Vol. 17 , No. 4 
Page 2 
relatively high in 1973, considering that between 1 963 and 1973 nearly 80 percent 
th. £?Mn r ! m !« neSt C ° Ver ( f? rage Cr ° ps) ° n the area was iost ‘ The resu, t s ^o m 
the FCMU indicate an excellent winter population on that area. Even allowing 
for differences m census dates between 1963 and 1973, the population on the FCMU 
n December 1973 approaches that at Sibley during the years of peak population 
levels. It may be tempting to conclude that differences in numbers of pheasants 
etween the two areas are results of the seeded roadsides on the FCMU, but such 
a conclusion must await further evaluation of population changes on the two areas. 
Ecology and Management of Sgu ? rrels C ^ Nixon 
S. P. Havera 
Intermediate timber harvest is the selective cutting of single trees or 
small groups of trees to improve species composition and the spacing of future 
crop trees. Intermediate harvests are made between the time the timber stand 
is reproduced and the next harvest cut. Because intermediate cutting is the 
most common type of timber harvest in Illinois, we need to know the immediate 
and long-term response of forest wildlife to such timber harvests. 
^ 5 tUd ! eS a [ 6 CU // ent, y b ?' n 9 conducted on two study areas in southern Illinois 
t determine the effects of intermediate timber cuts on squirrel populations. One 
study area, the Old Barn Sale Area, is located in Pope County, Illinois. It is 
* 3 r 3C " e har ?wood stand in the Lusk Creek drainage. The stand consists 
of 80- to 90-year-old red oaks, with good populations of hickory, tulip, and 
infP^^ S a T W i i be CUt !?, the ,ate spr|ng of ,974; 27 acres undergo an 
intermediate cut and 7 acres will be clear-cut. The timber sale will remove 
hi 1 trees, constituting a total volume of 167,000 board feet. 
Squirrel densities will be estimated and counts of possible den sites will 
f^ adC ^ area Pn0r t0 t!mber cuttin 9 and for 2 years afterwards. Fall 
food production on the area will also be estimated. 
The Old Barn Sale Area was livetrapped for 10 days in March 1974. Estimates 
H A^n r i e i den ! ,t y/ an 9e d from 56.0 to 60.6 squirrels for the 3^-acre area 
U.b to 1.8 squirrels per acre). There were 27 individual squirrels tagged 
during the treeing period, eight fox squirrels and 19 gray squirrels. Eight 
adult female squirrels were trapped and all were either lactating or pregnant, 
thus indicating a good winter breeding season. 
J. A. Ellis 
Responses ojf Bobwh i tes to Habitat Man i pul at ion 
The prebreeding censuses of quail were conducted on the Dale and Forbes areas 
uring t e f* rst 2 weeks of March 1974. Thirteen coveys containing 1 36 quail 
P er ’ 00 acres ) were located on the Dale Area. The prebreeding estimate for 
1974 was 19 percent greater than in 1973, 55 percent greater than the long-term 
mean for the area ( 8.0 quail per 100 acres), and represented a 62 percen^decl ine 
from the prehunt estimate of 1973 . 
