UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new publication available from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciencesprovides a guide for agricultural property owners who want to develop a wildlife-management plan for their farmland.
Written by Margaret Brittingham, professor of wildlife resources and graduate student Amanda Yeager, Farmlands and Wildlife of Pennsylvania and the Northeast, is a 67-page booklet loaded with information to help landowners manage their properties in a wildlife-friendly way.
Subjects
Beginning with a history of farmlands in the Northeast, the publication covers subjects such as wildlife species, methods to manage cropland and pasture and ways of enhancing the land for the benefit of wildlife and damage control.
As one of the United States’ major farming regions, the Northeast is home to more than 175,000 individual farms, according to Brittingham.
The publication covers common bird and mammal species — giving a short history of each animal and its habits and population trends — and then provides suggestions for managing land as prime habitat for each species.
Destructive animals
Not all creatures are harmless additions to farmland, so the publication also includes a section on minimizing the damage caused by some destructive animals.
It lays out common problems caused by each animal, ways to stem the damage and a Web address to reference more information.
The publication also lists a variety of land-management techniques such as mowing, grazing and burning and provides information on each method, describing the effects that a particular choice will have on the land and its inhabitants.
Copies of the publication are available for $9 (plus $5 for U.S. shipping and handling) from the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Distribution Center.
To order
For ordering information call 814-865-6713 or visit http://pubs.cas.psu.edu.
To order using Mastercard, Visa, American Express or Discover call 877-345-0691. Pennsylvania residents pay 6 percent sales tax.
