The Importance of Brush Piles

Americorps • February 10, 2022

 

In March, the On the Ground program of MUCC will be hosting two events; hunting blind and shooting lane maintenance in Clare county within the Kleekamp tract of the Gladwin SGA on 03/05/2022 and small game habitat at Gourdneck State Game Area with the Kalamazoo Conservation District on 03/26/2022. At Gourdneck State Game Area we will be building brush piles for wildlife.

A brush pile, often called “rabitatt,” is a structure made up of debris found in the area. Fallen trees and removed invasive species like autumn olive are common building materials. Everything is stacked up to create large piles.

A pile of sticks does not seem like much to us, but brush piles provide vital habitat for wildlife in the area. The structures are places to nest, build dens, hide from predators and escape dangerous situations. If insects live in the brush piles, they can be considered food sources for insectivores. Brush piles affect many aspects of wildlife survival and provide resources that the current ecosystem may lack. The newly available habitat increases the biodiversity of an area.

Snowshoe hare, or in the case of the Gourdneck SGA cottontail rabbit, are often residents of brush piles. Snowshoe hair change colors depending on the season, they are white in the winter and red-brown in the summer. The long hair growing on their feet allow them to walk on the snow without sinking. Owls and coyotes are predators of cottontail and snowshoe hare. The brush piles protect the rabbits and hare from these predators. Brush piles are a haven for both of these species.

Brush piles are also beneficial for hunters who love the small game. By creating new habitat for small game, they can continue hunting a viable population. Brush piles are an easy way to create more habitat on public and private lands.

If you would like to help in our efforts to create habitat supporting diverse wildlife populations, join us on 03/26/2022 at the Gourdneck State Game Area, where we will be building brush piles with the help of the Kalamazoo Conservation District. To register, click  here . 

If you would like to contribute to any other OTG events including volunteering at the Clare County project click  here . 

Recent Posts

May 2025 NRC Recap

By Justin Tomei • May 8, 2025
The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) met for their May meeting today at Lansing Community College West Campus. The commission voted to return antlered opportunities to the Independence and Liberty hunts at the May Natural Resources Commission meeting. The amendment to restore this opportunity passed after Commissioner Walters withdrew his amendment from April to only partially restore antlered opportunity during these hunts. MUCC testified for the complete restoration of antlered opportunity during these two hunts, per a member passed policy from our 2025 Annual Convention. The commission also voted on, and ultimately accepted, a proposal to allow archery antlerless take in the high snowfall zone in the Upper Peninsula. Additionally, the commission also chose to leave on the table and postpone indefinitely the order to reopen the illegally partially closed coyote season. This prevents the order from dying after today's meeting and makes it eligible for action at a later date. This amendment will remain postponed until the June meeting at the earliest.  MUCC has created the Coyote Coalition to assist in unifying the voice of conservationists in support of Proposal G. To join the Coyote Coalition, visit https://www.mucc.org/coyotecoalition . The commission did adopt proposed fall turkey regulations unanimously. The June commission meeting is Thursday, June 12 in Bay City. To ensure our natural resources remain protected and managed thoughtfully and our outdoor heritage defended, join Michigan United Conservation Clubs today: http://bit.ly/JoinMUCC .

On The Ground: Volunteers at the Annual Jack Pine Planting Day

By Olivia Triltsch • May 8, 2025
In total, volunteers improved about 6 acres of habitat and planted around 6,000 trees in this stand to continue regeneration.

On the Ground Junior: Spring Event Recap

By Katelyn Helsel • May 7, 2025
Our student volunteers have been hard at work improving wildlife habitat on public lands! MUCC’s On the Ground Junior (OTG Jr.) program, a subset of the On the Ground program, is a fully funded field trip program that brings grade-school classrooms into the outdoors to improve fish and wildlife habitat in their local communities. Through activities like native plantings, brush pile building, and invasive species removal, students gain hands-on experience with conservation and positively impact the world around them. Students also participate in educational activities like predator-prey tag to teach them about population dynamics and other natural resources concepts. So far this spring season, MUCC welcomed 69 students, teachers, and chaperones who participated in multiple OTG Jr projects with more on the way! In total, they improved over 12 acres of wildlife habitat. Read on for a recap of each OTG Jr project and see what all our awesome student volunteers have been up to. 
More Posts