A Day in the Life of CVC's Conservation Planning Assistant

The majority of the Credit River watershed is privately owned land, illustrating the importance of private land stewardship. Landowners who wish to know more about their land and to develop a long-term plan for its management can apply for CVC’s Conservation Planning Service. As part of the program, landowners receive a Conservation Plan which includes useful information on: How their property fits into the local environment The plants and animals that share their land Tax incentives and programs available Management options to help them achieve their goals related to forestry, ponds, trails, streams, wetlands, fish, wildlife and other resources.Plans also include maps, aerial photographs and practical “how-to” information to help landowners achieve their goals for their property, all while supporting private land stewardship throughout the watershed.

8:00 a.m. - Turn on my computer and log in.

8:07 a.m. - Add hot chocolate powder to the “not-so-fresh” tasting office coffee, and grab some cold water as a backup beverage.

8:10 a.m. - Check email and phone messages and respond accordingly.

9:15 a.m. - A private landowner who is currently taking part in the conservation planning program calls to let me know he will be half an hour late for this afternoon’s site visit to his property. I tell him it’s no problem and advise the other three CVC staff members (also attending the site visit) of the time change.

9:30 a.m. - Open up an ongoing conservation plan. Spend the next couple of hours with my head down in notes typing away like a madman (when you’re on a roll during report writing, its best to just ride the wave and go with it).

11:20 a.m. - Schedule a date to go out with the electrofishing crew for some exploratory surveying on another conservation plan property.

11:30 a.m. - Go back to the lunchroom to grab more water…..also a chance to step away from the computer.

11:35 a.m. - Remember that I’m leaving for the site visit shortly and grab my lunch (which is substantially supplemented with a mountain of homemade cookies).

12:35 p.m. - Get ready for the site visit, making sure I remember to bring the site visit documentation I had prepared the week before (containing the necessary air photos, questions for the landowner, special property features, directions to the property etc.)

1:00 p.m. - It’s time to head off to the site visit. I realize that I forgot bug spray.

1:30 p.m. - Show up on site, formal introductions occur (always great to meet the person behind all of the email/phone conservations)

1:40 p.m. - The landowner takes us around their property, voicing their concerns and ideas, and asking many questions that we are more than happy to answer (even with the Stewardship Technician, Forestry Technician and Aquatic Biologist with me, there are some questions I have to get back to them on). During the entire time I try to write down every single piece of important information that is discussed, in addition to documenting all of the floral and faunal species on the property.

4:10 p.m. - The site visit is coming to an end. We discuss the next steps and any dates that have to be arranged for additional site visits, electrofishing, etc.

4:30 p.m. - Head home with a head full of ideas for the conservation plan, and a stomach full of cookies.

Sometimes you Feel like a Nut

There is an old adage, “you are what you eat,” but when it comes to identifying squirrels, they are not only what they eat, but also how they eat. Three different species of squirrels are known to live (and eat) in the Credit River Watershed. They are the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabirnus). It is suspected that a fourth species, the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) also calls the Credit home.

Red Squirrels
Red Squirrels are noisy and quite territorial. They prefer coniferous forests where they dine mainly on pine nuts and the winter terminal buds of evergreens. They will also eat the bark of trees, as well as berries, insects (such as carpenter ants, which they extract from pileated woodpecker holes) and bird’s eggs.

Grey Squirrels
Grey Squirrels are much more passive than their red “cousins” and can be found in large numbers in relatively small areas. They favour deciduous (broad-leaved) and mixed forests, and prefer acorns and other large nuts to pine or hemlock seeds. These squirrels do not store food in large underground caches, although they are known to “hide” a number of food items in tree cavities when they are available. They will also dig shallow holes in which they place individual nuts, covering them up for a snack at a later date.

Flying Squirrel Feeding

Northern Flying Squirrels
Northern Flying Squirrels are rarely seen because they are nocturnal (active at night). They live in both coniferous and deciduous forests, and have the ability to glide from tree to tree, or tree to ground using large flaps of skin that extend from their wrists to their ankles. Both northern and Southern Flying Squirrels are extremely social. As many as 15 flying squirrels have been found in a single nest. Flying squirrels eat hickory nuts and acorns, fruit, seeds, fungi, buds, moths, insects and bird eggs. They hoard large winter caches in tree cavities. Southern flying squirrels also occasionally bury items under leaf litter in the forest.

Identifying Squirrels by the Evidence They Leave Behind

• Acorns - Both grey and red squirrels peel the shells of nuts in long strips. The strips made by grey squirrels are wider than those made by red squirrels.

• Hickory nuts - Red squirrels will chew at nuts in such a way as to leave large jagged holes. Grey squirrels, on the other hand, chip away at hickory nuts, often breaking them into small fragments in the process. Flying squirrels do not chip away at hickory shells in the same way that larger squirrels do. Instead, nuts left behind by flying squirrels have small, round or elliptical holes with smooth edges.

For more information on how to tell if a squirrel has been in your neighbourhood, check out the book Tracking and the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks and Sign by Paul Rezendes.