Timber rattler threatened in Tennessee

Timber rattler habitat decreasing

I read an article about a timber rattler found on a Murfreesboro, TN, elementary school campus. Unfortunately, the school superintendent killed it, rather than calling an animal control service that might have been able to remove and relocate it without injury.

Timber rattlesnakes are considered threatened in Tennessee. In fact, it is illegal in Tennessee to kill, harm, or possess any native wild snake without a permit. The school superintendent was out of line, despite the circumstances.

Murfreesboro, TN, is a city of about 100,000 people that is located 35 miles southeast of Nashille. It is right in the middle of timber rattler country. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation describes the areas of the U.S. where timber rattlers have historically been found:

The range of the timber rattler extends from southern New Hampshire south through the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and west to southwestern Wisconsin and northeastern Texas. Populations were once found on Long Island and in most mountainous and hilly areas of New York State, except in the higher elevations of the Adirondacks, Catskills and Tug Hill region. They are now found in isolated populations in southeastern New York, the Southern Tier and in the peripheral eastern Adirondacks. (Source)

The rattler in Murfreesboro was probably hunting. It was spotted late in the evening by walkers. A place with bits of food litter on the ground is a good place to hunt for rodents. During the warmer months of the year, timber rattlesnakes return regularly to favorite hunting spots within a 2 to 3 mile area of their winter den. The snake may have hunted on the school property many times.

The common name of the timber rattler derives from their attraction to rugged, timbered areas. Their winter dens are usually in an area where rock outcroppings, rock ledges, or loose rocks create sheltered nooks below the frost line.

Timber rattlers like a sunny, rocky knob near their den, where they can lie in the sun and warm up in the early spring. The rocks provide emergency shelter in case of a change in the weather or a predator, while the snakes are still not moving at full speed. Pregnant females bask on warm sunny rocks for much of the summer as their babies develop.

Despite their common name, timber rattlesnakes are not particularly good at climbing trees; their heavy bodies don't lend themselves to shinnying up tree trunks. It's rare to see one high in a tree. However, they are considered one of the better climbers of the rattlesnake family.

In the woods, timber rattlers often hunt around fruit trees or mast trees (oaks, hickories, beech) because the fruit and nuts attract rodents. Squirrels are said to be an important part of their diet. They also hunt in newly-mowed meadows or recently-harvested fields, when such areas are within their range. There, they feast on voles, moles, gophers, mice, and rats.

Timber rattlers are usually not aggressive. They prefer to rattle rather than fight.The vast majority of bites from timber rattlers occur when people attempt to handle them. The bites are rarely fatal, though they are very painful. Some members of the Appalachian snake handling churches have reportedly been bitten dozens of times by timber rattlers. Deaths are typically because victims do not seek medical attention promptly.

Murfreesboro is currently the fastest growing city in Tennessee and one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. It added about 20,000 residents in a recent five-year period, according to statistics in Wikipedia.

As Murfreesboro and Nashville sprawl toward each other, development is taking up more and more timber rattler habitat. A Murfreesboro realtor writes, "But even with the growing demand, the Nashville area is still a reasonable market. Rolling hills covered with bright, green foliage makes the Middle Tennessee area a perfect place for families and business." That's bad news for timber rattlers.

On the web:
Timber rattlesnake conservation study at Cumberland University -- You-Tube video -- Professor Danny Bryan implants a radio device to track movement of a medium-size, male timber rattler for up to two years.

The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus): How to tell if you actually saw one!

Public domain timber rattler photo from Wikipedia by TimVickers. Note the large scales on the body, small scales on the head above the eyes, elliptical (oval) pupils of the eye, triangular shape of the head, and comparatively small neck.

Dust to Dust, Ashes to Ashes

An old oak tree approaches its end

Yesterday, I was sorry to see severe damage to an old oak tree that I like. We had months of extreme drought this summer, and then a windstorm or two when we finally got a few showers.

Besides the large broken branch that left a gaping wound, it looks like some of its other branches have dried out and died back. It will probably still cling to life for a while, but the decline is irreversible.

The broken branch isn't very obvious from the highway, so I didn't notice it until I turned on the side road and drove by the tree yesterday. It was a shock to see.

I've been watching this tree for 15 years. Most of its top has been dead for several years. I think that was caused by a lightning strike. Every spring, I wonder if it will leaf out again.

I think this oak is probably over 200 years old. It has watched the traffic on the "Russellville Road" in Christian County, Kentucky, for a long, long time. I'm glad I've had the chance to enjoy and appreciate it.

Technorati tags: old tree, life cycles

Sad when the trees lose their leaves?

Autumn is part of a natural cycle.

I am usually so tired of hot weather by the end of summer that I am truly thankful for autumn when it finally arrives. Some people don't agree. They love the long sun-filled days of summer, and they are sad when the days grow cooler and shorter and the trees lose their leaves.

Feelings of sadness as autumn progresses can be caused by our bodies. As the hours of natural light decrease, we produce more melatonin, a hormone that can produce feelings of depression and generally slow a body down. If you think you suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), talk to your doctor, and try to spend more time in the sunshine or full spectrum light.

On the other hand, some who claim to be sad about autumn haven't given much thought to the life cycles and rhythms God has built into our wonderful world. The following wisdom about the change of seasons is still as true today as when it was written, nearly 150 years ago:

Some persons occasionally complain that this period of the year, this brilliant change in the foliage, causes melancholy feelings, arousing sad and sorrowful ideas, like the flush on the hectic cheek.

But surely its more natural meaning is of a very different import. Here is no sudden blight of youth and beauty; no sweet hopes of life are blasted, no generous aim at usefulness and advancing virtue cut short : the year is drawing to its natural term, the seasons have run their usual course, all their blessings have been enjoyed, all our precious things are cared for; there is nothing of untimeliness, nothing of disappointment in these shorter days and lessening heats of autumn.

As well may we mourn over the gorgeous coloring of the clouds, which collect to pay homage to the setting sun, because they proclaim the close of day; as well may we lament the brilliancy of the evening star, and the silvery brightness of the crescent moon, just ascending into the heavens, because they declare the Approach of Night and her shadowy train.

Source: A First Class Reader: Consisting of Extracts, in Prose and Verse, edited by G.S. Hillard. Published in 1861 in Boston by Swan, Brewer, and Tileston. This passage is from the chapter, Autumn, written by "Miss Cooper, a daughter of the celebrated novelist."

Technorati tags: SAD, seasonal affective disorder, change of seasons, trees losing leaves, natural life cycles, rhythms of nature

Passenger Pigeons in Kentucky's Oak Forests

All the forces of nature cannot bring back extinct species

An excerpt from an old book:

... As civilisation advances upon the forest, the wild species retreat; when the forest falls, the wild species are gone. Every human generation during these centuries has a last look at many things in Nature. No one will ever see them again: Nature can never find what she has once lost: if it is gone,it is gone forever.

What Wilson records he saw of bird life in Kentucky a hundred years ago reads to us now as fables of the marvellous, of the incredible. Were he the sole witness, some of us might think him to be a lying witness. Let me tell you that I in my boyhood—half a century later than Wilson's visit to Kentucky —beheld things that you will hardly believe.

The vast oak forest of Kentucky was what attracted the passenger pigeon. In the autumn when acorns were ripe but not yet fallen, the pigeons filled the trees at times and places, eating them from the cups. Walking quietly some sunny afternoon through the bluegrass pastures, you might approach an oak and see nothing but the tree itself, thick boughs with the afternoon sunlight sparkling on the leaves along one side. As you drew nearer, all at once, as if some violent explosion had taken place within the tree, a blue smoke-like cloud burst out all around the tree-top — the simultaneous explosive flight of the frightened pigeons.

Or all night long there might be wind and rain and the swishing of boughs and the tapping of loosened leaves against the window panes; and when you stepped out of doors next morning, it had suddenly become clear and cold. Walking out into the open and looking up at the clear sky you might see this: an arch of pigeons breast by breast, wing-tip to wing-tip, high up in the air as the wild geese fly, slowly moving southward. You could not see the end of the arch on one horizon or the other: the whole firmament was spanned by that mighty arch of pigeons flying south from the sudden cold. Not all the forces in Nature can ever restore that morning sunlit arch of pigeons flying south...

Quoted from The Kentucky Warbler (p. 148-150) by James Lane Allen, published in 1918 by Doubleday, New York.

Technorati tags: passenger pigeons, oak forests, extinct species, extinct birds, Kentucky forests

Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Areas at Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky

Restoring a lost ecosystem

Land Between the Lakes (LBL) is a long narrow strip of land that lies between Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake in western Kentucky. This inland peninsula was formerly owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). In 1998, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) took over ownership, and LBL is now a National Recreation Area operated by the U.S. Forest Service.

Boating, fishing, camping, and hunting (in season) brings many visitors to LBL. LBL also has an elk and bison reserve, a telescope and a planetarium, an 1860's farm ("The Homeplace"), a nature center, historic sites, and more. There is a significant bald eagle population.

Oak-grasslands restoration planned

Two Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Area (OGRDA), are now being planned and developed. Over 8000 acres will be restored. One area will be located in Tennessee near The Homeplace and the other area will be in Kentucky near the elk and bison range.

When restoration is complete, the oak-grasslands will "create habitat for wildlife, improve forest health, and provide recreational and environmental education opportunities." This promise is quoted from an informational pamphlet published by the USDA Forest Service: Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Areas, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

The open forests of the past

Today, the upland area included in Land Between The Lakes is mainly a dense, solid-canopied forest. It was not always so. According to old writings and other ecological evidence, the forest was much more open at the time Europeans came to the area. The canopy admitted enough sunlight that a wide variety of grasses and wildflowers covered the ground between and beneath the trees. Areas of open forest were interspersed with grasslands.

Fire was the primary agent that kept the forests open. The American Indians and early settlers deliberately burned the woods on a semi-regular basis.

How the oak-grasslands will be restored

In OGRDA, LBL will re-create the following pre-European conditions:

On upper slopes and ridges across the area, grasslands (less than 10 percent canopy closure) and open oak woodlands (10-60 percent canopy closure) are interspersed in variable mixtures. Understories are dominated by native grasses and wildflowers. Most mid- and lower-slopes support open oak forests (60-80 percent canopy closure), with understories containing regenerated oaks in sufficient numbers to provide for sustaining oak on these sites over time.

Source: PDF document: Abstract for an oral presentation, Tennessee Native Grasslands Workshop, January 24, 2007

First, the trees will be thinned to re-create an open woodland where grasses can flourish. Timber will be harvested with the goal of leaving behind scattered trees of various ages, especially oak and hickory trees. Some trees will be cut and left, to simulate the natural treefall that would occur in a oak-grassland.

Foresters will burn the oak-grassland areas on a regular schedule (every 2 to 12 years) to maintain the balance of trees, grasses, and other plants.

Benefits to plants, animals, and people

As the restoration procedes, it will help up to 40 species of native plants and animals that require a grasslands habitat.

These open conditions will benefit rare of declining species such as Barbed Rattlesnake Root, Barn Owl, Prairie Warbler, Northern Pine Snake and Northern Bobwhite Quail. Other species that will benefit include White-tail Deer, Fox Squirrel, and Wild Turkey.

Source: An informational pamphlet published by the USDA Forest Service: Oak-Grassland Restoration Demonstration Areas, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

It would be nice if a population of prairie chickens could be re-established in the OGRDA.

The White-tail Deer in LBL don't need any help, in my humble opinion. The area is overrun with them. At one campground where we spent several days, young deer lurked in the woods near the campsites, apparently hoping to find food. At night, big herds of deer milled around the picnic tables and restroom facilities beside the lake.

Hiking, birding, and interpretive trails through the oak-grasslands have been promised. The trails will be an excellent educational and recreational resource.

Partners of the Oak Grasslands Restoration Demonstration Area

The following agencies and organizations are working together on the LBL oak-grasslands restoration project:

• USDA Forest Service
• National Wild Turkey Federation
• The Nature Conservancy
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Quail Unlimited
• U.S. Fire Learning Network
• The Central Hardwoods Joint Venture

Read more about LBL and the oak-grasslands restoration

Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (official website)
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (Wikipedia entry)
PDF document: A 2006 informational letter about the proposed oak-grasslands project in LBL

Technorati tags: oak-grasslands, Land Between The Lakes, LBL, ecosystem restoration, native grasslands, Tennessee grasslands, Kentucky grasslands

The Forest Floor in Late Winter

Moss, fungi, lichens, and an alien invader

Here's a look at some of the life that's thriving in the woods in mid-February, despite the long cold spell we've just had. The moss is lush and green, and the lichens are practically glowing. Beige fungi are digesting the dead branch.

I see a few sprigs of honeysuckle -- the stems with green leaves at left. Honeysuckle vine, a non-native, invasive species, is rampant along the edges of these woods. Here in Kentucky, it's a nearly-evergreen plant. It can climb to great heights by twining and twisting around trunks and branches, and once it reaches sunlight, it forms its own canopy over the canopy of its host tree or shrub, depriving the host of sunshine and subjecting it to a great deal of stress from the weight of the overgrowth. 
Lichens are interesting things. They're composite organisms -- that is, they're made of fungi growing together with something else (usually algae) in a symbiotic relationship. Many of the lichens even reproduce by making a diaspore that contains cells from both partners.

I've noticed that the lichens seem to do very well in winter in Kentucky. Lichens are so immune to damage from cold that they survived unprotected in space in an experiment conducted by astronauts -- thus a few months with temperatures below freezing are nothing to them. The leaves are off the trees, so they get plenty of sunshine and there's usually plenty of moisture too, since we get a lot of our annual rainfall during the winter months.

I don't know what sort of fungus that is, but it seems to be a benign part of the circle of life, just helping that tree branch decompose. However, some fungi can be a big problem to living trees. Heart-rotting fungi may not kill a tree immediately but will destroy its lumber value. Root-rotting fungi make the tree vulnerable to windfall. Then there's the various fungal diseases that can kill trees, such as oak wilt and dogwood anthracnose and many other molds, wilts, rusts, etc.

I love to see green patches of moss in winter. The bit of bright color is a welcome accent to winter's muted palette of browns. Like the lichens, the moss thrives in the damp conditions and cool temperatures of winter and takes its dormant time during the hot, dry months of summer. That sounds good to me! I don't like hot weather either!