Vol. 16,No. 5 
Page 2 
rains in the fall washed seed on foreslope and on backslope areas into ditches, 
where the seedlings that sprouted drowned in high water, and ( 4 ) winter periods 
of frost and ice unaccompanied by protective snow cover made seedlings highly 
susceptible to winter kill. It is possible that these seedings, like others 
that at first seemed to be failures, will recover and do well. Nevertheless, 
planning is under way to reseed in August should the seedings not recover. 
Ecoloqy and Management of Squirrels C. H. Nixon, 
R. E. Greenberg 
The present distribution and relative abundance of gray squirrels in Illinois 
were determined by asking conservation officers, farm foresters, park super¬ 
intendents, biologists of the Illinois Department of Conservation, and University 
biologists to pinpoint the range of gray squirrels in areas of the state familiar 
to them. Townships and river drainages were used as the units for delineating 
range occupied by gray squirrels. For each township, these sources were asked to 
indicate the relative abundance of gray squirrels as follows: 
1. Common: frequently shot or seen 
2. Scarce: shot or seen every year, but only in low numbers 
3. Rare: shot or seen very infrequently, only every 2 or 3 years 
4. Absent 
Ten townships were then selected in each of the two Conservation Zones for 
each category of gray squirrel abundance. Recent aerial photographs or topo¬ 
graphic maps of these townships were examined to determine the amount of woodland 
present in each township. While these data have not yet been analyzed, some 
interesting relationships are apparent between gray squirrel abundance and the 
amount of woodland present in each township. 
In the Northern Conservation Zone, the 10 townships in which gray squirrels 
were reported to be common had a mean of 20.3 percent woodland. A similar 
sample in which gray squirrels were reported to be scarce had a mean of 14.0 
percent woodland. Samples in which grays were reportedly rare or absent had 
means of 4.5 and 4.6 percent woodland, respectively. 
In the Southern Conservation Zone, 10 townships in which gray squirrels were 
reported to be common had a mean of 34.7 percent woodland. A similar sample in 
which grays were reportedly scarce had a mean of only 12.2 percent woodland. An 
adequate sample of townships in the Southern Zone where gray squirrels are rare 
or absent could not be examined because up-to-date maps were unavailable. 
