Got Habitat?

Got Habitat?

If a tree dies in the forest, should you remove it? 

If the dead tree is not threatening people or property, we say no.  Dead trees provide food and shelter for wildlife and, as they decompose, return vital nutrients to the soil.  They can also make for great discoveries.  Just look at what we found earlier this week in a dead tree in our Laurels Preserve.

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It's a garter snake, hiding out in the trunk of a dead tree....
It's a garter snake, hiding out in the trunk of a dead tree....
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...and it recently molted, leaving its old skin behind.
...and it recently molted, leaving its old skin behind.