Mind the fires & leave the leaves
Eastern Box Turtle by Richard Coldiron
With summer coming to a close, many of us have visions of leaf piles and bonfires to celebrate the coming of cooler weather and the beauty of autumn. We’re not one to spoil a good time, but we do want folks to be conscious of how these activities can impact wildlife. A pile of wood or yard debris looks very safe and inviting for many species of wildlife, such as cottontails and box turtles.
Ideally, any piles that have been sitting around will not be burned at all due to the difficulty in finding any tenants. If you do burn a debris/wood pile, always thoroughly check that no one is living there first.
As for the leaves, you can leave them! Most of us are familiar with the “leave the leaves” movement, and there are many good reasons why it’s catching on. Leaving the leaves allows many animals safe places to overwinter and some even complete their life cycle in leaf litter. If you can’t ignore the leaves in your whole yard all winter (thanks, HOA!), try letting a section of it stay wild this season.
Even small changes like these still help wildlife!