be found in attract wildlife to abandoned fields or young forests. Old fruit trees provide specific areas even clues to past land use. The property may have been a farm when nest sites are and these fruit trees were part of an orchard or the backyard not limited. apple trees. Over time, as other trees grew and shaded these fruit trees, fruit production was greatly reduced. Fruit trees In Pennsylvania, are often still viable, and with a little attention can be nest boxes are returned to fruit-producing condition. "Releasing" these commonly used to trees may be necessary, especially if a young forest has provide nest sites grown over and around them. Fruit production is very for birds such as dependent upon light. Removing other trees that are shading bluebirds, tree the fruit trees will help eliminate competition for sunlight. Bluebird swallows, wrens, and wood ducks. Nest boxes also provide nest sites for mammals like squirrels and bats. Platforms and other structures are used to provide nest sites for species like the TABLE 5 - Benefits provided by a tree or shrub release eastern phoebe, barn swallow, and some waterfowl. If you release you may benefit by providing Releasing trees and shrubs Fruiting species songbirds food, nest sites small mammals food A tree and shrub release is a technique used to enhance the black bear food growth of specific species, individuals, or groups of plants wild turkey food so that they produce more food or cover for wildlife. Releasing a plant involves removing other plants that are Nut-producing small mammals food shading it and competing for sunlight. Most releases are species white-tailed deer food "crown releases." However, in some cases, releasing roots ruffed grouse food from competition may also be used. Crowns of selected black bear food species are usually released from overhead shading on at blue jay food least three sides to help increase growth. When a tree or gray squirrel food shrub release is being considered to improve wildlife habitat, the trees and shrubs selected for release should be Understory shrubs songbirds nest sites, food, cover those that provide quality food or cover for wildlife, such as small mammals food, cover fruiting shrubs. Evergreens ruffed grouse winter thermal cover The wildlife species that will benefit from a tree or shrub mourning dove nest sites release will depend on the wildlife species present on the black-capped chickadee food, cover property and the types of trees and shrubs selected for red squirrel food, cover, nest sites release (see Table 5). For example, releases can be planned to improve acorn production that will feed squirrels, deer, and turkey. Releasing can also increase evergreen cover for 7 Spring seep management Stream bank fencing Spring seeps are natural water sources where fresh water Livestock with free access to streams destroy wildlife and from below the ground flows to the surface to form small fish habitat, increase erosion and sedimentation, and streams or small bodies of water. Spring seeps can be found degrade water quality. Stream bank fencing excludes in forests or fields, but are often located along hillsides or at livestock from sensitive riparian areas. After livestock are the bases of mountains where groundwater flows to the excluded, a buffer zone of vegetation grows between the surface. These areas usually have a small, year-round source stream and the fence. This new riparian streamside vegeta- of fresh water. Spring seeps provide a variety of important tion provides food, cover, and nesting sites for birds and benefits for wildlife. small mammals. Over 80 kinds of birds, including herons, Spring seeps are particularly important during the winter egrets, bluebirds, belted kingfishers, mallards, and pheas- when they may be the only source of fresh water and food. ants, use streamside vegetation for summer feeding and In the winter, groundwater is typically warmer (a constant nesting. Streamside vegetation improves fish habitat by 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit) than air and ground tempera- enhancing water quality, providing protective cover, and tures. Even during the coldest weather, seeps typically increasing available food for fish. Stabilized stream cross- remain unfrozen with flowing water and support green ings provide limited areas where livestock can have access vegetation at a time when herbaceous vegetation is scarce. to the stream for drinking and/or crossing the stream. During severe winters, when other sources of water are frozen for extended periods of time, spring seeps are used Temporary pools heavily by wildlife. In early spring, seeps are one of the first Temporary pools are wetland habitats that fill with water areas where vegetation grows. Thus, this food source is during a rainy season and then dry up later in the year. Most available at a critical time of year when most other food people consider temporary pools to be synonymous with sources have been depleted. vernal pools. "Vernal" means "of, relating to, or occurring in the spring," and these pools fill with water in the spring and During periods of deep snow, spring seeps also provide dry up in the late summer or early fall. However, there are snow-free travel lanes where wildlife can move and feed. also autumnal pools, which fill with water in autumn. Birds and mammals benefit from the herbaceous vegetation Temporary pools are found where small depressions and that grows and persists around seeps in the winter when swales collect runoff or intercept seasonally high water other food is scarce. Insects in and around the seeps provide tables. a year-round source of high-protein food. Deer and small mammals find abundant sources of "browse" and other Although the water supply from these pools is temporary, it forage growing around seeps. Bears and other berry eaters is critical because temporary pools are the breeding and benefit from fruit-producing species that grow well in moist hibernating grounds for amphibians like red spotted newts conditions. Songbirds benefit from the fruit and insects and spring peepers. Temporary pools do not support fish around seeps, often finding nest sites in the dense vegetation populations so amphibian eggs can develop without high surrounding the seep. losses to fish predation. These special circumstances make temporary pools essential for the survival of many amphib- Amphibians and reptiles benefit from seeps that contain ian populations. Ecologically, amphibians are both predators slow-moving water. Because most spring seeps do not that prey on small invertebrates and prey contributing to the support fish populations, amphibian eggs can develop survival of many other predators. Since the late 1970s, without high losses to fish predation. Reptiles such as turtles scientists around the world have been reporting disturbing benefit from the fresh spring water and soft mucky bottom declines in amphibian populations. This decline makes of some seeps where they can bury themselves, seeking conservation of temporary pool habitats increasingly relief from very hot weather or hibernating during the winter important. In addition to providing breeding and hibernating months. Amphibians and reptiles also benefit from the plant habitat for amphibians, temporary pools also support a and insect food available around seeps. complex web of interactions between a variety of organisms The most important management practice for spring seeps is that include aquatic insects, salamanders, frogs, turtles, to protect them from any activities that could degrade the snakes, large and small mammals, waterfowl, and songbirds. seep, such as clear-cutting beside the seep or agricultural The best way for landowners to provide temporary pools for pollution. Options for enhancing the habitat associated with wildlife is to protect any existing pools from destruction. a spring seep include releasing or planting beneficial trees Many temporary pools have been destroyed during develop- and shrubs around the seep and encouraging the growth of ment and other land-use changes. (Unfortunately, temporary herbaceous vegetation around the seep's perimeter. pools are difficult to identify during the dry season, and 8 Spotted salamander Red-spotted newt Slimy salamander many people don't realize the value of what looks to them Establishing warm-season grasses requires more patience like a mud hole.) Temporary pools should be protected from than effort. After planting, it may take from one to four destruction because of the important function they serve years for a full stand of grasses to develop. within a larger habitat area. Usually, restricting any poten- tially degrading activities around a temporary pool is all that Because this is a rather recent habitat management practice is necessary to maintain the pool's healthy environment. in Pennsylvania, new information about establishing these grasses is being learned every day. Consequently, if you are Some successful attempts have been made to create tempo- interested in establishing warm-season grasses for wildlife, rary pools for wildlife. These newly created temporary pools it is best to talk with someone who has planted some may help offset some of the losses of natural temporary themselves before proceeding. There are some very success- pools. However, temporary pool creation requires special ful methods being implemented throughout Pennsylvania; circumstances that do not exist on all properties. learning about them will give you first-hand knowledge of what methods might work best on your land. Warm-season grasses Native warm-season grasses are prairie grasses that were Wetland restoration present when our ancestors settled what was to become the The wetland restoration program in Pennsylvania was Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The four main grasses of initiated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for tall-grass prairie habitat are switchgrass, big bluestem, little Wildlife Program. Wetland restorations are done on lands bluestem, and indiangrass. Warm-season grasses, also that were previously drained (sometimes to make cropland) known as "bunch grasses," grow in thick bunches instead of and which are then restored to their natural state as a forming mats like many other grasses. These dense bunches wetland by removing the tiles or plugging the ditches that of grass interspersed with open spaces between the bunches drain them. The resulting wetlands vary in size and usually provide valuable nesting and foraging cover for upland have an area of open water with emergent wetland vegeta- game birds such as turkeys and pheasants, various water- tion growing around the perimeter of the water. These fowl, and other ground-nesting grassland species like wetlands provide breeding, nesting, and feeding habitat for savannah sparrows. amphibians, waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds. They are Some warm-season grasses may grow to a height of over 6 essential "stop-over," resting, and feeding places for feet. Because of their growth form and height, these grasses migrating species. The excellent cover offered by the provide excellent cover for wildlife, especially upland game prolific growth of vegetation around wetland habitats also birds and waterfowl. Cottontail rabbits benefit from both the provides food and cover for species like the beaver, musk- cover and forage produced by warm-season grasses, and rat, cottontail rabbit, and white-tailed deer. Animals that rely many songbirds feed on the small seeds of the plants. on wetland habitats, as well as animals that are generally Probably one of the most important benefits of warm-season considered upland species, benefit from restored wetland grasses is that, if left uncut, they remain upright throughout sites. Wetlands help to reduce erosion and flooding, also the winter, providing valuable cover for many animals at a purifying our water supplies by filtering pollutants and time of year when most other plants have died or are sediments out of the water. dormant. For more information about the wetland restoration pro- Planting warm-season grasses gram, contact your local NRCS office or call the U.S. Fish for wildlife has recently and Wildlife Service office in State College, Pennsylvania, become a very popular at (814) 234-4090. practice due to the high- quality habitat that is provided by a stand of Grasshopper warm-season grasses. 9 Wildlife corridors Another type of wildlife corridor that occurs on a local scale A wildlife corridor is a habitat "patch" that connects two or is the buffer strip of vegetation along a stream or river that more areas of undeveloped habitat that are isolated from one varies in width. Depending on the length and width of the another. There are essentially two major types of wildlife buffer strip, these areas may function as travel corridors in corridors, but other areas can mimic these two types on a addition to providing wildlife with valuable food and cover. very local scale. Connective corridors established by habitat management The first type is a corridor that exists on a landscape scale. practices in Pennsylvania will most likely be wooded An example of a landscape-scale corridor is a forested ridge patches of habitat that connect two isolated forests or top that connects, like a "bridge" of wilderness, between woodlots and will provide additional food and cover for two or more habitats that are great distances apart. Corridors wildlife. Changes in land-use often result in the fragmenta- that are present on the landscape level are generally thought tion of wildlife habitats, and habitat patches like forests to be serving a connective function, benefiting species that become smaller and more isolated. Perhaps the best reason require large expanses of undeveloped habitat because they to plant corridors is that the original landscape was intercon- have large home ranges, disperse over great distances, or nected. New corridors would re-establish some of those past need to travel great distances to find mates. connections. Corridors can also function as a habitat patch, providing wildlife with food and cover whether the animal A second type of corridor exists on a smaller scale, usually lives in the corridor or just travels through. on a local level, generally connecting two isolated habitats that are not necessarily separated by large distances. In The species of wildlife that will benefit from wildlife agricultural areas, these types of corridors are often called corridors in Pennsylvania will depend on what plants and fencerows or hedgerows. These "strip habitats" provide other habitat components exist in the corridor, where it is food and cover for wildlife. If the hedgerow connects two located, and what species of wildlife are present in the habitats, such as two woodlots on a farm, it may be used as adjacent habitat. Small mammals, such as the gray squirrel a travel route between the woodlots by some species. This and eastern cottontail, and songbirds like song sparrows and type of corridor can be added to a property, providing gray catbirds are some of the species that may use wildlife additional habitat and potential travel lanes for wildlife. corridors for feeding, nesting, or movement. Cottontail rabbits 10 A D D I T I O N A L I N F O R M A T I O N The fact sheet series Pennsylvania Wildlife, available from all county extension offices, provides additional information on Pennsylvania wildlife and specific habitat management practices. If you are interested in visiting sites where wildlife management practices have been implemented, obtain a copy of Enhancing Wildlife Habitat: A Directory of Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Demonstration Sites in Pennsylvania from your local county extension office. The directory includes descriptions of and directions to demon- strations sites across Pennsylvania where wildlife habitat enhancement practices have been implemented. Prepared by Margaret C. Brittingham Associate Professor of Wildlife Resources Colleen A. DeLong Project Associate in Wildlife Resources 1998 Illustrators: Ned Smith, cover, pages 3, 6, and 7; Rae Chambers, pages 2 (left column), 4, and 5; Jeffery Mathison, page 2 (right column) Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences research, extension, and resident education programs are funded in part by Pennsylvania counties, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This publication is available from the Publications Distribution Center, The Pennsylvania State University, 112 Agricultural Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802. For information telephone (814) 865-6713. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, Acts of Congress May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Legislature. T. R. Alter, Director of Cooperative Extension, The Pennsylvania State University. This publication is available in alternative media on request. The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. The Pennsylvania State University does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania State University, 201 Willard Building, University Park, PA 16802-2801: Tel. (814) 865-4700/V, (814) 863-1150/TTY. © The Pennsylvania State University 1998 5M298CP 11