Well that was very interesting

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Well that was very interesting
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jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 16 8:55 pm Post subject: Well that was very interesting
I just got back from a talk by John Wilding MBE, who is the head of forestry and environmental matters for the Devon Clinton Estates. It was about Tree pests and Diseases. His outlook is definitely on the gloomy side and he HATES squirrels!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 16 9:12 pm Post subject:
did you tell him about phone cosies. squizzers are multi purpose once deceased. i assume he is gloomy about the recent additions to the pests and diseases list ? iirc there are quite a few already here and some on the we dont want them here checklist.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 16 9:12 pm Post subject: Re: Well that was very interesting

Jamanda wrote:

he HATES squirrels!

He should probably try another recipe...

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 16 9:13 pm Post subject:
did you tell him about phone cosies. squizzers are multi purpose once deceased. i assume he is gloomy about the recent additions ,iirc there are quite a few already here and some on the we dont want them here checklist.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 16 9:52 pm Post subject: Re: Well that was very interesting

Hairyloon wrote:

Jamanda wrote:

he HATES squirrels!

He should probably try another recipe...

Apparently they supply Mr Fearnly Whittingstall.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Tue Feb 09, 16 10:15 pm Post subject: Re: Well that was very interesting

Jamanda wrote:

Hairyloon wrote:

Jamanda wrote:

he HATES squirrels!

He should probably try another recipe...

Apparently they supply Mr Fearnly Whittingstall.

He's in the wrong job then: you shouldn't hate your product lines.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15985

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 16 7:12 am Post subject:

I can understand why he is gloomy and why he hates squirrels. One of our FC contacts was down in Kent last year trying to make sure this chestnut gall moth didn't spread, and there is Chelara getting everywhere, apart from various other nasties trying to cross the Channel. Add to that the reduction of staff able to check imports, bright ideas about importing untreated wood chip from hot beds of disease, and it is really depressing for anyone working the woods.

I can't say I am keen on squirrels myself, and definitely regard them as fair game and dinner.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 16 7:51 am Post subject:
Did Mr Wilding mention anything about not planting new broadleaves due to squirrels?

LynneA

Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 4893
Location: London N21

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 16 12:32 pm Post subject:
Just wait until the Parakeets spread westwards too. Mind you, they seem to compete with the greys for tree nuts.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 16 11:34 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Did Mr Wilding mention anything about not planting new broadleaves due to squirrels?

Yes. He says he plants them in some places for their amenity value, but economically there is no point at all, even for firewood.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 16 11:38 pm Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

Some of the photos of forests in Poland were very depressing.
Another man who was in the audience was telling me there is an organisation who will send out saplings of potentially chalara resistant ash for people to plant and send back reports on. He couldn't remember the nmae of the organisation so I need to do some chasing/googling to see if that is something we could do.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15985

Posted: Thu Feb 11, 16 8:09 am Post subject:

He might be being a bit pessimistic if he says there is no point in growing broadleaves. What on earth else do you grow in most of the country? Ours seem to grow perfectly all right, but perhaps not to milling quality, but that is partly to do with the seed. They are perfectly all right for firewood, and we also have hazel coppice which grows well. The squirrel numbers don't seem to have increased particularly in the last 12 years we have had the woods, and if anything may be down a little with more buzzards being around. Dry summers also seem to control them a bit.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Feb 11, 16 10:32 am Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Did Mr Wilding mention anything about not planting new broadleaves due to squirrels?

Yes. He says he plants them in some places for their amenity value, but economically there is no point at all, even for firewood.

I've heard of woodland managers not planting broadleaves any more as the squirrel damage is just too great to produce anything worthwhile. On a small scale you can trap & shoot them. Damage seems to be worse on small trees when the canopy initially closes, some plantations can suffer total destruction. I'm also concerned their bark stripping on mature trees could offer a way in for diseases etc.

Hopefully pine martins and other predators will restore a more natural balance but that'll be many years off.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Feb 11, 16 10:35 am Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

Another man who was in the audience was telling me there is an organisation who will send out saplings of potentially chalara resistant ash for people to plant and send back reports on. He couldn't remember the nmae of the organisation so I need to do some chasing/googling to see if that is something we could do.

This was in the news recently, possibly it's already lead to some trees being ready for testing?

Harper, A. L. et al. Molecular markers for tolerance of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) to dieback disease identified using Associative Transcriptomics. Sci. Rep. 6, 19335; doi: 10.1038/srep19335 (2016).

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep19335

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Thu Feb 11, 16 5:29 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Jamanda wrote:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Did Mr Wilding mention anything about not planting new broadleaves due to squirrels?

Yes. He says he plants them in some places for their amenity value, but economically there is no point at all, even for firewood.

He pretty much said all that also that trapping them is unviable as you are obliged to check the traps once every 24 hours, and they don't have the man power. He did say that in Ireland there seems to be some success with pine martins, but the down side is they kill everything else as well and they have a pheasant shoot to rear for. Apparently they are holding out for some wombat traps from Australia to be licenced which don't need to be checked to often.

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