Question...

[MikeyB]

I noticed 3 rivers cut a bunch of large trees down, Oak Wilt? Also what are those wooden poles with the black solar panel looking thing mounted to the top? It has a look of a solar panel but it isn't.

[Disaster on Wheels]

I was wondering the same thing- that one oak they cut was huge. I always see those signs that tell you not to enter because of oak wilt.

I was thinking that thing on the post might be a sign from the XC ski trails??? never made it out there this year so I am not sure.

[ryno lite]

Don't know what the solar panel thing is, but yes the large trees being cut down was due to Oak Wilt.

[MikeyB]

Too bad about the Oak Wilt because those were some huge trees. Really changed the look of the trail in some spots. I'm assuming they destroy those trees since it's a fungal disease?

[Mike P]

Those poles with the black boxes on them are bat houses that the Eagle Scouts put up last fall. I think they put up 15 in the park.

[KleinCrazy]

Those poles with the black boxes on them are bat houses that the Eagle Scouts put up last fall. I think they put up 15 in the park.


Sweet! All natural Mosquito control!!! I hope they put a bunch of those around the parking lot.

[berrywise]

Piggy backing onto this question. What kind of animal (I'm assuming this isn't done by humans) is eating all the bark off a lot of the tree out there? A lot of the three inch sized trees are all stripped of their bark about two feet to the ground. I mean completely stripped. I would imagine these trees will die because of this?

Any ideas?

[Nordicguy]

We had a woodchuck at my cabin that was doing this to many of our trees. I never saw it but that's what my Dad said it was.:crazy:

[Nutmeg]

I thought deer ate bark in the winter, but I could be wrong . ..

[Nordicguy]

I thought deer ate bark in the winter, but I could be wrong . ..

Yeah I guess I should clarify this was an animal that was eating bark off the trees at ground level and then also well above ground level where the deer could not have reached. If it's just around ground level then you are probably right, I didn't think about the deer.:)

[dave t]

I always thought that was a rabbit problem. Either way, rabbits, deer or woodchucks, I think you're right that the trees are probably done for.

[berrywise]

I always thought that was a rabbit problem. Either way, rabbits, deer or woodchucks, I think you're right that the trees are probably done for.

Yeah I didn't note which mile marker it was near but there are a lot of trees that are stripped clean. Might change the personality some of that area of trail.

[ryno lite]

Yeah I didn't note which mile marker it was near but there are a lot of trees that are stripped clean. Might change the personality some of that area of trail.

Yep, out in the SW corner of the park in the prairie/small forest area. Some critter was hungry last winter and killed off a ton of small trees.

I'll ask Three Rivers.

[Grass Rider]

I do not know if this is relative to this discussion but i found it interesting.
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/91775579.html?elr=KArksUUUycaEacyU

[Nordicguy]

That is a sad deal. Between all of the bug infestations and invasive species like buckthorn I'm worried about what our forests will look like in 20-30 years.:embarass:

[guvenah]

Yeah I didn't note which mile marker it was near but there are a lot of trees that are stripped clean. Might change the personality some of that area of trail.

I saw this after the log skinny. Maybe marker 82-83 area before you get to the left hand turn at the large rock.

[ryno lite]

I got this reply on the tree bark question from Charlie Evenson at Three Rivers:


The damage you see is probably caused by meadow voles, a small rodent that feeds on the cambium of trees. When their populations are heavy, they can do a lot of damage. Good snow cover like we had this year favors them because they can tunnel from tree to tree without being exposed to their main predators, hawks and owls. Many of the trees they girdled will leaf out as normal this spring because they can still move water and stored carbohydrate reserves up from the roots through the woody xylem tissue. The trees will likely die part way through the season however because the phloem tissue just beneath the bark has been severed and sugars produced by the leaves through photosynthesis can't move back down to the roots. When the carbohydrate reserves in the roots are used up, the tree's a goner. The plastic tree shelters you can still see out there were from an oak planting that was done about 15 years ago however most of the trees in that area are volunteers. Fortunately, heavy damage from meadow voles only occurs occasionally.

[bigwheel]

Sounds like it's time to host the Murphy Biathlon. Mountain biking and varmint shooting.

The event will be recorded via the poacher cams, er, I mean "bat houses" :eyeroll:

[Drexler]

Sounds like it's time to host the Murphy Biathlon. Mountain biking and varmint shooting.

The event will be recorded via the poacher cams, er, I mean "bat houses" :eyeroll:

Now I understand why one of the requirements to be an Eagle Scout included wiring experience :crazy2:.