Biodiversity

[Don Staples]

No problem Vince, there is a great deal of difference between the biome in 
eastern Canada (the source of my forebearers) and the subtropical Texas Gulf 
Coast.  Furry snacks multiply like, well, rats.  And the US Parks and Wildlife 
people control populations and locations of Red Cockaded Woodpeckers with nest 
boxes placed in other wise unsuitable trees.  the predators that follow very 
closely behind are the red and grey foxes, coyotes, and bob cats.  One year 
after a clear cut in the south you cannot easily make your way through the 
clearing.  Prime rodent habitate in lush grass and forb growth.  Five years 
later and you will not move through the clearing for hard wood brush and what 
ever planted seedling is out there, some where around 15 you can see day 
light, and the process starts over at 25 to 30.   

Much of the sothern game and non game species rely on the edge effect, perfect 
in plantation works, when done right.

Our endangered species in Texas are on the rebound, due to corporate concern, 
as well as governmental.  My problem is that they don't recognize all the 
endangered species, I think black bear and cougar should be listed as 
endangered, yet are ignored.

Good thoughts, guys and girls, that is what the net is all about, keep up the 
conversation.

In article <504542$bog_001 at ts1-fctn-02.mis.ca> marvin at mis.ca (Vince Zelazny) 
writes:>From: marvin at mis.ca (Vince Zelazny)
>Subject: Re: Biodiversity
>Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 13:14:42 GMT

>I wish I was as confident as Don is about all the furry snacks and habitat etc 
>yielded by clearcuts, plantations and nest boxes.  Reminds me of a joke I 
>heard the other day.  An ecologist (forester), an economist, and a 
>statistician went bow hunting for deer, and sure enough a deer sprang into the 
>clearing in front of them.  The ecologist aimed and shot, five feet wide to 
>the left.  The economist aimed and shot, five feet wide to the right.  The 
>statistician then jumped up and down for joy, shouting "We got it! We got it!"

>I like plantations, but we gotta have those wild forests too.  Actually, 
>artificial nest cavities were tried here (eastern Canada) in spruce 
>plantations.  Four foot cedar chunks had holes excavated in them and were then 
>mounted about 10 ft off the ground on poles.  The birds loved them (and the 
>carpenter ants did too), but there were no birds with preference for the older 
>mixedwoods common to the area found in the boxes.  Typically they found 
>flickers and kestrels; birds of the open habitat typical of young plantations. 
> They even put some of these in older mixedwoods, but they were shunned by the 
>pileated woodpeckers in favour of the real thing.  I can dredge up the title 
>of the report if anybody wants it. 

>a forester too

>Vince