Crow's Nest: Deer Exclosure Update

Deer Exclosure 2, Southwest corner looking northeast,
June 2005

Deer Exclosure 2, Southwest corner looking northeast,
June 2008

The deer exclosures at Crow's Nest have been installed since 2003: three 10 x 10 meter plots, two in woods and one in a successional area. We are starting to see some differences in these demonstration plots compared to their controls outside the fence and over the course of time.

In the wooded sites there are (and have always been) large trees inside the plots. And there are seedlings in both cloaking the ground. But it is mainly inside the fences where there are the medium-size saplings growing, seedlings that have been released from deer browse.

All of the successional area on Northside Road is showing a lot of new growth, but the area inside the fence exhibits the most development. The pair of photos above shows this area with three years' difference.