Wildlife Conservation www.northbynature.com/index_010.htm North American Wildlife Art for Wildlife conservation Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:38:31 GMT Web Easy by Avanquest Software <![CDATA[<DIV> <DIV><FONT color="#007d00"><FONT size="5"><FONT size="6">W</FONT></FONT>ould you like to help support the preservation and conservation</FONT><FONT color="#007d00"> of our natural world?</FONT>  </DIV></DIV>]]>
You can do more to help than just purchasing our wildlife art which helps further wildlife conservation funding.  You can join in with thousands of other wildlife enthusiasts who actively support wildlife conservation.   To volunteer in your state, simply contact your state's Department of Natural Resources for the local conservation organization in your home town.  You can also promote wildlife conservation in your own back yard.
 
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN YOUR BACKYARD
 
The area around your home, including the backyard, is the perfect location to enhance wildlife habitat. One reason is that you are already managing the property--growing and mowing grass, tending to trees and shrubs, and planting flower and vegetable gardens. You can use these management strategies to enhance wildlife habitat.  With a little management, wildlife will most likely frequent your own backyard, and what better place to enjoy wildlife than in your own backyard?  Also, developing a wildlife management plan for your backyard can enhance the natural beauty of your home and actually increase its value.
 
Before you can develop a management plan, you should know what wildlife need to survive, and thus what will attract them to your yard. Wildlife cannot exist without the four components that comprise habitat: food, water, cover, and space. When their habitat is fragmented or destroyed, these components become limited.
 
 
]]> www.northbynature.com/index_010.htm Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:38:31 GMT ]]> www.northbynature.com/index_010.htm#1 <![CDATA[<DIV> <DIV><FONT color="#007d00"><FONT size="5"><FONT size="6">W</FONT></FONT>ould you like to help support the preservation and conservation</FONT><FONT color="#007d00"> of our natural world?</FONT>  </DIV></DIV>]]> The greater the diversity of habitat, the greater the variety and number of wildlife species attracted to the habitat. Some of the best backyard habitats are those comprised of trees bordered by tall shrubs and low shrubs, which are next to wildflowers or native grasses bordered by a small amount of lawn. Each border provides a different kind of "edge".

The wildlife habitat components that trees and shrubs create include cover for nesting and rearing young, secure winter cover, and summer, fall, and winter foods. For example, dense pines and spruces provide roosting sites and escape cover for mourning doves, chickadees, and other songbirds. Gray dogwood and American mountain-ash offer fall fruits to migrating birds. Tall oaks and hickories provide hard mast (nuts) to squirrels and blue jays in winter and cool shade on hot summer days.

Mowed lawns require time and money to maintain, and they provide little habitat for wildlife. Monocultures of weed-free grass demand water, fertilizers, herbicides, and frequent mowing, and they are easily stressed by extreme drought or wet conditions. An estimated 70 percent of pesticide use occurs on the nation's lawns, but those with diverse wildflowers, groundcovers, and native grasses provide for a healthier, environmentally friendly lawn, which does not need chemicals. For these reasons, consider reducing the mowed areas in your yard to as little as possible.

Areas with tall, unmowed, or infrequently mowed grasses can provide outstanding wildlife habitat such as nesting and brooding areas, insect-foraging sites, and green foraging areas for deer and rabbits. Brown thrashers, bluebirds, pheasants, and wild turkeys are among several types of birds that also use such unmowed areas. These can be places where you let the grass  go wild or where you plant to a specific grass type to create a meadow, prairie, or wildflower viewing spot. Mixing flowers with grasses is a good choice as they will furnish a nectar source for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

]]> www.northbynature.com/index_010.htm Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:38:31 GMT ]]> www.northbynature.com/index_010.htm#2 <![CDATA[<DIV> <DIV><FONT color="#007d00"><FONT size="5"><FONT size="6">W</FONT></FONT>ould you like to help support the preservation and conservation</FONT><FONT color="#007d00"> of our natural world?</FONT>  </DIV></DIV>]]> Ground covers offer an ideal opportunity to reduce the mowed lawn surface and to develop low-maintenance wildlife habitat. Examples include wild ginger, wintergreen, and bearberry. They pro-vide nest sites for ground-nesting songbirds, brood-rearing areas for pheasants and quail, and protective cover for rabbits and chipmunks. Such plantings can provide more formal settings for wildlife landscaping projects.

Wildflowers

Michigan has a wide variety of native wildflowers that offer spectacular color and are well-suited to a number of locations. What better way to create beauty and wildlife habitat, along with contributing to our state's natural heritage, than by planting native wildflowers on your property? Once established, wildflowers enhance the attractiveness of the landscape, help control erosion, furnish food and cover for wildlife, and provide maximum enjoyment with minimal care. An increasing number of property owners are converting portions of their large, high-maintenance lawns to plantings of wildflowers. After the initial cost to establish them, you will save money and time by not having to fertilize, mow, and rake your lawn. Wildflower stands are also showing up in increasing numbers on public property, such as highway rights-of-way, corporate industrial parks, and various recreational areas.

Homes and Feeders for Wildlife

Planting trees and shrub thickets give some birds roosting shelters, food sources, and places to build their nests. Leaving leaf litter, rotting logs, and fallen branches in a woodland setting provides homes for salamanders and snakes. Standing dead or dying trees attract woodpeckers, squirrels, screech owls, and other cavity nesters.  In addition to creating natural homes for wildlife, consider building nest boxes and feeding stations and placing them in your backyard to enhance viewing pleasure.

In summary, your backyard is the ideal place to create wildlife habitat. Once established, you will reduce the amount of maintenance, saving time and money. In addition, you will have attracted many kinds of wildlife to watch and enjoy.

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