SEP ? 1979 
UBRAfflr 
MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Illinois Federal Aid Project W-66-R 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Eva Steger, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
August, 1979 
Vol. 22 , No. 8 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat r. e. Warner 
The chronology of roadside mowing has been monitored annually on the Ford 
County Management Unit (FCMU) since 1970 . Cooperators in the roadside seeding 
program initially agreed in 1968 to delay roadside mowing each year to at least 
1 August. This summer ( 1979 ), approximately 61 % of the roadsides seeded on the 
FCMU remained unmowed as of 1 August. On the same date, I970 through I978, the 
percentages of cooperator miles unmowed were 72, 81, 78, 89, 87, 63, 64 , 48 , and 
60, respectively. 
A sample of 83 miles of seedings on previously graded roadsides scattered 
throughout Ford County was also monitored for chronology of mowing. As of 1 
August 1979 , approximately 68% of the seedings remained unmowed; 53% and 56% of 
the seedings remained unmowed through this date in 1977 and 1978, respectively. 
Thus, cooperation by participants in delayed mowing over the past 3 years has 
been similar for the block (FCMU) and scattered roadside seedings. 
Ecology and Management of Squirrels C. M. Nixon, 
L. P. Hansen 
We studied the effects of selection cutting on the availability of shelter 
(tree cavities and leaf nests) and food for squirrels on 3 study areas: Massac, 
44 acres; Old Barn, 34 acres; and Cole, 39 acres. 
Using binoculars, tree cavities suitable for sheltering squirrels were 
located by systematic searching of each study area before and after logging. 
Cavities were judged to be suitable for use by squirrels as all-weather shelter 
or as escape shelter only. 
Tree removal reduced the number of tree cavities suitable for sheltering 
squirrels on all study areas; all-weather cavity losses averaged 54%. 
Logging did not change the proportionate abundance of tree cavities by 
species on any study area, because those species most prone to form cavities 
were not removed by loggers. At Old Barn, of the larger trees (>10 inches dbh), 
sassafras, elm, and beech contained significantly more cavities than expected; 
these species were not cut to any extent. At Cole, sugar maple and beech contained 
