Dear Pals of the Putney Woods,

One of our group forwarded the below to us.
These are tough times for parks. Please consider doing what you can.
Your pal,
Ranger Kirk.

The time is urgent to let our voices be heard in support of State Parks. You may of read that ranger and staff layoffs are pending, but you may not have heard about how this will effect Whidbey Island Parks. All four island Sate Parks will remain open but with very, very limited staff. South Whidbey State Park will have NO rangers. It will be managed by one Sr. Park Aide and three summer park aides . . . a near impossible situation. The other three island parks will be equally slashed of permanent and seasonal staff.

It won't take long before our beautiful state parks where both residents and tourists walk and hike, have family gatherings, bring their children camping, and find a place of solitude will be run down and vulnerable to vandalism and theft. Safety and security will likely become a major issue. You can help now by sending an email to the Parks and Recreation Commissioners. Please click here and respond today!

Feel free to pass this message along to other friends of our state parks. Thank you.

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Here's some useful info on how to help our feathered friends make it through the coming cold months.
As usual: thanks to Elliott Menashe!
Your pal,
Ranger Kirk.

Click here to download Winter Bird Feeding pdf

This is really cool -- our friend Bill Cusworth of the Cascade Orienteering Club has created an incredibly detailed topographic map of the Putney Woods and has graciously agreed to share it with us. Click here to download a pdf of the map.

Fall "To Do" list from your backyard wildlife family

Your family may be making those fall outdoor chore lists, as daylight hours shrink, temperatures drop, and the urge grows to "batten down the hatches" in the yard and garden.
Here's another "to do" list from your local wildlife "family" that you may find easier to check off:

• Leave some "dead heads" on your flowering plants to provide seeds for some of us birds and other animals
  
• If you must rake leaves off grass lawns, just pile them under some shrubs, bushes or other nooks and crannies to provide homes for those insects that we birds love to eat; leaves make great mulch to help your plants, anyway!
  
• Keep that dead or dying tree right where it is (unless, of course, it's truly a hazard to you), so we can feast on the insects in the rotting wood or make winter roosts or dens in its cavities
  
• Give yourself and your mower a rest for at least a portion of your lawn so we've got a patch of taller grass to hide and forage in
  
• Save just a little of that dead bramble thicket for us - it makes great winter cover and we don't need much! Fall is a good time to plant shrubs, so replace invasive, exotic Himalayan and cutleaf blackberries with native plants of higher wildlife value like blackcap (native black raspberry) or red raspberry; native currants or gooseberries found in your area; or native roses such as Nootka or baldhip.
  
• Pile up any brush or rocks you clear around your place to give us another option for nests and dens
  
• Take it easy on yourself and let go of the "perfect" garden image; we wild animals like less tidy, "fuzzy" places because there's usually more food and shelter there
  
• Get yourself a comfortable chair, sit back, and congratulate yourself on having made a home for wildlife and a haven of relaxation for yourself!

SOURCE:
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov

Your pal,
Ranger Kirk.