dgibson
New member
I share a small patch of woods with one of my neighbors...it's not very big, maybe the size of a 4-car garage. It's got a good patch of honeysuckle growing in one corner, and various other minor undergrowth that you would typically see in a small woodlot. Not a big nasty weedy mess, by any means; just natural growth. I had always pretty much ignored my half of it and let it do its own thing.
Well, I found my new neighbors neck deep in it, clearing out the underbrush and obviously attempting to make it look like a park. I'm not terribly worried about it because of its small size, but I WAS worried about the fact that they just decided to help themselves to my property.
But, I wanted to be the good neighbor and tried to be civil.
So, I ambled over and asked them what's up. They told me they were clearing out the brush and making it "more accessible." I asked them what THAT meant (are we installing a wheelchair ramp?). They then proceeded to tell me all about how the "thick undergrowth" (i.e., the dinky honeysuckle patch) represented a "barrier to wildlife" and prevented them from using the "wooded space." Even rabbits, they said, couldn't get in because of the density of the brush. So, they were "cleaning out the trash" and opening up the "space" so that rabbits, deer, and other animals could "enter easily," thereby attracting more of them to the property. They suggested I should follow their lead and do this on the rest of my property, fencelines, etc. I asked to make sure I understood...you mean clear out all of the undergrowth, and leave nothing but grass and trees? Yes! That's the idea! I'm not a biologist and I'm certainly no expert, but that smacked of Bambi to me.
I asked if they'd ever heard of things like edge habitat or browse, and where they had gotten their information. They replied no, no, and something along the lines of "it just seems logical." |oo It became apparent that they were...um...a little confused, so I went to the house and looked up the number of the local wildlife biologist. I gave it to them, told them to ring him and tell him their thoughts, and then asked them to stay on their own property from this point forward.
Wasn't that terribly diplomatic of me? I just don't understand where some of this stuff comes from.
Well, I found my new neighbors neck deep in it, clearing out the underbrush and obviously attempting to make it look like a park. I'm not terribly worried about it because of its small size, but I WAS worried about the fact that they just decided to help themselves to my property.
But, I wanted to be the good neighbor and tried to be civil.So, I ambled over and asked them what's up. They told me they were clearing out the brush and making it "more accessible." I asked them what THAT meant (are we installing a wheelchair ramp?). They then proceeded to tell me all about how the "thick undergrowth" (i.e., the dinky honeysuckle patch) represented a "barrier to wildlife" and prevented them from using the "wooded space." Even rabbits, they said, couldn't get in because of the density of the brush. So, they were "cleaning out the trash" and opening up the "space" so that rabbits, deer, and other animals could "enter easily," thereby attracting more of them to the property. They suggested I should follow their lead and do this on the rest of my property, fencelines, etc. I asked to make sure I understood...you mean clear out all of the undergrowth, and leave nothing but grass and trees? Yes! That's the idea!
I'm not a biologist and I'm certainly no expert, but that smacked of Bambi to me. I asked if they'd ever heard of things like edge habitat or browse, and where they had gotten their information. They replied no, no, and something along the lines of "it just seems logical." |oo It became apparent that they were...um...a little confused, so I went to the house and looked up the number of the local wildlife biologist. I gave it to them, told them to ring him and tell him their thoughts, and then asked them to stay on their own property from this point forward.
Wasn't that terribly diplomatic of me?
I just don't understand where some of this stuff comes from. 
