Den trees are awesome - with "snag trees" in general being KEY in the biodiversity of a mature woodland. Lots of guys think they should cut all the "dead" or "sickly" wood for firewood - when the opposite may actually be true if you care about promoting biodiversity on your property - Which you should, by the way!

For the uninitiated - consider - that our Woodlands have been evolving for Millions of years - and basically we - humans have only been able to seriously impact this biomein the last 500 years or so. Generally speaking - Whole species of animals, insects and plant growth are dependent on the the death and decomposition of trees in a woodland environment. When we harvest and otherwise restrict the natural replacement of trees in our woodlands - we directly threaten the existence of many species of flora/fauna - and as a resultlower the biodiversity of our woodland.

So - to get off my little soapbox - if we care about a woodlands and appreciate all the species that evolved to be there - we could/should promote a natural succession on at least some of our woodlands -

Kudos to you Robertesq1! I like your initiative!

FH