What moose do to red maple

[sprucebunny]

Red (soft) maple isn't a very valuable species . When I stand in a sort of open area and one third of the trees have new nibbled patches (usually on top of the old nibbled patches), I really wonder where all the animals go when a large area is clearcut.

[Tom]

We don't have moose here but, not to worry, wildlife is more diverse in their survival than we, as pet keepers, would believe.  Moose, according to an article I just read, range 5 to 10 miles in swampy areas, eating browse and water plants.  I imagine that they have plenty to eat that is not attractive to the wood industry.

Many small animals, including deer, rabbit and quail, are "edge animals".  A small clearcut will actually provide them with a place to live. New sprouts are plentiful and tasty and they have places to hide from predators.

Unless the land is paved over by Urban Development, I think that they probably look on logging much the same as we would a sign in the corner grocery that says "please excuse our mess, remodeling".

There are some animals that love for the woods to open up.  Owls, hawks, eagles, etc., can hunt mice a lot easier when the canopy is thinned.  'Course mice have lots of places to hide after a harvest too.  

[beenthere]

I agree Tom. I think 'clearcuts' are much better for the wildlife than 'older' more mature woods. Then they have new green browse, and don't have to nibble on the old bark. In most cuts, the new growth is much more palatable, and sought out vs the old. I suspect a bit like eating asparagus -  :

If looking for deer, then they are not in the deep forest, but are along the edges and brush areas. We used to knock down areas of popple for new browse, until the paper company came in and clear cut several hundred of their acres next 'door',  The deer population jumped up quickly.

I finally am getting my oak seedlings up enough to be out of reach of the deer, after thinking the first two years they would never get higher than 2'. The deer went down the rows like they were at a smorgasbord table. Now they still concentrate on the white ash, keeping them about leaf-free, as well as keeping some white pine down to a foot high after 7 years. The Norway spruce has grown as much as 20' in the meantime.

[SwampDonkey]

These clearcuts are a utopia as I'm seen on my woodlot alone. The paths and tracks are everywhere in the young growth. As long as the moose have some mature softwood or mixed growth nearby they are happy. They can tread alot more snow than deer. In BC, where I once worked the moose congregated in the valleys where the hardwood where. Most the hardwood where poplar, white birch, willow and shrubs and the snow was not as deep in the low valleys, but tended to be cooler because of 'cold air ponding'. The valleys where also hard to regenerate to softwood after clearcutting, with many failed attempts to control the vegetation, but the moose thrived. Also in summer they hung out in avalanche tracts what had alder, shrubs and hardwood invading the sites. They were mostly pioneer tree and shrub species saught by the moose.

On my woodlot, the moose will move out and into the cedar/softwood and mixed growth when weather is colder and snow is deeper. Less snow to tread in the deep of winter in softwood ground because the canopy intercepts the snow. But, its most saught for thermal cover. Moose love water and wet holes, kinda like northern alligators I suppose, only they're not after flesh. Their fighten flies and feedin on fresh veggies. :D

I agree with sprucebunny as to the quality of red maple. Its mostly pulp or lower grades of sawlogs. In our area it has large heart because its mainly from fire origin and stump sprouts. But occassionally you can find some nice curly or tiger striped maple which can fetch a good dollar. Curly is quite common in red maple, although most have curl in the first four feet, then it runs out further up the tree. In old growth I've often found some odd figure in the bark which looks scaly with concentric rings. Its neet to see, but I think of little market value. I'de like to get some close up pictures of this with my 10x closeup lense.