Quote:
Originally Posted by SIKSUKR
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I am
almost certain that you are right.
From some research, this tree
can be saved, but the rough edges of the damage need to be hand-chiseled. The object is to chisel out shapes that are oval or round shapes, rather than stay with the irregular damage as it is. The chisel must not touch the exposed bare wood layer.
"Saved"—that is, if Ash trees can resist its other natural assaults of recent years.
Quote:
Cultural Methods
Thinned forest stands are vulnerable to porcupine damage because lower vegetation can thrive. Porcupine populations are usually lower in closed canopy stands where understory vegetation is scant
http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/Porcupines.asp.
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"Understory vegetation is scant" can be taken for where Eastern Hemlock predominates. Eastern Hemlock shades-out other understory growth. (Except for
other Eastern Hemlock trees).
And since the White Pines have largely been "harvested" or "logged-out" here, we have a
ton of Eastern Hemlock trees. The "understory vegetation"
is scant and not favorable for porcupines.
In my area, porcupines reportedly disappeared in the 1960s—the cause was said to be a fatal disease. Based on the bark damages locally in the upper-reaches of established trees, they've definitely come back.
Should porcupine populations actually be increasing, porcupines may cause Fisher-Cats—their sole predator—to return.
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