Ask Maine Audubon: That downed tree could be a backyard bonanza for wildlife
Your wildlife questions are answered by Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox.
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We had a big tree come down during one of the early winter storms. Is it disruptive or harmful for wildlife to leave a downed tree, and should we have it removed? Or is it better for our backyard plants and animals to just leave it there?
– Blake, Cape Elizabeth
Photo courtesy of Maine Audubon
This is a great question because much like our social conditioning to having perfectly mowed lawns, addressed in my Nov. 29 column, many people have a preconceived idea that the forest floor is a bare place. The best way to think of this is that the early winter storm was a natural event (the increased frequency and severity of storms that we’ll see due to climate change is a topic for another column) and the toppling of this tree was nature’s way of changing the forest.