{"id":45119,"date":"2017-02-27T08:57:10","date_gmt":"2017-02-27T13:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=45119"},"modified":"2024-08-12T10:23:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T14:23:42","slug":"the-value-of-a-snag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/the-value-of-a-snag\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value Of A Snag"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It might look spooky: a silhouetted, leafless, shadowy form that punctuates an otherwise pastoral scene. For many properties, especially in suburbia, a dead tree is an anomaly. Municipalities are generally quick to remove a dead tree, aka a snag, to remove any risk of damage to life or property. However, we are risking the lives and homes of wild animals\u00a0by removing this valuable habitat.<\/p>\n<h2>A Home To Many<\/h2>\n<p>Beetles are one of the first creatures to make themselves at home in a dead snag. They lay eggs and their larvae hatch out and burrow channels as they eat their way through the softer part of the wood just under the bark. This, along with the help of bacteria and fungi, loosens the bark.<\/p>\n<p>Next comes an interested bird who likes to eat the larvae, typically a woodpecker, leading\u00a0to a whole new community that moves in. The burrows hollowed out by pileated woodpeckers serve a variety of wildlife, for a variety of purposes.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Perching:<\/strong> Birds of prey, such as hawks and owls, get a bird\u2019s eye view of the rodents they hunt.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drumming:<\/strong>\u00a0Hollow wood makes the a great resonating chamber for woodpeckers to hammer out their territorial statements as they stake their claim.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Roosting:<\/strong>\u00a0Bats and some songbirds use slits in the wood to rest in safety.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nesting:<\/strong>\u00a0Titmice, flycatchers, owls, chickadees, wood ducks and squirrels nest in cavities that woodpeckers carve out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Dying\u00a0With Dignity<\/h2>\n<p>Whether a stump is left behind after a tree is cut down or a ball of roots is upturned when a tree falls naturally, much life is also supported by the underground matrix. More than 80 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians depend on dead or dying trees in one way or another. Far better than a man-made birdhouse, nature has been designing the housing projects (and food and social spaces) for the tiniest of insects to the largest of mammals for eons.<\/p>\n<p>If the standing snag is not a danger to anyone, and if you can allow nature to run its course, you can witness an entire ecosystem of life supported by a decaying giant. While we may want to quickly chip up the trunks, branches, and twigs to make a nice mulch, organisms are slowly working their way through the woody cells and decomposing it at nature\u2019s pace. The result will be fertile and rich organic material that has supported a diversity of life while gracing the landscape with its unique shape.<\/p>\n<p>For an extra incentive, check with your local Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) office to see if they have a program to support creation and retention of snags, den trees and coarse woody debris for wildlife habitat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before you cut down and haul out a dead tree, consider the benefits of leaving it in place\u2014a standing snag can be a valuable component of a wildlife-friendly farm. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":45163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[427],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.0 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Value Of A Snag - Hobby Farms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Uncover the ecological benefits of snags, dead or dying trees, in your landscape. Learn how snags support wildlife and enhance biodiversity on your farm.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/the-value-of-a-snag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Value Of A Snag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Uncover the ecological benefits of snags, dead or dying trees, in your landscape. 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