Biologists at Cookson Wildlife Management Area have been working with contractors to open the canopy on Beaver Mountain and increase the amount of grasses and flowering plants growing beneath the remaining trees. Two tracked skid steers with mulching attachments have been working in the area since October and have focused on removing trees less than eight inches in diameter on approximately 150 acres. This work will not only improve habitat for the area’s wildlife but will also allow biologists to more effectively use prescribed fire to maintain the newly opened woodland.
Mulching and tree removal is done during the winter months to avoid impacting nesting wildlife like birds and to avoid impacting bats, which do not hibernate in the cavities of small trees.
This project was funded by the federal Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program.
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