WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST?
We were pruning apple trees today during April’s “snow-showers” and noticed how beat up some of the trees were from last summer/fall’s black bears. Scratchings, bent branches, and hair riddled the trees. Bears often sit in one spot where apples are and bend the branches toward their faces. If you see a nest of bent/broken branches towards the inside of the tree, it’s probably from bears. I told the CFA member about the damage. He instantly shot me back a photo of the culprit he saw in his trees last year, caught red-handed. This member’s property is above 2,000 feet in elevation. Most of the higher elevations escaped last year’s frost damage since their flowers weren’t open during May’s damaging cold.
May the Forest Be with You,
Ryan Trapani
Director of Forest Services
Catskill Forest Association