Attracting Wildlife to Your Backyard: 101 Ways to Make Your Property Home for Creatures Great and Small

by Josh VanBrakle

Overview

Many people think of wildlife as something distant, creatures living in natural forests and remote public preserves. But most wildlife in the United States isn't found in the distant wild. It lives on our private lands, in our very backyards. Because of this, America's ten million woodland owners are in fact at the forefront in protecting US wildlife for generations to come.
But while most landowners want to help preserve the beauty of the natural environment, most are unsure where to begin. In Attracting Wildlife to Your Backyard, author and landowner Josh VanBrakle provides readers with 101 easy-to-follow activities and practical approaches to help do just that. Some projects include:

Installing a bat box

Making a food plot

Identifying trees that attract wildlife

Forming a brush pile

Assessing a stream's health

Building a pond

Learning bird calls

Planning a backyard scavenger hunt
Complete with stunning wildlife photographs and an appendix of practical resources, Attracting Wildlife to Your Backyard is an essential read for anyone who cares about the environment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510728486
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	03/06/2018
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Josh VanBrakle is the Research Forester for the New York City Watershed Agricultural Council and has worked with private woodland owners for over five years. He holds an M.S. in Forest Resources Management from the State University of New York. He lives in the Catskills with his wife.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Part 1 Before You Begin 1

Chapter 1 Private Landowners and Wildlife: A Vital Connection 3

The Role of Private Landowners 7

What Are You Going to Do About It? 11

Chapter 2 What Do Wildlife Need, Anyway? 14

Food 15

Water 17

Cover 19

A Place to Raise Young 20

Space and Habitat 21

Doesn't Nature Provide This Stuff? 22

Chapter 3 Getting Started 24

Project 1 Make a Property Map 25

Project 2 Complete the Property Checklist 27

Project 3 Figure Out What's Missing 28

Project 4 Look Beyond Your Borders 29

Project 5 Find Out If Rare Animals or Plants Use Your Land 31

Project 6 Focus on Your Favorite Animals 33

Project 7 Think Small 34

Project 8 Make a Future Property Map 35

Part 2 Focus on Habitat 37

Chapter 4 Backyards 39

Project 9 Replace Non-Native Ornamentals with Native Plants 40

Project 10 Rescue Native Plants from Construction Sites 43

Project 11 Decrease Your Lawn with Lawn Feathering 45

Project 12 Account for Lawn-Mowing Regulations 49

Project 13 Go Vertical with Layered Plants 51

Project 14 Install a Bat Box 52

Project 15 Build a Bee Nesting House 55

Project 16 Set Up Birdfeeders 57

Project 17 Recycle an Old Christmas Tree 62

Project 18 Add a Birdbath 63

Project 19 Protect Your Avian Visitors 65

Chapter 5 Grasslands, Shrublands, and Young Woods 67

Project 20 Site Your Young Woods 71

Project 21 Combine Adjoining Meadows 73

Project 22 Create Young Woods through Timber Harvesting 74

Project 23 Do a Clearcut (Gasp!) 75

Project 24 Make a Food Plot 79

Project 25 Install a Bluebird Box 81

Project 26 Build a Grouse Drumming Log 83

Project 27 Prune a Wild Apple Tree 84

Project 28 Maintain Your Young Woods 87

Project 29 Protect Ground-Nesting Birds from Mowing and Haying 89

Chapter 6 Old and Interior Woods 91

Project 30 Connect Isolated Woods with Corridors 92

Project 31 Learn the Four Types of Wildlife Trees 94

Wildlife Tree Type 1 Hard Mast 95

Wildlife Tree Type 2 Soft Mast 96

Wildlife Tree Type 3 Wolf Trees 97

Wildlife Tree 4 Cavity Trees 99

Project 32 Identify and Protect Legacy Trees 100

Project 33 Thin the Woods to Get Growth at Every Level 103

Project 34 Create Small Gaps 104

Project 35 Leave Dead Trees in Place 105

Project 36 Girdle a Tree 107

Project 37 Build a Brush Pile 108

Project 38 Don't Graze Livestock in the Woods 110

Chapter 7 Streams 111

The Three C's of Healthy Streams 112

C #1 Clean 112

C #2 Cold 113

C #3 Complex 114

Project 39 Assess Your Stream's Health 115

Project 40 Look for Stream Macroinvertebrates 116

Project 41 Create Old Woods around Your Streams 118

Project 42 Install BMPs like Waterbars to Reduce Trail Erosion 120

Project 43 Choose a Water- and Wildlife-Friendly Stream Crossing 124

Project 44 Let Your Streams Flood 126

Project 45 Add Wood to Your Streams 130

Project 46 Stream Restoration, Part 1: Stop Harmful Practices 132

Project 47 Stream Restoration, Part 2: Plant Trees 134

Project 48 Stream Restoration, Part 3: Stabilize Stream Banks 135

Project 49 Stream Restoration, Part 4: Willow Weaving 137

Chapter 8 Wetlands 140

Project 50 Find and Mark Your Wetlands 141

Project 51 Buffer Wetlands from Equipment and Development 143

Project 52 Improve Winter Food and Water Supplies by Thinning Seeps 144

Project 53 Install a Wood Duck Nesting Box 146

Project 54 Help a Muskrat 149

Project 55 Build a Pond, Step 1: Purpose 150

Project 56 Build a Pond, Step 2: Site 152

Project 57 Build a Pond, Step 3: Design 153

Project 58 Build a Pond, Step 4: Install 154

Project 59 Build a Pond, Step 5: Maintain 156

Part 3 Challenges to Wildlife 157

Chapter 9 Invasive Plants 159

Project 60 Prevent: Use Native Landscaping 161

Project 61 Prevent: Clean Clothes, Gear, and Equipment after Going in the Woods 163

Project 62 Locate: Learn to Identify Common Invasive Plants 164

Project 63 Locate: Monitor Your Property 165

Project 64 Control: Decide What to Treat 167

Project 65 Control: Use Mechanical Removal 168

Project 66 Control: Use Herbicides (Carefully!) 170

Project 67 Control: Remove Vines 174

Project 68 Control: Bring in the Goat Cavalry 177

Project 69 Restore: Replant and Monitor 179

Chapter 10 Oh, Deer! 181

Project 70 Assess Deer Impact with a Simple Visual Assessment 184

Project 71 Stop Feeding Deer Corn 190

Project 72 Take Care with Hinge Cutting 193

Project 73 Keep Deer Out with Tree Tubes 194

Project 74 Keep Deer Out with Deer Fencing 197

Project 75 Hunt (Or Allow Hunting) 199

Project 76 Donate Venison 201

Project 77 Accept Predators 201

Chapter 11 Keeping Open Space Open 203

Project 78 Enroll in Your State's Property Tax Reduction Program 206

Project 79 Get a Conservation Easement 207

Project 80 Plan Your Legacy 209

Part 4 Making It Last 213

Chapter 12 Finding Funding 215

Project 81 Get a Management Plan-The Forest Stewardship Program 217

Project 82 Get Paid to Protect Your Streams-The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) 219

Project 83 Get Help with On-the-Ground Projects-The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) 220

Project 84 Get Technical Advice and Funding for Habitat Restoration-Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program 222

Project 85 Get Low-Cost Seed for Food Plots and Tree Planting-The Wild Turkey Federation's Conservation Seed Program 223

Project 86 Connect with Local Groups for More Opportunities-Urban and Community Forestry 225

Chapter 13 Monitoring Your Work 227

Project 87 Keep a Nature Journal 228

Project 88 Do an Egg Carton Observation 231

Project 89 Use Photo Points and Time Lapse Photos 233

Project 90 Learn Bird Calls 235

Project 91 Learn Other Wildlife Signs 237

Project 92 Take Apart an Owl Pellet 239

Project 93 Install Trail Cameras 241

Night Image Type 243

Detection Zone 243

Trigger and Recovery Time 243

Battery Life 244

Cellular Capability 244

Megapixels 245

I Have My Camera. Now What? 245

Chapter 14 The Next Generation 247

Project 94 Turn over Fallen Logs 249

Project 95 Look and Listen for Spring Frogs 250

Project 96 Screen a Nighttime Bug Movie 251

Project 97 Go on an Owl Prowl 252

Project 98 Call a Turkey 253

Project 99 Do a Backyard Scavenger Hunt 256

Project 100 Encourage Free Play 257

Project 101 Involve and Inspire 259

Beyond the Book 261

State Resources 268

Property Checklist 283

Endnotes 286