Wildlife travel corridors

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Radio interview source: John Morgan, wildlife biologist, Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife

It seems like all forms of wildlife have a direct path to our door. We've had wild turkeys in the pasture, foxes in the grove, and owls on the barn roof.

Some landowners are constructing wildlife corridors, which are pathways that connect two or more isolated patches of habitat.

Corridors can be man-made or formed around natural features. Wildlife biologist John Morgan says the first step is to determine what kind of wildlife you're encouraging to move around. For instance, deer like to stay hidden.

"You're looking for heavy cover, brushy areas, and real heavy fencerows that can provide good screening cover for deer to move from where they may be bedding to where they may be feeding, so those can be real good travel areas, Morgan says. "And sometimes it can be a mature forest in between hay fields or crop fields, but that real heavy cover with higher-stem densities of small trees and shrubs can be really good screening cover for deer."

With this type of corridor, you'll be providing benefits for other wildlife, too, such as rabbits, quail, and songbirds.