Structural
Brush & Rock
Piles - All wildlife species need a place to escape
from predators, rest in safety, nest, and reproduce. Such places are
normally provided by some kind of cover. In areas where cover is
inadequate, proper location and construction of brush piles can
improve wildlife habitat for a number of species. Brush piles will
provide relatively safe access to food sources and allow for
increased use of the area. Brush piles can be placed at intervals
along field borders, near fence rows or throughout overgrown
fields.Brush piles should be built upon bases of larger materials
that will assure tunnels and openings at ground level. Three types
of bases work particularly well-large pole-size logs, stumps, and
piles of rocks. A pile should be about 15 feet wide with
larger rocks or logs on the bottom and smaller ones on top. It
should also be in a sheltered area.
Brush Pile Components Brush piles
have two basic components—a base and a brushy top. The base raises
the brush pile off the ground and creates tunnels for dens, nests
and escape routes. The brushy top protects this space from
predators. Base materials can vary depending on what you have
nearby. The most common materials are stones and logs. The stones
should be about 8 to 12 inches in diameter and placed in three loose
piles, each at the corner of a triangle. The logs, 4 to 6 inches in
diameter, should be cut between 4 and 6 feet long and placed, log
cabin-style, 4 feet high. Oak, black locust, cedar and other
hardwoods make good bases because they resist rotting. Other good
base materials include large stumps, cull logs or old fence posts. A
few PVC pipes or drain tiles provide escape tunnels for small
mammals. As you build the base, add branches into the interior of
the structure.
After the base has been completed,
pile on the brush—placing the larger, stouter limbs first, and
smaller limbs last. You may need to occasionally place heavier
branches on top to keep the stacked brush in place. Be sure to place
the individual branches at different angles and directions to ensure
that the materials lock together and form air spaces. After the pile
reaches about 6 or 8 feet in height, begin placing branches around
the sides. Occasionally stick branches into the pile with the large
end first to add stability to the pile. When finished, your brush
pile should be about 6 to 8 feet high and 6 to 8 feet wide, and
shaped like an igloo. You can also build smaller brush piles, they
just won’t attract as many animals. Encourage the growth of grasses
and vines through your brush piles; they add density and permanence
to the piles.
Though your brush pile should last
from ten to 15 years, it will require periodic maintenance. About
every six years or so, add new brush to renew the pile. As the pile
finally begins to deteriorate beyond usefulness, construct a new
brush pile adjacent to the old one. Don’t tear down the existing
one, as you may be disturbing a few lingering tenants. By building
next to the old pile, you will be providing a continuous source of
cover. Brush Pile Placement Build most of your brush piles within or
near woods. This is most easily accomplished after a timber sale. A
good rule of thumb is to build two to four brush piles per acre,
spaced about 100-150 feet apart.
Forest wildlife quickly inhabit
brush piles, especially after a harvest. Place others along fence
rows or your yard border. Also, there are a few places not to place
a brush pile. To avoid pest problems, locate your brush pile well
away from your garden and house. No sense feeding the rabbits or
attracting unwanted skunks and rodents. And, if attracting small
mammals is your goal, don’t place a brush pile under a snag where
hawks and owls can launch their attack…although they need to eat
too.
Throughout the eastern US, the
tilled earth contains an abundance of rocks…most left behind by
melting glaciers. Many farm fields are outlined with rock walls or
have a large rock pile dumped in some forgotten corner by
generations of farmers who annually added to the collection each
spring after heaving frosts worked new rocks to the field surface.
These may be found in or near woodlands or grasslands. Some may even
be natural rocky outcroppings—a glacial deposit. Rock piles and
walls provide special habitats for wildlife. Chipmunks, skunks and
other small rodents and snakes are partial to these hard, sun-warmed
quarters. A wide variety of ants and other invertebrates live
beneath rocks which are in direct contact with the earth. Ant
colonies can also thrive in them and provide food for a host of
birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. If you are interested in
providing habitat for this kind of wildlife, then you may want to
place PVC pipes or drain tiles within the rocks. Pipes and tiles
create very effective escape tunnels and den sites for rock
pileloving wildlife. Or, just leave them alone. But if grassland
birds and prairie restoration is your goal, bury them. That’s
because some rock-pile-loving wildlife, such as skunks and raccoons,
prey on grassland bird eggs and will defeat your efforts.
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