Go Wild! With Wild Yards

By Rose Sullivan

Reprinted with Permission from West Virginia Wildlife, Spring 2006

A Publication of the WV Division of Natural Resources, Art Shomo, Editor

Are you someone who is interested in attracting wildlife to your yard? Have a desire to create a habitat that is rich in diversity and supports plants and animals native to West Virginia? Maybe you already have a great place for wildlife in your yard but would like to attract specific types of wildlife, like butterflies, amphibians or songbirds. If so the West Virginia Wild Yards Program may be for you.

For Mary Ann and Alex Honcharik of Tucker County, members of the Wild Yards program since 1998, being involved with the Wild Yards program has resulted in enjoying wildlife more closely.

“One of the striking differences in our yard is the amount birds that we now have coming through,” Mary Ann says. “We planted spruce trees that have created more winter cover and attract a whole range of birds, including woodpeckers, chickadees, finches and a variety of songbirds.” During the warmer months the Honchariks mow only pathways through the grass on a regular basis.

“We see a lot of butterflies on the property now and the small pond we created attracts many wood frogs in early spring,” she adds. “Even our grandchildren have benefited from seeing nature up-close with the diversity we have attracted.”

First established in 1997, this program has certified over 130 Wild Yards throughout West Virginia. One doesn’t have to have a large piece of land to become certified. You may have a farm, or have a house on a lot in the city, or be an apartment dweller with lots of creativity. There are a few requirements for you to become a Wild Yards participant and they are concerned with providing the basic needs of wildlife. The specific aspects of a Wild Yard that are necessary to attract and maintain wildlife include shelter, water, food and space.

It is important to provide shelter for wildlife, and this can be accomplished in many different ways. Some examples are: providing a nest box for birds; creating an unmowed area planted with warm season grasses to provide cover for ground birds; leaving a brush pile to create habitat for small mammals, rabbits, box turtles, or garter snakes; or planting evergreen trees to provide winter cover for a number of species.

Water is crucial to wildlife. You may have a great source of water already present, such as a nearby stream or pond. If you don’t have a nearby source, providing a bird bath or creating a small pond – perhaps a water garden – may be a wonderful way to improve backyard habitat.

Food comes in a variety of forms. Putting up bird and wildlife feeders can be beneficial, but planting native vegetation as a source of food for animals is one of the best ways to ensure the diversity and sustainability of West Virginia wildlife. Providing birds with suet and year-round feeders increases their chance for survival. However, most species of songbirds feed insects, worms, and spiders to their young, so providing habitat for these tiny invertebrate creatures is equally important. This means limiting or eliminating the use of insecticides in your yard and leaving parts of it unmowed.

Native plants (as opposed to the exotic ornamentals that you would find in most nurseries) play an integral role in the life of wildlife. Native animals have co-evolved with and adapted to native plants, especially the bees, butterflies and other pollinators. When we plant an exotic, it may become invasive and crowd out other species of plants that are crucial parts of wildlife habitats. The spread of invasive plant species has become a significant threat to wildlife, often in ways that are not yet fully understood.

Space is a necessary requirement for all wildlife. Of course your Wild Yard will not limit the range of a species. Wild animals, birds, and insects do not refer to the county tax maps to determine their movements! It is important however, for each of us to realize the importance of the fragmentation of habitats that has occurred as a result of human activities. Species have different habitat requirements, and some will not cross wide areas where their habitat has been removed. Try to keep a diversity of habitats on your property whenever space permits.

Some people are surprised to learn that NOT changing their yards often provides benefits for wildlife. For example, leave that dead standing tree as it is. If it is hollow, it is a great place for mammal dens. It also can provide food for insect eaters, and provide singing perches for songbirds and hunting perches for raptors. Woodpeckers will excavate nest cavities, and those openings may be used by others such as flying squirrels and chickadees. It also provides the medium for a wide range of mushroom species – food for red and flying squirrels, insects, snails, and humans. Many are favorites of mushroom hunters, such as oysters , brickcaps, hen-of-the-woods, chicken-of-the-woods. Of course you need to know what you are looking at; dead wood also supports poisonous mushrooms such as the deadly Galerina and Jack-o-Lantern. Also don’t be in such a hurry to gather the leaves under your trees. Leaf litter provides a place for insects that are a food source for birds and shrews. Not mowing close to the edge of a pond increases habitat for frogs and turtles.

For Jan Woodward Heffner of Fairmont participating in the DNR program has had many benefits. As an advocate of a diversity-rich yard and a certified Wild Yards participant since 2002, she has appreciated the parade of wildlife that has used her yard, especially in the winter when cover and food become most important. She often sees fox and wild turkeys forage in her pesticide free yard and has helped her garden club understand the importance of diversity by building toad houses. “It is not any more trouble to have an ecologically sound yard,” she said, “and the reward is in all the animals I see.”

Rose Sullivan is the coordinator for the WildYards Program, the Outdoor Wildlife Learning Sites Program, and the West Virginia Master Naturalist Program. Request a booklet and application from the DNR Wildlife Diversity Program at 304-637-0245 or at the following link: http://www.wvdnr.gov/wildlife/landscape.shtm.