We used 400 feet of four-foot high fencing, 112 wood stakes and 224 zip ties for a successful work day at JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary on June 1.  What were these materials used for?  A group of 18 volunteers made and installed 56 cages to protect young trees and seedlings from deer.  Without the cages, deer will eat the tree seedlings and damage the saplings by rubbing against the trunks to remove the felt from their antlers.

Photo by Kim Strader

The two-foot diameter cages were installed using two wood stakes pounded into the ground on opposite sides of the cage.  The metal cage was then attached to the stakes using zip ties. This method ensures the cage is strong and able to withstand being pushed by deer without toppling over.

An important part of installing the cages is making sure there is a six-inch gap at the bottom.  This will allow small animals (such as Eastern Box Turtles) to easily and safely pass under the cage to continue on their journey across the landscape.  This gap also allows us to weed around the trees in the future and remove any vines that threaten to strangle the young trees.

Some of the trees caged by the volunteers included those we planted in 2019.  Many of these trees suffered from severe cicada damage in 2021 and are now re-sprouting from the ground. We also caged tree seedlings (including many oaks) that have self-seeded into the area.

We have previously protected young trees in the oak-hickory forest. This time we were working in the area around the vernal pool  adjacent to the western meadow, which is part of the meadow restoration project.  The project is made possible by the Society for Ecological Restoration’s Standards-based Restoration in Action program in collaboration with Microsoft.

To protect the environmentally sensitive habitat and rare species, JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary is not open for general public access.

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