WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST?
Recently at CFA we have been “releasing” or cutting around this tree–shagbark hickory–a lot. Many of the trees cut are red and sugar maple trees. Shagbark hickory apparently not only gives edible hickory nuts for wildlife but also its “shaggy” bark is important for bats seeking summer roosting areas on their way to winter hibernaculum. For this reason, shagbark hickory is being targeted during such wildlife cuts as a “keeper.”
Ryan Trapani
Director of Forest Services
Catskill Forest Association