Twenty participants gathered for the hands-on workshop presented by Steve Wood and me. The goal was to demonstrate how to improve habitat for wildlife, especially where wild apple trees are present. We did a little more than just show and tell. And he was right. We all worked together to haul logs and limbs to create a brushpile for wildlife.
Many wildlife species use apple trees for food - from mice to deer, from songbirds to turkeys.
Others, such as the American woodcock, a species of management concern, use the open habitats often associated with apple trees. By releasing an apple tree from overtopping trees, we provide more light that will allow the tree to produce more apples. The tree removed during the workshop became our brush pile, providing shelter for hares, rabbits and ruffed grouse. Jeff Marsh, logger and Plainfield Conservation Commission member, fells and trims up a hardwood that blocked an apple tree's sunlight. For another apple tree, an overtopping pine was simply girdled rather than cut down.