Vol. 13, No. 3 
Page 2 
8 to 12 meters high, blackberry vines are dying out, and visibility in the 
understory has improved. 
We studied squirrel utilization and squirrel food production on two 
15 -year clear-cuts, a 5 . 2 -acre cut on a medium site and a 5 -acre cut on a 
good site. 
Eight individual squirrels were captured in the 15-year good site; two 
were taken in April, two in July, and four in November. The captures included 
three adult males, one adult female, two yearling males, one juvenile male, 
and one juvenile female. 
These squirrels penetrated a significantly greater distance into the 
15 -year clear-cut compared with squirrels in the 7 -year cut ( 34.3 meters in 
the 15-year cut, 19-3 meters in the 7-year cut; P^0.05). During the second 
year of trapping, the traps on the perimeter of the cut were closed but no 
squirrels were captured in the center of the clear-cut during April, July, or 
November. Snow track counts showed that, in winter, squirrels were pene¬ 
trating to the center of the clear-cut (center = 92 meters from the edge); 
tracks were found in all portions of the clear-cut. 
Seven squirrels were captured in the 15-year 5-2-acre medium cut, six 
in May and three of these same squirrels plus one new squirrel in July. Only 
one squirrel was captured in November. The captures in this clear-cut included 
one adult male, one adult female, three juvenile females, and two juvenile males 
The mean distance penetrated at capture was 35.5 meters, nearly identical 
to the mean capture distance ( 34.3 meters) for the 15-year good site. When 
the traps on the perimeter of the cut were closed, 10 captures of squirrels 
were made in the interior of the cut at a mean distance of 55 meters from the 
forest edge (center of the cut = 94 meters from the edge). In winter, 
squirrels were penetrating to all portions of the clear-cut. 
Squirrel food production was low in both the good and medium sites at 
15 years. There was significantly less (P<0.001) food available in the 
15 -year cuts compared with the 7 -year clear-cut, chiefly because of a lack 
of blackberry production in the 15-year cuts. Gill fungi and flowering dog¬ 
wood were the only consistent food producers on both sites. On the medium 
site, one chestnut oak produced a few acorns at age 16 years. 
A few leaf nests were found on both 15-year clear-cuts. These nests 
were of summer construction and were not used as winter shelters. 
Squirrel use of 15-year clear-cuts increased greatly compared with 
utilization of 7 -year clear-cuts, but squirrels were still unable to find 
suitable food for storage or to find permanent shelter. Although developing 
stands provide squirrels with more escape cover than younger cuts and also 
with improved visibility for sighting predators, utilization of these stands 
by squirrels is still transient. 
