WV . 0 iyxO-&<L 
MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C- Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
natural history survey 
SEP 4 1973 
library 
Urbana, Illinois 
August, 1S73 
Vol. 16, No. 8 
Manipula tion of Pheasant Habitat G* B. Joselyn 
Studies of pheasant nesting ecology on seeded and on unseeded roadsides 
have been under way since 1363 . Data collected over the past 10 years show 
that (1) the establishment of pheasant nests on roadsides seeded to a grass- 
legume mixture and left unmowed occurs at a rate nearly 2.5 times the rate of 
establishment on unseeded roadsides where mowing is not controlled; (2) success¬ 
ful (hatched) pheasant nests occur on seeded roadsides at a rate 2.7 times the 
rate of occurrence on unmanaged roadsides; (3) unmowed seeded roadsides give 
substantial weed control and are aesthetically acceptable to farm operators, (4) 
the longevity of seedings is at least 10 years; and (5) as demonstrated by two 
pilot projects, extensive programs of seeding roadsides appear to have excellent 
potential for pheasant management. 
At this point in our studies, there appear to be three possible approaches 
to management of roadside cover over a large area that would involve the seeding 
of roadsides: (1) seedings of roadsides graded as part of the ongoing road- 
maintenance work of townships and counties; (2) seedings of roadsides at the 
request of individual farm operators; and (3) block seedings of all roadsides 
in designated townships or parts of townships. 
The known or presumed advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be 
discussed in subsequent reports. 
Ecoloqy and Management of Squirrels c * Nixon, 
S • P. Ha ve ra 
Two subspecies of gray squirrels supposedly occur in Illinois. Sciurus 
carolinensis carolinensis exists in the densely timbered areas in approximately 
the southern one-third of the state, and Sciurus carolinensis pennsy1 vanicus 
occurs in the remaining extensively forested areas in central and northern Illinois. 
An attempt was made to distinguish c. carol i nens i s from c. pennsy 1 van i cu_s 
on the basis of biochemical differences. Electrophoresis (the separation of 
molecules with different electrical charges in an electric field) was used to 
examine 12 different proteins from various organs in samples of five Illinois 
gray squirrels from the S. c. carolinensis range (Pope County) and five from the 
S. c. pennsy1 vanicus range (Jo Daviess County). For a basis of comparison, 
Tamples of five S^. c. carol i nensi s and five S. c. pennsy 1 van i cus collected from 
their type localities, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, respectively, were also 
electrophoretically examined. 
