Variety makes life interesting and itmakes interesting wildlife habitat. In

general, the more kinds of habitat you have,the more kinds of wildlife you can attract.The wildlife management term that bestdescribes this place is “edge.” Very simply,edge is the place where two differenthabitats meet—such as a woodland and awetland, or a farm field and a woodlot. Edgeis important since it contains plants fromboth habitats and therefore provides manyof the food, cover and water needs of wildlifefound in either of the habitats.

Common game birds and mammals, such aspheasants, ruffed grouse, quail, turkeys,

deer, rabbits, raccoons and foxes thrivealong the edge. Song sparrows, brownthrashers, gray catbirds, cardinals,bluebirds, red-tailed hawks and flickers alsothrive where two habitats meet. ThoughWisconsin has an abundance of edge,primarily associated with agriculture,timber harvesting and urban development,much of it can be improved to attract moreof these types of animals. Woodlandopenings provide food and cover, whiletrails, fencerows, hedgerows, field borders,roadsides and pocket habitat provide placesfor wildlife to take cover, nest and travel.Look around, there is much to be done at theedge. This publication shows you how.

Wildlife and Your Landa series about managing your land for wildlife

On EdgeManaging Edge for Wildlife

Imagine that you’re driving home along a country lane at dusk.Glancing across the alfalfa field toward an oak woodland, you spythree deer standing at the edge—perched in a dead tree above themsits a red-tailed hawk. Further down the road, you startle a pair ofmallards as you pass over a small bridge spanning a creek. Finally, asyou pull into your driveway, your headlights catch a glimpse of acottontail bounding from the edge of your lawn into the tall weeds ofthe vacant lot next door. Thinking about the wildlife you’ve just seen,you realize that all were located near an edge. What’s the connection?

The Downside of Edge

Just about everything in life comes withstrings attached. So too, with creating moreedge. As we have carved Wisconsin’s land-scape into small patches, we’ve come face toface with the realization that some nativeanimals are in serious trouble due to ourfragmentation of land.

Throughout most of wildlife management’shistory, wildlife managers and biologistsbelieved that creating more edge was themost important thing they could do forwildlife. Aldo Leopold, the founding fatherof wildlife management, advocated thisardently. But in those days, managers

narrowly defined wildlife to mean gameanimals only: deer, pheasants, rabbits,raccoons, quail, turkeys, foxes, beavers andmore. Creating more edge seemed the wayto go, for these birds and mammals aretruly creatures of the edge.

Today, however, wildlife managers andbiologists manage for all wildlife—frommammals and birds, to reptiles and am-phibians, and even to invertebrates such asbutterflies. They now realize that not allanimals thrive at the edge. Some, likesalamanders, warblers, and thrushes, needvast, unbroken expanses of forest; prairiechickens, upland sandpipers, and bobolinksneed large tracts of grassland; others, likethe sharp-tailed grouse, have specialrequirements for large areas of oak barrensand sand prairie.

To make matters worse,some native edge-lovers,such as the brown-headedcowbird, are destroying moresensitive wildlife, especially in Wisconsin’ssouthern agricultural counties. Early in ournation’s history the cowbird or “buffalobird”

followed the bison of theGreat Plains. It is now

abundant throughoutour state. Having lost

2 Wildlife and Your Land

Cats, Cowbirds and Carnivorous Wildlife

Fragmentation ofwoodlands canincrease predationof songbirds by cats,cowbirds, and nestpredators.

cowbirds

the instinct for building its own nest, thecowbird reproduces by laying its eggs inanother bird’s nest leaving them for the hostbird to hatch and raise. Unfortunately, thelarger, more voracious cowbird chicksusually out-compete the host’s chicks for foodand space. The impacts have been stag-gering. In some forests of the central states,nine out of every 10 wood thrush nests heldbrown-speckled cowbird eggs. Sixty percentof all bird nests in those forests containedeggs of this “brood parasite.” Songbirds fromyellow-throated warblers, song and chippingsparrows, scarlet tanagers, red-eyed vireosand eastern phoebes are feeling the impact.

This wasn’t always the case. WhenWisconsin’s forests and grasslands werelarger, nests were buffered from this bird bymiles of uninterrupted habitat around them.As we’ve carved up the land into smaller andsmaller parcels—what biologists call frag-mentation of the landscape—the cowbird haspenetrated farther into forest and grasslandinteriors in search of suitable nests. This hascontributed to the serious decline of manymigratory songbirds, from sparrows towarblers.

Edge-roaming predators such as snakes,foxes, raccoons, opossums, skunks, and evenblue jays and housecats are another seriousthreat to songbirds. Expansive fields of rowcrops have essentially forced birds to nestalong field edges…along fencerows,windbreaks, ditches, travel lanes…anywherethey can find suitable shelter. Where onceegg-eaters had to search far and wide fornests, they now can saunter down theseartificial corridors and easily knock off nestafter nest.

The point is this. Though some animalsthrive along habitat edges, others do not.Before proceeding with an edge developmentproject, you need to determine what wildlifeyou will be aiding. Do you want more deer,pheasants, red-tailed hawks, or other edge-loving wildlife, or are you interested in

attracting salamanders, frogs, Karner bluebutterflies, Blackburnian warblers, woodthrushes, and other wildlife that preferhabitats other than edge? Be certain youunderstand the implications of creating moreedge before implementing an edge project.Make your decisions within the realities ofthe landscape around you…of which you ownonly one small piece of the puzzle. It’s a goodidea to talk with a DNR wildlife managerbefore you start a project.

Wildlife and Your Land 3

The larger and more voracious cowbird chickoften out-competes the host’s chick for food.

Improving Woodland/FieldEdge

Once you appreciate the pros and cons ofedge, you’re ready to decide whether or notto take on an edge development project. Ifyou already have two or more differenthabitats on your property, you have edge.Then it’s just a matter of deciding if thatedge can be improved. If you own a woodlotand some farm fields, take a walk along theedge of your woods. Is the transition betweenthe two habitats abrupt? If so, your propertyis like many found in Wisconsin. Abruptedges, however, do not make the best wildlifehabitat. You can improve habitat for edge-loving wildlife by creating a more gradualtransition between the two habitats. Thereare two ways to do this. You can let naturetakes its course, or you can help it along byplanting or removing trees.

Letting Nature Take ItsCourse

Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing.Simply allow a 30-foot wide strip of fieldnext to your woods to slowly revegetate. Youdon’t have to do a thing, nature will take itsown course. Grasses and flowering plantswill soon take hold. While you might think ofthese colonizing plants as “weeds,” theyprovide good food and nest cover for wildlife.Bobwhites, for instance, relish giant ragweedseeds and poison ivy berries, goldfinchessavor bull thistle seeds, monarch butterfliesrely on milkweeds, chickadees peck outinsect larvae from the swollen stems ofgoldenrod, and meadowlarks and bobolinksnest in the weedy cover.

If you are concerned about taking valuablefield space out of crop production, considerthis: Crops planted within 20 feet or more of

4 Wildlife and Your Land

Feeling a Little Edgy?

A good edge between forest and field has a gradual transition consisting of small trees and shrubs

an abrupt woodland edge often grow poorlybecause adjacent tree roots out-competecrops for moisture. By creating a gradualedge, you can produce good wildlife habitatwithout much crop loss.

Helping Nature Along

Of course, those of you with the time andmoney can also plant this strip with wildlifeshrubs. Good wildlife shrubs includedogwood, highbush cranberry, nannyberry,ninebark, serviceberry, hazelnut, blackcherry, wild plum and crab apples. Theyprovide berries, seeds, fruit, browse andinsects for wildlife. To protect these saplingsfrom hungry deer or rabbits, you may have toplace chicken wire, hardware cloth cages orplastic spiral tree-guards (available at mostnurseries) around the newly-planted treesand shrubs.

You can also create a more gradualtransition between forest and field bygirdling or cutting all the trees within a 30-foot span from the wood’s edge. To girdletrees, completely remove a 3-4 inch strip ofbark completely around the tree, makingcertain to penetrate the first layers of wood.If large enough, the girdled trees mayeventually make good den or nesting trees.

After culling the trees, leave wildlife shrubsand native vines, such as grape, bittersweetand Virginia creeper, that may have clung totrees before removal. To reduce shading ofyour crops, you may also want to cut smalltrees such as hawthorn, black cherry, orironwood that are immediately adjacent toyour cropland. To encourage stumps toresprout into a lush tangle of branches, cutsome of the trees off at ground level. Toprevent regrowth of undesirable trees andshrubs, carefully spot treat cut ends withbrush killer.

You can improve your woodland’s edge evenmore if you thin the trees that stand beyondthe 30-foot harvested border. If you are

conducting a commercial timber sale, alwaysput your wildlife plans in writing beforesigning a contract. Mark those trees youwant preserved for wildlife and relay thisinformation to the logger.

Wildlife and Your Land 5

Maintaining EdgeA Constant Vigil

Like a house that needsconstant maintenance, suchas painting, fixing leakyplumbing or putting on anew roof, creating orenhancing edge habitatalso requires maintenance.Before you decide to takeon such a project, deter-mine if you have the time,money and energy toroutinely maintain it. Ifyou do not manage theedge you’ve created, thenatural flow of successionwill proceed and thehabitat will change. So,occasionally you’ll need tomow or disk woodlandopenings and trails to keepthe forest from taking over,or mow, disk, burn orotherwise treat grasslandsto keep trees and shrubsfrom taking root. Evenponds and wetlands willneed maintenance as theyfill with sediments, marshvegetation and wetlandshrubs over time.

Forest Openings

Small, permanent openings in forestsprovide good sources of food, nesting sitesand escape cover for ruby-throated hum-mingbirds and broad-winged hawks as wellas deer, bears, red foxes, chipmunks andother wildlife of the forest openings. Theflowering annuals, grasses and pioneerseedlings of aspen and birch attractnumerous grasshoppers, crickets, and otherinsects, which provide high-protein food forgrowing ruffed grouse chicks, wild turkeypoults and most songbird chicks.

As always, before you decide what to do onyour land, take a look around you. What’s onyour neighbors’ land? Are the woodlands inyour area relatively small and surrounded bypastures and farm fields? If so, there’s not agreat need to develop new forest openings.Are there plenty of roads, utility rights-of-way, or log landings? These provide goodedge habitat, as well. If your land is sur-rounded by unbroken tracts of forest,consider the impact of opening up thisforest…there will be pros and cons. Seekadvice from your local wildlife manager first.

Characteristics of SmallForest Openings

GY Size: one to three acres

GY Shape: long and narrow, taking on an“s” or a “j” pattern.

GY Width: at least 1-1/2 times the heightof adjacent trees. For example, if treesare 15 feet tall, width should be atleast 22 feet.

GY Orientation: orient in an east to westdirection to allow for maximumsunlight penetration.

GY Location: locate openings near youngevergreen stands, if possible. Ever-greens make valuable wildlife cover.

How to Build a PermanentOpening

After laying out the boundaries of yourforest opening according to the prescriptionsabove, harvest all the trees and shrubswithin this boundary. Build brush piles withthe branches and smaller limbs. Completelyremove stumps and large rocks that wouldslow down a tractor and plow. This willmake future maintenance easier.

Next, prepare the site for seeding by disking,applying lime and fertilizer (if needed), anddisking again. In southern and centralWisconsin, plant native grass seeds, such asbig bluestem, little bluestem, Indian grassand switchgrass. Otherwise, plant agri-cultural varieties such as birdsfoot trefoil,white clover, rye grass, millet, sorghum andbuckwheat. In northern Wisconsin, plantmixtures of white Dutch clover, or alsikeclover and bluegrass. Remember, you willneed to maintain the opening once you’veestablished it. Otherwise, it will revert backinto forest. Be aware that in northernWisconsin, aspen suckers readily grow intofreshly cut openings. When this happens,mow around July 4th to control.

6 Wildlife and Your Land

From the Inside Out

Managing Linear Habitatfor Wildlife

From the air, much of Wisconsin’s land-scape, especially southern Wisconsin, lookslike a patchwork quilt of small woodlots,wetlands, farm fields and grasslands. Whenthese different habitats are isolated fromone another, they have limited value forwildlife. For example, bobwhite quailventure only a short distance from theirmain cover when feeding, loafing or nesting.If their favorite cover types are isolated byplowed fields, they will not likely use all thehabitat that is available on your property.Likewise, a rabbit will probably not use abrushy grassland if getting there involvescrossing your freshly mowed field—thoughthe hawks and owls on your property won’tmind. By creating safe passageways—travellanes—between isolated areas of cover, you

can increase the usefulness of your land towildlife.

Common travel lanes in rural areas includefencerows, field borders and shelterbelts.Pocket habitat and roadsides can alsoprovide valuable cover in farm territory.Large animals, such as deer, will use trails toget around and to browse. All of these linearhabitats are special forms of edge.

Fencerows for Wildlife

You can easily improve existing fencerowsfor wildlife by widening them to increase theamount of cover, and by increasing thediversity of plants growing there.

To improve that fencerow separating yourcrop field from your pasture, considerincreasing its width to about 25 or 50 feet;plant the area on either side of the fence

Wildlife and Your Land 7

The Straight and Narrow

deer, rabbits

mallards, geesebobolinks

frogs, salamanders

warblers

pheasants, cranes, herons

woodpeckers, songbirds

Travel lanes connect two different habitat types, such as awoodland and wetland, or a farm field and a wetland.

with mixed native grasses and wildlife treesand shrubs. To increase diversity along yourfencerow, leave occasional gaps in the treeand shrub plantings, plant vines to grow onthe fence, and build brush piles. In general, arow of large shrubs planted along the fencewith a row of small shrubs next to the largeones turns a plain and open fencerow into asafe travel lane for wildlife. Space yourshrubs at least 3 feet apart along the fence-line, and keep rows 6 to 16 feet apart. Largertrees, such as evergreens, should be spaced10 to 12 feet apart in and between the rows.See the publication So What Should IPlant?: Trees, Shrubs and Vines withWildlife Value in the Wildlife and YourLand series for ideas of what to plant.

Field Borders

You can provide additional feeding, nesting,resting and travel cover for wildlife alongthe borders of your crop fields. Plant theseborders with either native warm-seasongrasses such as big and little bluestem,blue-joint grass, Indian grass and switch-grass, or agricultural cool-season grassesand legumes including timothy, smoothbrome grass, and alfalfa. To maintain thesegrassy borders, mow only between August 1and September 1. This will reduce the lossof wildlife nests, and ensure some fallgrowth of grasses so necessary for earlyspring nesters.

If planting a field border is not practical,simply protect the area from mowing,grazing, or cultivation and allow naturalcover to take hold. If heavy sod conditionspersist in your pastures and hay lands, alight disking and plowing will encouragethis natural process. Birds can help disperseseeds while they are perched on strands ofwire. To get this effect, erect a single strandof wire between posts or trees. Whatevermethod you choose, nature will provide agreat mixture of plants that are common inyour area.Pocket Habitat

Rural areas are dotted with nooks andcrannies that can’t be plowed or utilized inother ways. These areas—fence corners, rockpiles, parcels isolated by streams, ditchesand roads—make good wildlife habitat. Thebest part is, you don’t have to do anything tomaintain them—just leave them alone. Ifyou want to create more pocket habitat inlivestock pastures, consider running a fencediagonally between the corners of your fields,100 to 150 feet from each corner post. Thiswill create a triangular enclosure in whichshrubs, grasses and other cover can growundisturbed.

Abandoned barns, farm homesteads andoutbuildings also provide excellent habitatfor wildlife. Barn owls are perhaps the bestknown inhabitants, although they are moretypical in states to the south and onlyoccasionally occur in southern Wisconsin.Barn swallows, however, are commoninhabitants of old barns. Look for their mudnests in the rafters. By day, native bats seekshelter in cracks and crevices of the boardand batten, but by night they are outfeasting on mosquitoes and other nocturnalinsects. Old deposits of manure from bygonedays encourage a thick tangle of rank weeds

8 Wildlife and Your Land

Travel lanes, such as this fencerow, providewinter cover, nest sites and protection frombirds of prey.

where you will often findrabbits, pheasants, bob-whites, wild turkeys, andsongbirds. Carefully checkaround foundations forevidence of chipmunks,woodchucks, badgers, foxes,skunks and raccoons.

Barns and other agri-cultural buildings are avaluable part of our richAmerican heritage, andconsidering their wildlifevalue, please think twicebefore razing these build-ings in an effort to “tidy”up your property.

Wildlife and Your Land 9

Managing Linear Habitats— Some Handy Tips

GY Promote the natural growth ofgrasses, flowering plants, shrubsand trees.

GY Plant grasses, shrubs and trees inthese areas for wildlife.

GY Use herbicides with care and only inspot treatments.

GY Mow grassy areas every one to threeyears, between August 1 andSeptember 1, to reduce loss of nestsand yet still provide cover for earlyspring nesters.

GY Erect nest boxes. See Getting theHelp You Need in this Wildlife andYour Land Series for references onhow to build nest boxes.

The UndesirablesNo matter what kind of edge you have,you may have to replace dead trees andshrubs or remove undesirables such asbox elder, prickly ash, and non-nativehoneysuckles and buckthorns. Cut thesewoody plants and carefully spot treatwith brush killer or other appropriateherbicide; otherwise these aliens willcontinue to sprout and grow. Girdling isa good way to deal with box elderbecause the tree provides nesting,roosting and feeding areasfor many songbirds.

Abandoned farm buildings canprovide habitat for wildlife.

Roadside Grasslands

Grass is grass, no matter where it is—evenif it’s located along roadsides. Roadsidegrasslands can make a substantial dif-ference in wildlife production, especially inareas where roadsides contain most of theremaining acres of permanent nestingcover.

Minnesota has found that bird nest den-sities were three times higher on unmowedroadsides than on mowed roadsides. Min-nesota DNR projects that an additionalone million pheasants could be produced onthe 500,000 acres of roadsides in thepheasant range if roadside managementwere improved. In Wisconsin, we also couldadd 500,000 acres of roadside habitat andincrease the number of grassland bird nestsby more than 600,000 each year!

Tracks to Trails

If you own a woodland, you, as mostwoodland owners in Wisconsin, want toenjoy it and its wild inhabitants. A systemof trails can be one of the most worthwhileinvestments you can make. Trails makefuture tree removal easier, and also allowaccess for wildlife viewing and photography,hunting, gathering mushrooms, berries ornuts, hiking to view spring wildflowers orfall colors, and cross-country skiing. Inaddition, if developed correctly, trails canprovide great habitat for wildlife. Not onlydo trails provide excellent sources of food,but many mammals, including deer, usetrails as travel routes. Developing a trailinvolves clearing, seeding and maintainingthe trail.

GY Clearing the Trail

To encourage a flourish of tender,nutritious growth that wildlife love to eat,remove most woody vegetation within 10feet of both sides of the trail. Then removeabout half of the trees on both sides of the

trail extending 25-30 feet into the forest.Doing so, you will create a gradualtransition of vegetation fromgrass/legumes to seedling/sapling to openforest to forest.

GY Seeding the Trail

Seed your trails to prevent erosion, keeptrees and shrubs from taking over tooquickly, and provide wildlife with nu-tritious food. Clover is a preferred food ofwildlife and grows well across Wisconsin.

10 Wildlife and Your Land

Grassland birds use undisturbed grasslandsfrom spring to late summer and requirenesting cover left over from the previousgrowing season. By simply waiting to mowuntil after August 1, when most birds havecompleted nesting, you can help themsuccessfully hatch their clutches and rearyoung. Don’t cut after September 1 becausegrasses cannot grow tall enough before winterto provide next spring’s cover needed by earlynesters. Set your mower’s blade height to 10inches to help preserve next year’s cover. Inmost counties, you will need to ask your townor county road crew to bypass the roadsideadjacent to your property.

Bobolink

Mow after August 1

For a quick and lasting cover, rototilland disk the area, then seed your trailswith a mixture of 10 pounds whiteDutch clover, 5 pounds perennial rye,10 pounds annual rye and 15 poundscreeping red fescue for each acre of trail.A 12-foot trail, one mile long, is approx-imately 1.5 acres. If your trail windsthrough a wet site, use alsike cloverinstead of white Dutch clover. A goodstand of clover makes excellent habitatfor a wide variety of insects—importantfood for growing young birds.

GY Maintaining the Trail

After establishing your wildlife trails,mow the grassy areas every 1 to 3 yearsto maintain them. Mowing during thefirst growing year boosts the clover andhelps establish a good root system,necessary to out-compete weeds andnon-native grasses. Cut trees in theouter areas closest to the forest borderevery 12 to 15 years.

If managed well, your woodland edge,openings, trails and linear habitat canbecome more valuable as a source ofwildlife food and cover. This means morewildlife viewing and other recreationopportunities on your land. For ideas aboutwhat trees and shrubs to plant, see thepublication So What Should I Plant?:Trees, Shrubs and Vines with WildlifeValue in the Wildlife and Your Landseries.

This publication has given you an idea ofsome simple edge enhancement projectsyou can undertake on your land. If youwould like to get even more involved indeveloping edge habitats, considerplanting a shelterbelt, hedgerow or foodplot for wildlife. For details, see GimmeShelter: Windbreaks and Food Plotsfor Wildlife in this Wildlife and YourLand Series.

Wildlife and Your Land 11

Wildlife and Your Land Staff: Mary K. Judd, Project Director;Diane Schwartz, Project Assistant; Todd Peterson, Agriculturaland Rural Land Use Specialist. Graphics and layout, KandisElliot. Funding for this project was provided in part through theFederal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act and through the NaturalResources Foundation of Wisconsin, Inc., P.O. Box 129, Madison,WI, 53701. Published by the Bureau of Wildlife Management,Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 7921,Madison, WI, 53707.

Federal Aid Projectfunded by your purchase of

hunting equipmentPUBL-WM-226