Trapping Program

I was reading a very good set of books to my son David this summer. The first was about a young man who goes off in the wilderness to be a trapper. That made me think of my boyhood adventures trapping, and so motivated, decided that I would again do a bit of trapping this year (with David) and try to promote the sport to others.

Thus, the worth county conservation board will be holding a trapping clinic for interested youth this fall. I have a couple volunteers that go trapping each fall to help me out.

The current plan is to go out on Saturday afternoon and learn to make some sets, then Sunday afternoon to check them.

It difficult to gauge how many people might be interested in such program so I am asking for advance sign ups.

My plan is for attendees to split up into groups to accompany a trapper. The trapper will teach each smaller group how to make their particular sets. The next day we will then check the sets, and return to the office with our catch. Then we will learn how to skin the catch. I would like to have the participants then send in their catch to a tannery so that they get a tanned skin back for their own.

I’m opening the program to people age 9 and up. There will be no fee for the program, but if you wish to take away a pelt for tanning, you will be responsible for the tanning cost (likely $15-30 depending upon species and size). You do not have to keep a pelt.

Please call our office at 641-390-0878 to sign up or for more information. Tentative dates are November 7th and 8th.

Timber Management

Our yearly work on improving the timber at Ochee Yahola has been started as of this writing. It will be a bit more visible this year as we decided to work on an area right in the front of the park as you drive in.

We cleared the buckthorn with a skid loader from approximately 2 acres of the woods. The buckthorn has been pushed up into piles in and around the area. The buckthorn in this area was particularly thick! In my entire clearing operation, I saw no little bur oaks growing that had been able to penetrate the canopy and ground cover the buckthorn had grown into.

It has been reported here that we are in an ongoing operation to improve the forest communities in our county parks and wildlife areas. Oak being the primary species we want to manage for as it is extremely valuable to wildlife. Oak also unfortunately will not regenerate in mature stands of woods as it is intolerant of growing in the shade. Thus, in many of our county areas, the large oak trees are at full maturity (or past it) and with the buckthorn and other trees growing will not regenerate and thus the woods quality is on a slow and sure decline at the over mature oak trees slowly die off.

This is the 4th plot of ground that we have been working on at Ochee yahola. The first area was clear cut and then brush bulldozed and tree seeds planted. To date it looks pretty thick with a ground coverer of many plant types (lots with thorns or stickers) but the oak trees are doing well and should poke out above the weeds in the next year or so. The other two areas are being managed as a shelter wood where the understory of buckthorn was removed first, the tree seeds planted, and later, we will go in and harvest the mature oak timber. This is going very well. In those areas, the seedings worked very well and a almost thick layer of small oak trees is forming in the forest. So, it will look a bit different if you drive into Ochee Yahola in the near future, but rest assured, the woods is being well treated as we promote a new generation of oak trees.