Monday, August 14, 2017

Experiment begins on trees and deer

I have begun to fence-off areas from deer to give some trees a chance to grow beyond the deer's reach and appetites.
The photo above is my first attempt. I have used commercial seven-foot deer fencing to enclose a group of red maples that have sprouted up this summer. In the foreground is a maple that is already too large for the deer to kill by browsing.
My hope is that by blocking-off relatively small areas the deer will choose just to go around and look for easier pickings.
I'm going to try something similar in other spots to allow young white cedar and white pine to take root. Right now the deer are eradicating all these species simply by eating all of the young saplings.
There is a browse line though our bush showing the height deer can reach during their mostly-winter foraging. There are mature trees but no young ones.
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